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Anees Hussain

Sample Essays

Sample: Analysis of an Issue


Read the statement and the instructions that follow it and then make any notes that will help you
plan your response.
People often complain that products are not made to last. They feel that making products that
wear out fairly quickly wastes both natural and human resources. What they fail to see, however,
is that such manufacturing practices keep costs down for the consumer and stimulate demand.
Which do you find more compelling: the complaint about products that do not last or the response
to it? Explain your positions using relevant reasons and/or examples from your own experience,
observations, or reading.

Sample Response
Many people feel that products are not made to last, and correspondingly, many natural and
human resources are wasted. On the other hand, it can be noted that such manufacturing practices
keep costs down and hence stimulate demand. In this discussion, I shall present arguments
favoring the former statement and refuting the latter statement.
Products that are not made to last waste a great deal of natural and human resources. The exact
amount of wasted natural resources depends on the specific product. For example in the
automobile industry, the Yugo is the classic example of an underpriced vehicle that was not made
to last. Considering that the average Yugo had (not has since they are no longer produced!) a
life expectancy of two years and 25,000 miles, it was a terrible waste.
Automobile industry standards today create vehicles that are warrantied for about five years and
50,000 miles. By producing cheap Yugos that last less than half as long as most cars are
warrantied, the Yugo producer is wasting valuable natural resources. These same resources could
be used by Ford or Toyota to produce an Escort or Tercel that will last twice as long, thereby
reducing the usage of natural resources by a factor of two.
Human resources in this example are also wasteful. On the production side, manufacturers of a
poor quality automobile, like the Yugo, get no personal or profession satisfaction from the fact
that their product is the worst automobile in the United States. This knowledge adversely affects
the productivity of the Yugo workers.
Another factor in the human resources area is the reaction by the consumer. A great deal of
human resources have been wasted by Yugo owners waiting for the dreaded tow truck to show up
to haul away the Yugo carcass. Any vehicle owner who is uncertain of his/her vehicles
performance at 7 a.m. as he/she is about to drive to work, senses a great deal of despair. This is a
great waste of human resources for the consumer.
In conclusion, I believe that products not made to last waste a great deal of resources and
therefore should be discouraged.

Anees Hussain

Sample Essays

Sample topics for Issue Essay


1. In this age of automation, many people complain that humans are becoming subservient to
machines. But, in fact, machines are continually improving our lives.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your
point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
2. Job security and salary should be based on employee performance, not on years of service.
Rewarding employees primarily for years of service discourages people from maintaining
consistently high levels of productivity.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your
views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
3. Clearly, government has a responsibility to support the arts. However, if that support is going
to produce anything of value, government must place no restrictions on the art that is produced.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above? Develop your
position by giving specific reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or
reading.
4. Schools should be responsible only for teaching academic skills and not for teaching ethical
and social values.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your
point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
5. A powerful business leader has far more opportunity to influence the course of a community
or a nation than does any government official.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your
views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
6. The best strategy for managing a business, or any enterprise, is to find the most capable
people and give them as much authority as possible.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your
views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
7. Location has traditionally been one of the most important determinants of a businesss
success. The importance of location is not likely to change, no matter how advanced the
development of computer communications and others kinds of technology becomes.
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your
views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Anees Hussain

Sample Essays

Sample: Analysis of an Argument


Read the statement and the instructions that follow it, and then make any notes that will help you
plan your response.
The following appeared as part of an article in a daily newspaper:
The computerized on-board warning system that will be installed in commercial airliners will
virtually solve the problem of midair plane collisions. One planes warning system can receive
signals from anothers transpondera radio set that signals a planes coursein order to
determine the likelihood of a collision and recommend evasive action.
Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion, be sure to analyze the line
of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider
what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or
counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would
strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically
sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluate its conclusion.

Sample Response
The argument that this warning system will virtually solve the problem of midair plane collisions
omits some important concerns that must be addressed to substantiate the argument. The
statement that follows the description of what this warning system will do simply describes the
system and how it operates. This alone does not constitute a logical argument in favor of the
warning system, and it certainly does not provide support or proof of the main argument.
Most conspicuously, the argument does not address the cause of the problem of midair plane
collisions, the use of the system by pilots and flight specialists, or who is involved in the midair
plane collisions. First, the argument assumes that the cause of the problem is that the planes
courses, the likelihood of collisions, and actions to avoid collisions are unknown or inaccurate. In
a weak attempt to support its claim, the argument describes a system that makes all of these
things accurately known. But if the cause of the problem of midair plane collisions is that pilots
are not paying attention to their computer systems or flight operations, the warning system will
not solve the collision problem. Second, the argument never addresses the interface between
individuals and the system and how this will affect the warning systems objective of obliterating
the problem of collisions. If the pilot or flight specialist does not conform to what the warning
system suggests, midair collisions will not be avoided. Finally, if planes other than commercial
airliners are involved in the collisions, the problem of these collisions cannot be solved by a
warning system that will not be installed on non-commercial airliners. The argument also does
not address what would happen in the event that the warning system collapses, fails, or does not
work properly.
Because the argument leaves out several key issues, it is not sound or persuasive. If it included
the items discussed above instead of solely explaining what the system supposedly does, the
argument would have been more thorough and convincing.

Anees Hussain

Sample Essays

Some sample topics for Argument Essays


1. The following appeared in the opinion column of a financial magazine:
On average, middle-aged consumers devote 39 percent of their retail expenditure to department
store products and services, while for younger consumers the average is only 25 percent. Since
the number of middle-aged people will increase dramatically within the next decade, department
stores can expect retail sales to increase significantly during that period. Furthermore, to take
advantage of the trend, these stores should begin to replace some of those products intended to
attract the younger consumer with products intended to attract the middle-aged consumer.
Discuss how well reasoned etc.

2. The following appeared in the editorial section of a local newspaper:


This past winter, 200 students from Waymarsh State College traveled to the state capitol
building to protest against proposed cuts in funding for various state college programs. The other
12,000 Waymarsh students evidently werent so concerned about their education: they either
stayed on campus or left for winter break. Since the group who did not protest is far more
numerous, it is more representative of the states college students than are the protesters.
Therefore the state legislature need not heed the appeals of the protesting students.
Discuss how well reasoned etc.
3. The following appeared in the editorial section of a local newspaper:
In the first four years that Montoya has served as mayor of the city of San Perdito, the
population has decreased and the unemployment rate has increased. Two businesses have closed
for each new business that has opened. Under Varro, who served as mayor for four years before
Montoya, the unemployment rate decreased and the population increased. Clearly, the residents
of San Perdito would be best served if they voted Montoya out of office and reelected Varro.
Discuss how well reasoned etc.
4. The following appeared as part of a promotional campaign to sell advertising space in the
Daily Gazette to grocery stores in the Marston area:
Advertising the reduced price of selected grocery items in the Daily Gazette will help you
increase your sales. Consider the results of a study conducted last month. Thirty sale items from a
store in downtown Marston were advertised in The Gazette for four days. Each time one or more
of the 30 items was purchased, clerks asked whether the shopper had read the ad. Two-thirds of
the 200 shoppers asked answered in the affirmative. Furthermore, more than half the customers
who answered in the affirmative spent over $100 at the store.
Discuss how well reasoned etc.

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