The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a Central Plaza store owner.
"Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here, we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
In a letter from a central plaza store owner, it is stated that the decrease in business is due to the increase number of skateboard users in the plaza. While it is true that there is an increase in the amount of litter and vandalism in the Plaza, this store owner's argument does not make a strong case for the decrease of shoppers in Central Plaza. It is easy to understand that the owners want an increase in their business, yet, this argument is filled with holes and assumptions and before this recommendation can be properly evaluated, three questions must be answered.
First of all, the author assumed that the increase in the amount of litter and vandalism is caused by the skateboard users in Central Plaza. It is not clear, however, that is the case. For example, there may have been a decrease of community workers and security guards assigned to clean and guard the Plaza. So since there is a reduced number of workers to help clean the place throughout the day, it is only normal they will see the resulting effect at the end of the day. We just cannot say for sure that skateboarding have increased vandalism in the Plaza. Perhaps, there is not enough funding to hire people to clean the place; this in turn may have led to some people complaining. So, unless we can access to a representative of the city that can explain a link between community workers and littering and vandalism in the Plaza, we simply cannot readily assume that skateboarders are the cause.
Additionally, the author implies nothing has changed for 2 full years. While skateboard users may have had an effect to the amount of shoppers in Central Plaza, a concrete connection between a drop in business and skateboard users cannot be effectively made. Maybe over the course of 2 years, the store's rent have become more expensive and cause some stores to close down, thus reducing the clientele targeted by the type of products they were selling. This increase in rent may have caused stores to either not survive or to relocate somewhere else where they could thrive. This in turn may have led the affected store owners to complain. yet, we do not know the percentage of the complaining store owners to the overall amount of store onwers in the Plaza. To strengthen and prove the validity of this argument; the author should have a true representation of the clientele in each store and plus an knowledge of their accounts and rents for the past two years.
Building upon the implication that there was a steady decrease over the past 2 years because of the bad effect of skateboard users have on central Plaza, the author suggest that prohibiting skateboard users will not push away the remaining customers but rather bring back business to its former glory. Perhaps, over the course of those 2 years, another shopping center may have opened on another part of town which had a better location and more affordable than the stores in central Plaza. This new shopping center may have slowly attracted customers from all parts of town including the ones that used to go to Central Plaza. Moreover, the skateboard users may have brought in more customers and kept the ones that may have liked to have another form of entertainement while they shop. Consequently, prohibiting them to use the Plaza is not guaranteed to increase business to its previous high levels.
A clean, beautiful and thriving shopping center may attract customers whcih in turn will increase the amount of business in the Plaza. However, the argument, as it stands now is flawed because of the lack of evidence to prove that skateboard users are the cause to a decrease in customers. If teh author is able to answer these questions asked above and able to uncover more evidence that have caused this loss of business flow, then, it will be possible to fully evaluate the viability of the proposed recommendation to ban skateboard from Central Plaza.
Comments
Essay evaluation report
Sentence: This in turn may have led the affected store owners to complain. yet, we do not know the percentage of the complaining store owners to the overall amount of store onwers in the Plaza.
Error: onwers Suggestion: owners
Sentence: Moreover, the skateboard users may have brought in more customers and kept the ones that may have liked to have another form of entertainement while they shop.
Error: entertainement Suggestion: entertainment
Sentence: A clean, beautiful and thriving shopping center may attract customers whcih in turn will increase the amount of business in the Plaza.
Error: whcih Suggestion: which
Sentence: If teh author is able to answer these questions asked above and able to uncover more evidence that have caused this loss of business flow, then, it will be possible to fully evaluate the viability of the proposed recommendation to ban skateboard from Central Plaza.
Error: teh Suggestion: the
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argument 1 -- OK
argument 2 -- OK
argument 3 -- OK
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Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 5.0 out of 6
Category: Very Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 3 2
No. of Sentences: 24 15
No. of Words: 677 350
No. of Characters: 3171 1500
No. of Different Words: 279 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 5.101 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.684 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.538 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 213 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 150 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 110 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 59 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 28.208 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 9.806 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.792 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.329 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.513 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.116 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 260, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'owners'' or 'owner's'?
Suggestion: owners'; owner's
... and vandalism in the Plaza, this store owners argument does not make a strong case fo...
^^^^^^
Line 5, column 641, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Yet
... the affected store owners to complain. yet, we do not know the percentage of the c...
^^^
Line 5, column 900, Rule ID: EN_A_VS_AN
Message: Use 'a' instead of 'an' if the following word doesn't start with a vowel sound, e.g. 'a sentence', 'a university'
Suggestion: a
...of the clientele in each store and plus an knowledge of their accounts and rents f...
^^
Line 7, column 345, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...rhaps, over the course of those 2 years, another shopping center may have opened ...
^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, consequently, first, however, if, may, moreover, so, then, thus, while, for example, first of all, it is true
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 24.0 19.6327345309 122% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 23.0 12.9520958084 178% => OK
Conjunction : 19.0 11.1786427146 170% => OK
Relative clauses : 16.0 13.6137724551 118% => OK
Pronoun: 45.0 28.8173652695 156% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 101.0 55.5748502994 182% => OK
Nominalization: 13.0 16.3942115768 79% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 3242.0 2260.96107784 143% => OK
No of words: 677.0 441.139720559 153% => Less content wanted.
Chars per words: 4.78877400295 5.12650576532 93% => OK
Fourth root words length: 5.10090420048 4.56307096286 112% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.58467017017 2.78398813304 93% => OK
Unique words: 282.0 204.123752495 138% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.416543574594 0.468620217663 89% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 1020.6 705.55239521 145% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.59920159681 94% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 15.0 4.96107784431 302% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 9.0 8.76447105788 103% => OK
Subordination: 5.0 2.70958083832 185% => OK
Conjunction: 0.0 1.67365269461 0% => OK
Preposition: 3.0 4.22255489022 71% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 25.0 19.7664670659 126% => OK
Sentence length: 27.0 22.8473053892 118% => OK
Sentence length SD: 59.8383957004 57.8364921388 103% => OK
Chars per sentence: 129.68 119.503703932 109% => OK
Words per sentence: 27.08 23.324526521 116% => OK
Discourse Markers: 4.56 5.70786347227 80% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 4.0 5.25449101796 76% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 14.0 8.20758483034 171% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 8.0 6.88822355289 116% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 3.0 4.67664670659 64% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.298358493029 0.218282227539 137% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.101062823469 0.0743258471296 136% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0933913963846 0.0701772020484 133% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.194095647194 0.128457276422 151% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0715541447972 0.0628817314937 114% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 14.7 14.3799401198 102% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 52.53 48.3550499002 109% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 7.1628742515 43% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 12.6 12.197005988 103% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 10.8 12.5979740519 86% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 7.63 8.32208582834 92% => OK
difficult_words: 114.0 98.500998004 116% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 17.5 12.3882235529 141% => OK
gunning_fog: 12.8 11.1389221557 115% => OK
text_standard: 13.0 11.9071856287 109% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Write the essay in 30 minutes.
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.