Themes for Issues-Analysis

By Abhi Tom on Jan 18, 2012 with Comments 0

Structure of GMAT Issue-Analysis Prompt-

General Themes for GMAT Issues-Analysis

Here is an example of Issue prompt that is similar to many of the ones in the official pool. The directive follows the statement:-

“The safety of consumer goods can best be ensured not by way of government regulation but rather through voluntary efforts of the private businesses that produce those goods.”

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the foregoing statement? Use reasons and/or examples from your experience, observation, and/or reading to explain your viewpoint.

General Themes for GMAT Issues-Analysis

Many of the topics are especially from the field of business management and the official pool of more than a hundred Issue statements embrace a broad range of topics that are of general intellectual interest.

These are some topics of the general themes represented among the Official GMAT Issue topics:

• The importance of innovation vs. tradition and convention
• Weighing public interest against self-interest
• The virtues and drawbacks of the profit-maximization motive
• The role of humanities vs. the role of science and technology
• Individual initiative vs. conformity and teamwork
• The qualities of an effective leader
• The comparative value of formal education vs. practical experience
• Personal privacy issues in the new information age
• The merits and drawbacks of corporate accountability
• The social duties of government vs. private enterprise

NOTE - Keep in mind that this is only a partial list, and that several different Issue topics might cover the same general theme, but from different angles.