Fifteen years ago, Omega University implemented a new procedure that encouraged students to evaluate the teaching effectiveness of all their professors. Since that time, Omega professors have begun to assign higher grades in their classes, and overall student grade averages at Omega have risen by 30 percent. Potential employers, looking at this dramatic rise in grades, believe that grades at Omega are inflated and do not accurately reflect student achievement; as a result, Omega graduates have not been as successful at getting jobs as have graduates from nearby Alpha University. To enable its graduates to secure better jobs, Omega University should terminate student evaluation of professors.
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 argument presented has made several assumptions and presents a convoluted logic to justify the termination of student evaluation of professors introduced 15 years ago. Without the evaluation of specific evidence pertaining to several aspects of the argument, it would be difficult to reach a concrete solution.
It is contended that since the student evaluation of professors was introduced there has been an increase of 30% in the grades on an average. An assumption has been made that since the professors are being evaluated by students they tend to give them unjustifiably good grades in order to get good student evaluations. This assumption has not been substantiated with any kind of data. Strong evidence is required on whether this practice is indeed true. It can be the case, that Omega University has actually started admitting really brilliant students whose academic prowess is better than previous batches and the spike in average grades is entirely due to the academic diligence of the students. Therefore, evidence related to the causal link between the student evaluation and increased grades has to be found. If any such evidence is unearthed then the argument will be strengthened.
The increase in the grades has led to potential employers assuming that Omega university inflates the grades of its students and does not truly reflect student achievement. Evidence regarding this practice has to be first evaluated. Concrete evidence suggesting such malpractice has to be established. Even if is corroborated that the increased grades are not a reliable indicator of student achievements, specific evidence is required to claim that student evaluation is the reason for this inflation of grades. For example, if evidence is found out which suggests that the same quality of assignments etc. submitted by students have started getting higher grades due to a relaxed grading policy of the university, independent of the student evaluations, then the argument will be weakened.
A comparison has also been made with Alpha University whose students have apparently got better job opportunities than Omega University's students. Evidence is required to firmly establish that the suggested inflation of grades is the reason for students to not get better job opportunities. Information regarding Alpha university's recruitment process as well as average grades of students should help in understanding whether Omega university grades really do come across as over the top. The reason for Alpha university's better job opportunities can be due to several other factors like better curriculum or a better placement committee at the university. In case these other factors are considered more important by recruiters in offering job opportunities to students then the argument is weakened. Also, the argument goes in a roundabout manner in suggesting that doing away with the student evaluation will result in better job opportunities for students. Evidence regarding the singular effect of terminating student evaluation is required since there can be several factors influencing jobs on offer, as mentioned earlier.
Hence, the idea to terminate student evaluation of professors is based on some lofty assumptions which have not been substantiated with any evidence. Information regarding the real reasons for the rise in grades, the role grades play in job placement and also evidence on Alpha university's supposed better placements is required before terminating the student evaluation system.
Comments
Essay evaluation report
argument 1 -- OK
argument 2 -- it is duplicated to argument 1. argument 1 is enough.
argument 3 -- OK
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Need to argue against the conclusion always. For this topic it is:
To enable its graduates to secure better jobs, Omega University should terminate student evaluation of professors.
we may argue like:
maybe the evaluation system works pretty well.
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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: 23 15
No. of Words: 541 350
No. of Characters: 2933 1500
No. of Different Words: 231 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.823 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.421 4.6
Word Length SD: 3.008 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 236 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 196 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 154 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 96 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 23.522 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 8.978 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.609 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.349 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.524 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.119 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 3, column 816, 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.
...n and increased grades has to be found. If any such evidence is unearthed then the...
^^
Line 5, column 690, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...g higher grades due to a relaxed grading policy of the university, independent of...
^^
Line 7, column 827, Rule ID: IN_A_X_MANNER[1]
Message: Consider replacing "in a roundabout manner" with adverb for "roundabout"; eg, "in a hasty manner" with "hastily".
...nt is weakened. Also, the argument goes in a roundabout manner in suggesting that doing away with the ...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
actually, also, apparently, first, hence, if, really, regarding, so, then, therefore, well, as to, for example, kind of, as well as
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 35.0 19.6327345309 178% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 8.0 12.9520958084 62% => OK
Conjunction : 6.0 11.1786427146 54% => More conjunction wanted.
Relative clauses : 13.0 13.6137724551 95% => OK
Pronoun: 20.0 28.8173652695 69% => OK
Preposition: 75.0 55.5748502994 135% => OK
Nominalization: 40.0 16.3942115768 244% => Less nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2982.0 2260.96107784 132% => OK
No of words: 541.0 441.139720559 123% => OK
Chars per words: 5.51201478743 5.12650576532 108% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.82280071112 4.56307096286 106% => OK
Word Length SD: 3.04646868244 2.78398813304 109% => OK
Unique words: 232.0 204.123752495 114% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.428835489834 0.468620217663 92% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 967.5 705.55239521 137% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.8 1.59920159681 113% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 5.0 4.96107784431 101% => OK
Article: 8.0 8.76447105788 91% => OK
Subordination: 4.0 2.70958083832 148% => OK
Conjunction: 0.0 1.67365269461 0% => OK
Preposition: 2.0 4.22255489022 47% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 24.0 19.7664670659 121% => OK
Sentence length: 22.0 22.8473053892 96% => OK
Sentence length SD: 51.2647675201 57.8364921388 89% => OK
Chars per sentence: 124.25 119.503703932 104% => OK
Words per sentence: 22.5416666667 23.324526521 97% => OK
Discourse Markers: 5.45833333333 5.70786347227 96% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 3.0 5.25449101796 57% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 13.0 8.20758483034 158% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 6.88822355289 73% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 6.0 4.67664670659 128% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.201952605908 0.218282227539 93% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0674511392587 0.0743258471296 91% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0515769342519 0.0701772020484 73% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.128174124752 0.128457276422 100% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0229677186265 0.0628817314937 37% => 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: 15.8 14.3799401198 110% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 32.22 48.3550499002 67% => OK
smog_index: 11.2 7.1628742515 156% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 14.2 12.197005988 116% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 14.97 12.5979740519 119% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.61 8.32208582834 103% => OK
difficult_words: 133.0 98.500998004 135% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 15.0 12.3882235529 121% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.8 11.1389221557 97% => OK
text_standard: 15.0 11.9071856287 126% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Rates: 66.67 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.0 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.