📋 Written Ability Test (WAT) Analysis Guide: Can Urban Farming Solve the Problem of Food Deserts?

🌍 Understanding the Topic’s Importance

Urban farming aligns with sustainability goals and can address critical societal challenges like food deserts, linking seamlessly to B-school themes like innovation, social impact, and urban management.

⏳ Effective Planning and Writing

• 🧠 Time Allocation:
• Planning: 5 minutes
• Writing: 20 minutes
• Reviewing: 5 minutes

💡 Introduction Techniques for Essays

• 🌍 Contrast Approach:
  “While supermarkets dominate urban food supply, millions still live in food deserts without access to fresh produce. Urban farming offers a potential solution, but its viability is under debate.”
• ⏳ Timeline Approach:
  “From simple rooftop gardens to high-tech vertical farms, urban farming has evolved as a response to growing food insecurity in cities.”

📚 Structuring the Essay Body

• 🏆 Achievements:
• Example: Detroit’s urban farms improving accessibility.
• Data: Vertical farming’s 15x productivity increase compared to traditional methods.
• ⚠️ Challenges:
• Example: Zoning restrictions in cities like Los Angeles.
• Comparison: Singapore’s success vs. barriers in the US.
• 🚀 Future Outlook:
• Integration with smart cities.
• Policy-driven incentives for urban farming.

🎯 Concluding Effectively

• ⚖️ Balanced Conclusion:
  “While urban farming alone cannot eliminate food deserts, it can complement broader policy initiatives to create sustainable food systems.”
• 🌏 Future-Focused Conclusion:
  “By blending technology, community efforts, and policy, urban farming can emerge as a key player in urban food security.”

🔍 Analyzing Successes and Shortcomings

• ✨ Key Achievements: Reduction in food desert zones, community empowerment through farming projects.
• ⚠️ Ongoing Challenges: High costs and technical requirements.
• 🌏 Global Context: Singapore’s vertical farms as a benchmark.

🛠️ Recommendations for Sustainable Progress

• 💰 Incentivize Urban Farming: Provide subsidies to make farming more accessible and sustainable.
• 🏙️ Integrate Farming Zones: Include urban agriculture in city planning frameworks.

✍️ Sample Short Essays

• ⚖️ Balanced Perspective:
  “Urban farming addresses food deserts by providing fresh produce locally, but scalability remains a challenge. Policy and technology must align to maximize impact.”
• 💡 Solution-Oriented:
  “Hydroponics and rooftop gardens can transform urban food systems. Cities should invest in urban farming to fight food deserts.”
• 🌏 Global Comparison:
  “While Singapore’s vertical farming thrives, many cities lack the infrastructure to replicate this success. Urban farming needs global collaboration to grow effectively.”