Writing Feedback / Creativity should be used as the only true measure of intelligence - GRE Issue [2]

Question:

Creativity should be used as the only true measure of intelligence.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to addres the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

Essay:
Creativity has always paved the way of life. People are always encouraged to think creatively, think out of the box to provide better and elegant solutions to the most compelling problems faced by people in day to day lives. Without such creative thinking, all the technological developments that made life easy and convenient for us wouldn't exist. As such, I agree that creativity is a measure of intelligence but is not the only true measure. Intelligence of a person is not just defined by creativity

but a variety of factors. Even if a person doesn't provide a novel solution, to even replicate a current solution requires some form of intelligence and expertise. And knowledge is one key factor that contributes to one's intelligence. I believe that creativity and knowledge together can account for the maximum part in measuring the intelligence of a person.

There have been a ton of new inventions in the past decade which has revolutionized the lives of people. One such invention is smartphones. A small hand held device without which people are completely lost. To create such a small device with so many functionalities is definitely a great invention and many leading companies are still working on ways to improve user experience by coming up with novel designs. The person who came up with the idea to create a smart phone is creative but is he intelligent? If the person was not able to make this device in practice, then it would have been just and idea and people come up with ideas many a time but to actually implement a idea portrays true intelligence.

On the other hand, creativity doesn't just imply coming up with new ideas. Artists are creative people. One great example would be Leonardo Da Vinci, an eminent artist of his time, painted many famous portraits such as 'Mona Lisa'. His creativity was revealed in his paintings and the significance that was tied to each of his painting. Moreover, there are many films that are novel in nature but that doesn't show or prove intelligence.

There are people who strongly agree with the prompt and say that creativity is the one that makes the world better and many sophistications would not have reached people if not for creative thinking. I agree with this and hence I say that creativity is one part of intelligence but is not the only part. To measure a

person's intelligence, multiple factors need to be attributed for and together they indicate it.

Writing Feedback / Response to the recommendation from the Board of Directors of Monarch Books [2]

Hi everyone! I am practicing for GRE Essays

Question:

The following is a recommendation from the Board of Directors of Monarch Books.

"We recommend that Monarch Books open a café in its store. Monarch, having been in business at the same location for more than twenty years, has a large customer base because it is known for its wide selection of books on all subjects. Clearly, opening the café would attract more customers. Space could be made for the café by discontinuing the children's book section, which will probably become less popular given that the most recent national census indicated a significant decline in the percentage of the population under age ten. Opening a café will allow Monarch to attract more customers and better compete with Regal Books, which recently opened its own café."

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.

Essay:
The Board of Directors of Monarch Books has recommended that it opens a cafe in its store to attract more customers and better compete with it's rival Regal Books. To assert their recommendation, they addressed two major issues: the space required and customer attraction. Space can be made by discontinuing children's section and as for customer attraction, the store already has a large customer base, and opening the cafe will only bring in more people. However, these claims look good superficially but when analysed in-depth, multiple unwarranted assumptions portray otherwise.

The directors have decided to discontinue children's section to open the cafe but they have not acknowledged the percentage of the current sales from selling to children. What percentage do these sales account for in the total? Is it insignificant or is it large enough to create a lapse in the profit of the enterprise? To validate this part of the argument, a survey of the age group of people visiting the store would be quite useful. The result of the national census would carry no value if the majority of sales are from children in Monarch Books. This decision will only lead to a decline in sales and consequently the profit of the company.

Another assumption the Board has made is that by opening a cafe, it will attract more customers. But they have not addressed the issue of retaining the existing customers. Will opening a cafe avert some existing customers? Some people might visit the store because of the peace and silence it provides. The existing customers might prefer this store as they can read in solitary. But by opening a cafe, the whole place will be bustling with activity and some people might choose to avoid visiting it. If so, this evidence weakens the recommendation.

It is also established that Regal Books have recently opened a cafe, but the success of the store after the opening is not given. If Regal Books have faced a decline in their sales, then this would completely be in opposition to the prediction that the directors have arrived at. This detail is very important in strengthening or weakening the board's claim.

To conclude, opening a store might look like a great idea from an outside perspective to enlarge business of the store, but much thought and consideration needs to be put before taking this decision. As stated above, the existing pieces of evidence are not sufficiently valid and it would be in the good interest of the store that the Board reevaluates the claim and provide enough supporting arguments such as surveys before jumping to a conclusion.