Reference no: EM132474799 , Length: 1100 Words

Essay Assignment - Product/Service Analysis

1. Pick a product or service which you use regularly and/or which you are an expert in using. Ideally, this should be something you use/do multiple times in a day, week, or month; familiarity is the first requirement. (A few acceptable examples: a toaster, a car dealership, a computer, a hair stylist, a coffee maker, a restaurant, a cell phone, a convenience store, a club, a party venue.)

2. With your chosen product or service, take some notes. Use the following pointers to guide you:

A. Specifications and design:

Functionality: What tasks are the product/service mainly designed for? What do you mainly (or exclusively) use the product/service for?

Design: How is it laid out, designed, or organized? How does it do what it does? How easy (or difficult) is it to use for what you need? Is the layout streamlined, spare, cluttered, confusing, or what?

Cost: How much does/did it cost? What features, advantages, or distinctions are you paying for?

If you could sum up the tone or attitude of this product/service in one word, what would that word be?

B. Intended audience/users:

Why are you attracted to this product/service? What made you buy it (or try it out) to begin with, and what keeps you coming back? What does it offer over others similar to it?

What other kind(s) of people or groups might be attracted to this product/service? Is the intended audience young, middle-aged, old, or all three? What specific age group or groups does it target, if any (12- to 18-year-old teenage girls, Atlanta Falcons fans, dog owners, adults over 65)? What elements suggest this?

Are the intended users mostly male or female, or both? What elements suggest this?

What kind of background, knowledge, and/or education does someone need to enjoy and/or appreciate this product/service? What elements suggest this?

C. Overall intent or purpose (the product/service may accomplish more than one of these purposes, and/or it may have another one not listed here):

What does the product/service seek to do mainly: sell or advertise, inform, educate, provide value, make life easier, provide a positive experience, persuade, or some combination of these? How does it accomplish these purposes?

What is suggested by the product/service in addition to the benefits you can receive? (For example, does it advocate a certain lifestyle, point of view, attitude, philosophy...?)

What are the benefits and/or drawbacks of using this particular product/service and not another similar one? (That is, what are the benefits and drawbacks to others besides you?)

Would you recommend this product/service to others? If so, for what reasons? If not, why not?

3. From a big-picture perspective, your analysis should address one or more of these questions:

i. What is the product/service's main purpose (or purposes)?

ii. For whom is this product/service intended?

iii. How useful is this product/service? Does it accomplish its intended purpose, and how?

You can make any of the above questions your main focus. Hopefully, other interesting questions will ask themselves as you put this together.

How you structure the essay and what information you include is up to you, but it must have these elements: a recognizable introduction, body and conclusion; a main point or thesis statement expressed by the end of the first paragraph; and convincing evidence which supports and illustrates your main point.

To "analyze" means to examine the smaller parts of a whole, determine their function, and explain their significance (and their relationships to each other). Don't try to include every single aspect of the product/service in your essay. If you're visually oriented, for example, you could focus strictly on appearance and "looks." If you're more interested in efficiency or usability, you could select two or three representative features and pick them apart.

Whatever your approach, you should analyze several different "smaller" parts which will best make your case: why the product/service is fun, worthwhile, worth the money, educational, addicting, helpful, and/or a waste of time.

No outside research is required. You should be able to write the analysis based on your own (thorough) observations and experience.