An ancient, traditional remedy for insomnia—the scent of lavender flowers—has now been proved effective. In a recent study, 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks on lavender-scented pillows in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored electronically. During the first week, volunteers continued to take their usual sleeping medication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling tired. At the beginning of the second week, the volunteers discontinued their sleeping medication. During that week, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felt even more tired. During the third week, the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than in the previous two weeks. Therefore, the study proves that lavender cures insomnia within a short period of time.
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 contends that lavender is efficacious in treating insomnia. The author provides a reasoning to bolster his argument. But, I do not concur to the relation established by the author on lavender and insomnia, this contention can be refuted as there are certain flaws in the reasoning which are highlighted in subsequent paragraphs.
First and foremost, the author established the relationship only by taking into account a certain study which had mere 30 subjects. We cannot link lavender as a remedy for treating insomnia just because it was efficient in curing 30 subjects. This generalization is far-fetched and hence we cannot just conclude that lavender is efficacious in curing insomnia. it might be the case that the 30 subjects have less intense insomnia or were in early stages, or say their body responded well to lavender but this might not be the case with everyone. Some might have allergy of lavenders or there might be a case where patients might not respond well to lavender and instead lavender might exacerbate the condition.
Secondly, this was performed in a controlled environment, monitored by experts and hence the setup is in a way biased. If the medicine works in a controlled environment it is not necessary that it will work in outside natural environment. we never know what effects it might have when tested in outside world, it might or might not work. For eg- one cannot say he is a exemplary football player just because he is excellent in playing football video-game, he might not be good at all in the field. hence true mettle of this remedy can only be tested outside the laboratory parameters.
Thirdly, the volunteers had varied response, that is their condition plummeted initially and in second week reached to a critical point, it is possible that lavender is the reason behind the exacerbation. And coming to the point of improved results in third week it might be the controlled, and quite environment along with the care provided to them by experts themselves. Experts might have a positive influence on the subjects and this might have led them to overcome insomnia.
Summing up, one cannot generalize the effect of a medicine just by taking into account a qualified study. To prove the efficacy of the medicine it requires deep analysis and a study on a larger sample size. Also, the experiment should be performed in a natural environment and the patients/ volunteers considering for the experiment must be of varied age group and different areas. As this might be a factor in considering the efficacy. hence, the author have considered just one study and established a direct relationship between lavender and insomnia and this is the reason his contention is valid.
Comments
Essay evaluation report
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 3.5 out of 6
Category: Satisfactory Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 17 15
No. of Words: 455 350
No. of Characters: 2225 1500
No. of Different Words: 200 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.619 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.89 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.781 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 164 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 129 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 102 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 54 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 26.765 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 11.425 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.647 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.336 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.586 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.177 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 3, column 362, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: It
...nder is efficacious in curing insomnia. it might be the case that the 30 subjects...
^^
Line 3, column 364, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...er is efficacious in curing insomnia. it might be the case that the 30 subjects h...
^^
Line 3, column 713, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...avender might exacerbate the condition. Secondly, this was performed in a contro...
^^^^^
Line 5, column 120, Rule ID: SENTENCE_FRAGMENT[1]
Message: “If” at the beginning of a sentence requires a 2nd clause. Maybe a comma, question or exclamation mark is missing, or the sentence is incomplete and should be joined with the following sentence.
...and hence the setup is in a way biased. If the medicine works in a controlled envi...
^^
Line 5, column 240, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: We
...ll work in outside natural environment. we never know what effects it might have w...
^^
Line 5, column 368, Rule ID: EN_A_VS_AN
Message: Use 'an' instead of 'a' if the following word starts with a vowel sound, e.g. 'an article', 'an hour'
Suggestion: an
... not work. For eg- one cannot say he is a exemplary football player just because ...
^
Line 5, column 499, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Hence
... might not be good at all in the field. hence true mettle of this remedy can only be ...
^^^^^
Line 5, column 499, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: hence,
... might not be good at all in the field. hence true mettle of this remedy can only be ...
^^^^^
Line 7, column 9, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...e the laboratory parameters. Thirdly, the volunteers had varied response, that...
^^
Line 9, column 383, Rule ID: SENTENCE_FRAGMENT[1]
Message: “As” at the beginning of a sentence requires a 2nd clause. Maybe a comma, question or exclamation mark is missing, or the sentence is incomplete and should be joined with the following sentence.
...f varied age group and different areas. As this might be a factor in considering t...
^^
Line 9, column 438, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Hence
...e a factor in considering the efficacy. hence, the author have considered just one st...
^^^^^
Line 9, column 595, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...and this is the reason his contention is valid.
^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, first, hence, if, second, secondly, so, third, thirdly, well
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 27.0 19.6327345309 138% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 23.0 12.9520958084 178% => OK
Conjunction : 20.0 11.1786427146 179% => OK
Relative clauses : 10.0 13.6137724551 73% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 37.0 28.8173652695 128% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 53.0 55.5748502994 95% => OK
Nominalization: 16.0 16.3942115768 98% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2279.0 2260.96107784 101% => OK
No of words: 455.0 441.139720559 103% => OK
Chars per words: 5.00879120879 5.12650576532 98% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.61852021839 4.56307096286 101% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.85998675033 2.78398813304 103% => OK
Unique words: 205.0 204.123752495 100% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.450549450549 0.468620217663 96% => OK
syllable_count: 723.6 705.55239521 103% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.59920159681 100% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 11.0 4.96107784431 222% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 6.0 8.76447105788 68% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 2.70958083832 74% => OK
Conjunction: 3.0 1.67365269461 179% => OK
Preposition: 1.0 4.22255489022 24% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 21.0 19.7664670659 106% => OK
Sentence length: 21.0 22.8473053892 92% => OK
Sentence length SD: 44.995741799 57.8364921388 78% => OK
Chars per sentence: 108.523809524 119.503703932 91% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.6666666667 23.324526521 93% => OK
Discourse Markers: 3.38095238095 5.70786347227 59% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 12.0 5.25449101796 228% => Less language errors wanted.
Sentences with positive sentiment : 10.0 8.20758483034 122% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 4.0 6.88822355289 58% => More negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 4.67664670659 150% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.169760255806 0.218282227539 78% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0565190557457 0.0743258471296 76% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0505152647522 0.0701772020484 72% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.100429718216 0.128457276422 78% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0470749409841 0.0628817314937 75% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 13.0 14.3799401198 90% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 50.16 48.3550499002 104% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.5 12.197005988 94% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 11.78 12.5979740519 94% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.04 8.32208582834 97% => OK
difficult_words: 97.0 98.500998004 98% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 8.0 12.3882235529 65% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 11.1389221557 93% => OK
text_standard: 12.0 11.9071856287 101% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Rates: 58.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 3.5 Out of 6
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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.