Writing Feedback / 'it would increase the sales in the Central Plaza store' - GRE essays [3]

The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a Central Plaza store owner.

"Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here, we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels."

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.

According to the author the business in the Central Plaza has decreased over the last two years because the number of skateboard users has increased. On the basis of this assumption the author has suggested to prohibit skateboarding in the Plaza so as to increase the sales. This recommendation is faulty; to amend on this recommendation many questions need to be answered.

Firstly, the author should answer how the popularity of skateboarding in the Plaza reduced sales by strong evidence. Are the skateboarders a hindrance for the shoppers who com to the Plaza? Is their sport a nuisance for other people? If this is true it will support the recommendation to prohibit the practice of skateboarding. Whereas, a possibility is that the skateboarding has gained popularity among the owners of the shops of the Plaza thus spending more time enjoying the sport than on their business, which has lead to a negligence in their business. It should be clear on who are the group of people practicing skateboarding in the Plaza. Moreover why is skateboarding gaining popularity in the Central Plaza only? The author has presumably not found out the causes of why Plaza is favouring the skateboarders. If there are any unique reasons that make Plaza attractive to the skateboarders and are not available at other parts of the city, can be solved by providing facilities in other parts of the city. The authors claim that skateboarding is a result of low sales in the Central Plaza but his claim cannot be given credulity unless he answers the above questions and supports them with significant data.

The second claim is that there is dramatic rise in litter and vandalism in the Central Plaza. Has this change in the environment caused of decrease sales in the Plaza rather than the sport? Or can it be that the popularity of the sport has played significant role in increasing litter and vandalism in Central Plaza. Shoppers will not want to spend time in the Plaza due to increase dirt and changing social behaviour. For increasing sale to prior statistics, the reason of decrease in shoppers should be analysed. The authors assumption that there is a causative relation between skateboarders and environment of the plaza should be analysed. If the litter and vandalism is proved to be a result of the sport, it would strongly support the recommendation.

To amend on the recommendation the author has to answer these questions which will provide enough evidence to support the suggestion of prohibiting skateboarding in the Plaza. In turn it would increase the sales in the Plaza returning to previous high levels.