ample task

SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the
number of homeowners in Corporateville prove that Corporateville is a superior place to live
then Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorps current headquarters. Moreover, Middleburg is a
predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined
that its workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban. Finally, Corporateville has lower
taxes than Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one.
Therefore, Supercorp clearly made the best decision.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the
argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the
implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted. ETS

Step One Attacking the Assumptions

Do not agree with any part of the argument. Instead, show that the argument is making a
series of unwarranted assumptions by highlighting each one. Of course, you do not only
want to cite what is wrong with the argument, you want to discuss also how the argument
can be improved.
The first step of course is to list the assumptions (you can think of this as the brainstorming
part). This step is crucial dont just rush into the essay. Planning before you write will, in
the end, save you time.
In this post we will only be concerned with the brainstorming part. The follow up post will
have a sample essay, followed by a score and feedback, including how to improve the essay.

Assumption #1
The argument assumes that the increase in homeowners is directly correlated with improved
living, or, as the argument states, a superior place to live. Housing could simply be
cheaper, causing an influx of people. That is the increase of population does not mean that
everybody wants to live in Corporateville because it is such a great place.

Assumption #2
Even if everybody wants to move to Corporateville because it is a superior place to live, that
doesnt mean what is superior for residents is superior for a corporation. Remember
working and living are two very different things.

Assumption #3
We do not know anything about the survey. Is it really indicative of how employees feel?
Perhaps the survey only asked upper management. Maybe only the engineering department
was questioned. Basically, there is no way for us to know whether the sample was
representative. Anyhow, the survey even if it is representative found that Supercorps
workers preferred to live, not to work, in areas that are not urban.

Assumption #4
There is nothing in the argument that says that Corporateville is not urban. Perhaps
Corporateville is also somewhat urban. We do not know. And be careful not to assume that
people typically leave urban areas for the suburbs. Never bring your own preconceived
notions into the argument.

Assumption #5
Towards the end, the argument mentions that Corporateville is safer. In this same sentence,
you will also find mention of lower taxes. If the argument is setting out to prove that
Corporateville is a superior place to work than Middlesburg, it has to be more specific about
how lower taxes will improve quality of work place.

Assumption #6
The argument ends by saying that Supercorp clearly made the right decision. Even if
Corporateville is a better place for Supercorp, to say that the company made the best
decision is stretching it. Perhaps Supercorp could have moved to a different city, one even
better suited to its needs.

Takeaway
The goal of the brainstorming session is not to see how many assumptions you can find.
Instead, you want to choose the few that you think best invalidate the argument. See AWA
Argument: Sample Essay Breakdown to see how to structure your paragraphs after
brainstorming.

AWA Argument: Sample Essay Breakdown

BY CHRIS LELE ON MARCH 7, 2012 IN ARGUMENT PROMPT, GENERAL WRITING TIPS, VERBAL, WRITING

Now that weve identified the assumption it is time to write the essay. However, there are a
few preliminaries. One thing of note: you do not need to come up with as many
assumptions as possible. Three or four is enough to build a solid essay on. And remember,
you need to be persuasive, so do not simply list your assumptions without pointing out why
they are assumptions and how they weaken the argument.
Also, do not at any point suggest that the argument has any merits. ETS has provided an
argument that is full of unstated assumptions. You are to identify these logical gaps and, per
the instructions, elaborate on how these unwarranted assumptions affect the argument.
Speaking of the insructions, I think it is important to reproduce them here, before we go on
with the essay:
SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the
number of homeowners in Corporateville prove that Corporateville is a superior place to live
then Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorps current headquarters. Moreover, Middleburg is a
predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined
that its workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban. Finally, Corporateville has lower
taxes than Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one.
Therefore, Supercorp clearly made the best decision.
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the
argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the
implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
With that out of the way, lets start with the Intro. The Intro should be short and sweet. In
fact, the intro the Argument should really not contain any novel ideas. You simply want to
say that the argument is unwarranted for a number of reasons. If you find yourself hung up
on the intro, write it at the end. The key to the essay is the body, in which you identify the
unwarranted assumptions. You do not want to waste precious minutes fiddling about with
the Intro.

Introduction
The argument makes a number of unwarranted assumptions regarding the corporations
proposed move from Middleburg to Corporateville . Taken as a whole, these unstated
assumptions render the argument highly suspect. Indeed, if these unstated assumptions do
not hold true, then the argument totally falls apart.
Next we have the body paragraphs, in which you will point out the unstated assumptions
that render the argument invalid. You can lump all into one massive paragraph or you can
as I do herespread them into three paragraphs, one for each unstated assumption.

Paragraph #1:
The argument assumes that the increase in homeowners is directly correlated with
improved living, or, as the argument states, a superior place to live. Housing could simply
be cheaper, causing an influx of people. That is the increase of population does not mean
that everybody wants to live in Corporateville because it is such a great place. Indeed lowpriced housing and overcrowding clearly would make Corporatville a less superior place to
live.
Notice how I ended the argument by referring back to what the instructions asked us to
do: Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the
implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted.

Body Paragraph #2
Another unstated assumption the argument makes is that what is superior for residents is
the same as what is superior for corporations. Thus, even if everybody wants to move to
Corporateville because it is a superior place to live, that doesnt mean it is a superior place
for a company to move its headquarters. For instance, perhaps Corporateville has an
excellent public school system and/or natural parks. Neither of these would make
Corporateville a superior place for a corporation. Unless the argument can show that there

is clear reason that Corporateville is superior to Middletown for a corporation, then the
corporation could be making the wrong decision in moving to Corporateville.

Body Paragraph #3
For this body paragraph, I would focus on the survey. This is probably the strongest
unstated assumption remaining (the survey is a valid measure). However, you can choose to
focus on taxes or urban vs. non-urban. Do not, however, try to jam all the assumptions.
Your focus is to show that the essay makes many unproven assumptions and is thus invalid.
Pointing out several assumptions is enough. Unless you have time, do not be exhaustive.

Conclusion
Like the intro, the conclusion should be short and sweet. Do not add new information;
simply give a brief summary of what youve already said. Something along the lines of:
The argument makes a number of unstated assumptions that seriously undermine its
validity. Unless these assumptions are addressed the argument falls apart, and the
corporation could very well make a major mistake shifting operations from Middleburg to
Corporateville.