GMAT - Analytical Writing Sample Questions
Question #2
2a. Identify an assumption made in the last sentence of the following argument and briefly explain any flaws in that particular argument: "Gas prices throughout the United States have been steadily increasing in recent years due solely to rising overseas oil costs. This can be seen because as the price of oil increases, the price of gas has been increasing proportionately. For example, the average cost for a barrel of crude oil in 2004 was $36.98 a barrel and the average cost of gasoline was $1.85 a gallon. However, during 2005, the average cost for a barrel of crude oil rose to $50.23 a barrel and the average cost for a gallon of gasoline rose to $2.27. Since our economy relies on gasoline for a variety of purposes, we can expect the steady rise of gasoline costs to have an equally profound impact on every individual business within every industry.
2b. The assumption made in the final sentence of the argument is that every industry will be profoundly impacted, in an equal way, by rising gasoline costs. This argument is actually a much more dangerous assumption than the assumption made earlier in the argument because it assumes that every business will be affected in a similar way, which is not the case. Certain businesses, such as a delivery company for example, might use a large amount of gas while other businesses such as an accounting firm may not need to use gasoline at all. The employees of the accounting firm will of course end up paying more to fill up their gas tanks and the cost of various supplies might increase due to increased shipping costs, but the increased cost of gasoline will not have as severe an effect on the accounting firm's costs as it will on the delivery company's costs. As a result, the key word in this assumption is "equally" as rising gasoline costs will not affect every company in the same way.