Will Barnes & Noble follow Borders into bankruptcy?
Supporting Claims:
No. The appeal of a physical location to read & shop still seems to be ingrained in consumers’ minds.
No. Barnes & Noble got into the E-Book boom early, way before Borders did. Their Nook seems to be at least moderately popular.
Challenges: How can Barnes & Noble compete with shrinking margins due to online retailers such as Amazon & eBay?
Barnes & Noble, inevitably it seems, will need to downsize greatly. The traditional bookstore industry is expected to shrink by at least 1% annually for the next 5 years.
I think this is a very solid start to your project. You can only go up from here but I’d suggest maybe developing one or two more claims. Unless you can talk about the two you already have for 6-8 pages. Perhaps you can try to explore the history of the growth of the company. I don’t know exactly how well Barnes & Noble is doing but maybe throwing in some statistics, if they support your argument, could give you another potential claim. If they aren’t doing so well, this could potentially be a counterargument. The counterargument could state that the company is declining and perhaps people are transitioning into a different era of reading. You could also argue that Barnes & Noble could go bankrupt because books just aren’t popular anymore. You can talk about how the way we read is different and go on to talk about all the professors and teachers claim that they can’t get their students to read full novels. Because students and following generations can’t read entire novels, Barnes & Noble won’t be able to sell novels anymore and eventually go out of business. I think the only potential problem I see here is that because this topic is very business oriented, and you are very familiar with the subject, it might be difficult for the reader to keep up with the information or terms that you speak of in your essay. Try and remember that not all of us are familiar with the topic and throw in a few definitions here and there so that we follow what you’re saying. But don’t let it get boring either! Make sure to let your voice come through this essay even though it’s a more academic paper.
My sister (the one who reads a lot) has a nook, so take that for what it’s worth. It’s a pretty nifty device if I do say so myself. Now onto your project. I like the idea a lot, It is well-defined and you should have no problem finding good research to back up your claims. I personally like Barnes and Noble, it is a nice place to go relax on a Saturday (aren’t I cool…) For people like me, it is the perfect service. Walk in, and explore books ranging from SAT prep books to puppy calendars. There are nooks to mess around with and a nice little café if you work up an appetite. I know that libraries offer essentially the same thing, but there’s something about a library that I honestly hate. I have a feeling that it is the quietness… What I am trying to say is that Barnes and Noble has a great atmosphere and I hope you are right, that they do not go out of business.
Going on what Jacky said, I would definitely offer a counter-argument to your claim. Explain how some could think that Barnes and Noble could go bankrupt, but then squash that idea into the ground. Prove that you are right, and that you know you are right. Persuasion is key here. Now here’s where I disagree with Jacky (please don’t hurt me Diaz), I don’t really see how this could get boring. I think it is an interesting topic, and as long as you don’t stray too far from the point then you’ll be fine. Adding definitions to this essay could be a good idea, but I feel that doing a lot of defining could be boring in itself. Don’t assume that your readers are complete morons, after all this is an academic paper. I can’t understand some of the things that I find on the databases but that’s okay, those entries are not meant for me.
Anyway, I would actually like to see the ‘business’ side of this essay as well as a few stories that bring the essay back down to earth. Don’t let the whole thing be about statistics and charts. I see that you said “The appeal of a physical location to read & shop still seems to be ingrained in consumers’ minds.” I like it. I would add a story from a customer or something along those lines.
Well keep working, I have a feeling that this will be one of my favorite projects. Obviously everything that I just wrote is an opinion and you don’t have to listen to any of it. I tried to just write what I thought in an attempt to help you out as best as I can. So good luck buddy.