The following appeared in the summary of a study on headaches suffered by the residents of
Mentia.
"Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat
headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, for the past several decades,
food-processing companies have also been adding salicylates to foods as preservatives. This rise in the commercial use of salicylates has been found to correlate with a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by participants in our twenty-year study.
Recently, food-processing companies have found that salicylates can also be used as flavor
additives for foods. With this new use for salicylates, we can expect a continued steady
decline in the number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia."
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.
The author stated that the study of Salicylates, which was conducted over a vicennial period, is sufficient to conclude that the use of this substance will lead to decline in number of headaches experienced by the denizens of Mentia. While this claim might be true, the conclusion is erroneous. This is because the author based his/her argument on illogical reasoning, questionable assumption, and absence of quantification.
To begin, while citing the use of Salicylates as preservatives, the author concluded that this substance has led to gradual decrease in the rate of headaches reported. The author failed to consider alternative explanation to this decline. Perhaps the people who used these drugs also took some elixirs that might have abet the lessening of headaches. It might even be that the headaches reported are as a result of stress. Hence, once the person rest after taking Salicylates, the headache vanishes. To strengthen this argument, the author would need to show other circumstances that could have led to the waning of headache. Without this, it will be erroneous to conclude that Salicylates lessen headaches.
Additionally, the author cited a study without considering some cogents facts that are necessary to validate this study. This author assumed that the study, which was conducted over a twenty-year period, is flawless. However, the author failed to show how the study was conducted. Also, was the study conducted in Mentia or foreign city? If it was in Mentia, how many people participated in the study? If it is a small group, which is adopted to represent the whole citizens of Mentia, then the conclusion is flawed. To ameliorate this argument, the author needs to show if the study was truly sincerely conducted.
Furthermore, while referencing that Salicylates leads to steady wane of headache, the author assumes the use of Salicylates as additive will lead to further decline in headache. The upshot might be the other way round. Additional use of Salicylates might probably lead to the advent of other diseases. Obviously, excessive intake of substances do have detrimental effect. Increase the use of Salicylates might even be perilous. Nothing in the argument states that this safe. Thus, it would be parlous for Salicylates to be further used as additive without any investigation on its outcome.
In summary, the author cited that the use of Salicylates has led to decrease in headache. Therefore, this product should be further used additives. While this might sound like a good conclusion, the bases upon which this synopsis depends is largely flawed. Without the author considering the stated evidence, the argument would remain illogical.
Comments
e-rater score report
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 4.5 out of 6
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 3 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 5 2
No. of Sentences: 28 15
No. of Words: 431 350
No. of Characters: 2197 1500
No. of Different Words: 190 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.556 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.097 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.783 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 162 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 120 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 92 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 62 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 15.393 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 6.945 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.536 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.293 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.476 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.071 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 3, column 319, Rule ID: HAVE_PART_AGREEMENT[1]
Message: Use past participle here: 'abetted'.
Suggestion: abetted
... also took some elixirs that might have abet the lessening of headaches. It might ev...
^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, furthermore, hence, however, if, so, then, therefore, thus, while, in summary, as a result
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 24.0 19.6327345309 122% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 16.0 12.9520958084 124% => OK
Conjunction : 2.0 11.1786427146 18% => More conjunction wanted.
Relative clauses : 17.0 13.6137724551 125% => OK
Pronoun: 35.0 28.8173652695 121% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 62.0 55.5748502994 112% => OK
Nominalization: 13.0 16.3942115768 79% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2270.0 2260.96107784 100% => OK
No of words: 430.0 441.139720559 97% => OK
Chars per words: 5.27906976744 5.12650576532 103% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.55372829156 4.56307096286 100% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.91222224412 2.78398813304 105% => OK
Unique words: 198.0 204.123752495 97% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.460465116279 0.468620217663 98% => OK
syllable_count: 725.4 705.55239521 103% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59920159681 106% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 6.0 4.96107784431 121% => OK
Article: 14.0 8.76447105788 160% => OK
Subordination: 6.0 2.70958083832 221% => Less adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 1.0 1.67365269461 60% => OK
Preposition: 6.0 4.22255489022 142% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 28.0 19.7664670659 142% => OK
Sentence length: 15.0 22.8473053892 66% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 42.5673535921 57.8364921388 74% => OK
Chars per sentence: 81.0714285714 119.503703932 68% => OK
Words per sentence: 15.3571428571 23.324526521 66% => OK
Discourse Markers: 3.42857142857 5.70786347227 60% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 1.0 5.25449101796 19% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 7.0 8.20758483034 85% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 7.0 6.88822355289 102% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 14.0 4.67664670659 299% => Less facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.149970959643 0.218282227539 69% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.049152704972 0.0743258471296 66% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0473562539418 0.0701772020484 67% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0919732748135 0.128457276422 72% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0305882094901 0.0628817314937 49% => Paragraphs are similar to each other. Some content may get duplicated or it is not exactly right on the topic.
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 11.1 14.3799401198 77% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 47.79 48.3550499002 99% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 10.3 12.197005988 84% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.75 12.5979740519 101% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.6 8.32208582834 103% => OK
difficult_words: 115.0 98.500998004 117% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 12.0 12.3882235529 97% => OK
gunning_fog: 8.0 11.1389221557 72% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.9071856287 76% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 58.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 3.5 Out of 6
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.