This month, we will be continuing our study of the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) task. Again, questions used are from the Pool of Sample Topics available in the Official Guide to the GMAT. Alert, some of the questions will look familiar when you actually take the test.

　　Now, we will be reading the question:

　　「Question No. 55」

　　The following appeared as part of an article in a health club trade publication:

　　“After experiencing a decline in usage by its members, Healthy Heart fitness center built an indoor swimming pool. Since usage did not increase significantly, it appears that health club managers should adopt another approach—lowering membership fees rather than installing expensive new features.”

　　【We usually write about a minimum of 4 points of doubt / logic flaws, although we may find more than 4 points.】

　　Point of Doubt 1 (and a sample paragraph in response to this point):

　　It is apparent that the purpose of price reduction is to reverse the decline of usage by the center’s members rather than to increase the center’s membership. However, the proposed reduction in the membership fees is more likely to attract new members than to stimulate the existing members’ desire to use the center, since the existing members have paid the fees and will not benefit from the price reduction. Worse, the reduction may meanwhile disappoint the existing members, who joined the center before and paid a higher price, and thereby discourage their visits or even cause a further loss of those users. (This is a point that is a bit complex, because it consists of two sub-points.)【常见逻辑疑点：偷换概念。】

　　Point of Doubt 2 (just the outline of the idea for your reference):

　　The membership fee may not be a factor that decides whether members will use the center. 【常见逻辑疑点：其它原因。】

　　Point of Doubt 3 (just the outline of the idea for your reference):

　　The indoor pool may be useless, and other expensive facilities may be however useful. 【常见逻辑疑点：范畴差异。】

　　Point of Doubt 4 (just the outline of the idea for your reference):

　　Features like the indoor pool may be useless for Healthy Heart and however useful for other health clubs. 【常见逻辑疑点：范围差异。】

　　Point of Doubt 5 (and a sample paragraph in response to this point):

　　If the indoor pool was recently built, it has since been only a short period of time, and it is likely that many of the center’s existing members are not yet aware that the center now has an indoor pool. In this case, it is unfair to deny the effect of the indoor pool, and instead, the lack of awareness of the pool may be the reason behind the not-so-full usage. In the future, when members’ awareness increases, their usage of the center may increase as a result. 【常见逻辑疑点：时间因素。】