If an argument has a number of statements in it, deciding what the author’s ultimate point is can be challenging. It is not unusual for a GRE Argument essay task to have subsidiary conclusions. A subsidiary conclusion is a claim supported by evidence that, in turn, is used as evidence to support a further claim. Here’s an example:
Carrying a wider selection of products will help our store attract more customers, because a recent survey of our town’s residents showed they prefer to do all their shopping in one place. Therefore, stocking a greater variety of goods will make us more competitive with the store next door.
A survey is given as evidence of customer preference, and the conclusion is drawn that offering more products will attract more customers. This conclusion is then used as evidence for the main conclusion—that the proposed plan will make this store more competitive with the one next door. You can analyze the assumptions linking the survey results with the prediction that more customers will shop at the store, and you can analyze the assumptions linking the idea that attracting more customers will make the store more competitive.
If you’re having trouble figuring out which conclusion is the main one, try paraphrasing each of them as “X because Y.” Is this argument saying, “More competitive because more customers” or “More customers because more competitive”? It is saying the store will be more competitive (main conclusion) because it will have more customers (subsidiary conclusion).
This is important. Your task is not to agree or disagree with the author’s evidence. Accept whatever evidence is presented as true, but take aim at the logical linkages between that evidence and the conclusion drawn. That means pointing out the argument’s assumptions, that is, where the author makes a logical leap by assuming, rather than supporting with evidence, a connection between ideas.
While your thesis will be that the argument is unconvincing, meaning that the conclusion is not supported by the evidence given, do not assert that the author’s conclusion is untrue. After all, it is a deeply flawed argument to say the moon is far away because it looks small, since other things look small (e.g., the letters on this page) but aren’t far away. Nonetheless, the moon is far away. The conclusion to a flawed argument may still be correct.
Your goal is to identify the argument’s assumptions, explain why they make the argument weak, and discuss evidence that would strengthen the argument. You can’t do that unless you’ve figured out what the argument’s assumptions are, and you can’t determine the assumptions unless you know what the author’s conclusion and evidence are. So start at the beginning, with Step 1: Take the Argument Apart, and proceed step-by-step.
Some people believe that writing in an unnecessarily complicated way makes their analysis sound more complex, but this is not true. In the Analytical Writing section, be as clear and direct in your writing as possible. Using overly long sentences puts you at risk of losing control of the sentence and making a grammatical error, not to mention confusing the reader. And using big words for the sake of using big words puts you at risk of using the vocabulary incorrectly. Do write in a formal academic style, but use a style that is natural for you; don’t contort your prose to conform to some imaginary ideal.
It’s important to end your essay with a strong statement about the inadequacy of the author’s argument. If you are concerned about running out of time before you have a chance to write a strong conclusion, consider writing a concluding sentence after you finish your first paragraph. After all, you know how your essay will end—with a restatement of your thesis about how the argument rests on unsupported assumptions and is thus unpersuasive—so you can write the ending now. Try to use different words than you used to state your position in the first paragraph. Ideally, you will finish typing your essay (Step 4) with a few minutes to spare for proofreading, and then you can elaborate on your conclusion if you wish. However, you can write your body paragraphs in a more relaxed frame of mind, knowing that your essay has a solid ending.