Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archa

Essay topics:

Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

Firstly, in order to assess the author’s claims, we would need to know whether there is evidence of the width and depth of the Brim River in prehistoric times. Perhaps the river was fordable in old days. If we verify that there was a traditional Palean song that describe in old days Palean people walk across the river, using basket to hold food, for example, it would weaken the original argument. In that case, Palean residents bring baskets to the Litho, without need a boat.

Secondly, another piece of evidence about the existence of boats in the region nearby Palean, such as the Litho, would be helpful for evaluating the conclusion. It is possible that large number boats that used in ancient times were buried in Litho. If we evidenced that archaeologists have dug out wooden boats along the river in Litho, it would weaken the the author’s theory. However, it may be the case that, despite the existence of boats in the region, such boats never used to transport baskets. It may be, for instance, the Lithos basket makers crossed the river to learn the Palean technique and then return home to weave their own copies. Such evidence would strengthen the argument.

Thirdly, we would also need to know the level of similarity between Palean baskets and the "Palean" basket, which was discovered in Lithos. Maybe they were both use tree branch as material. But their shape, size and color had significant difference. If it turn out the “Palean” basket lacked a unique mark belonged only by palean basket, it would undermine the author’s conclusion. If according to the verification of specialist, this two kinds of basket are the same, that would enhance the argument. Without knowing their similarity, the author’s conclusion would be incredible.

Votes
Average: 6.3 (4 votes)
Essay Categories

Comments

If it turn out
If it turned out

flaws:
Number of Paragraphs: 3 5

better to have 5 paragraphs:

para 1: introduction
para 2: argument 1
para 3: argument 2
para 4: argument 3
para 5: conclusion

argument 1 -- OK

argument 2 -- not OK. suggested: 'The Palean basket could arrive other place through many possible methods such as trade, or boats possessed by other culture'.

argument 3 -- OK

Attribute Value Ideal
Score: ? out of 6
Category: ? Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 1 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 16 15
No. of Words: 296 350
No. of Characters: 1415 1500
No. of Different Words: 151 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.148 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.78 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.374 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 98 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 61 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 42 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 24 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 18.5 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 8.17 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.625 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.336 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.477 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.111 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 3 5