The following memorandum is from the business manager of Happy Pancake House restaurants.
"Butter has now been replaced by margarine in Happy Pancake House restaurants throughout the southwestern United States. Only about 2 percent of customers have complained, indicating that an average of 98 people out of 100 are happy with the change. Furthermore, many servers have reported that a number of customers who ask for butter do not complain when they are given margarine instead. Clearly, either these customers cannot distinguish butter from margarine or they use the term 'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, we predict that Happy Pancake House will be able to increase profits dramatically if we extend this cost-saving change to all our restaurants in the southeast and northeast as well."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the prediction.
With the information provided, the assumptions leading to the conclusion drawn in this memorandum remain unconvincing. The business manager claims that Happy Pancake House restaurants in the southwestern United states changed butter into margarine in their cook. he believes the report about overall 2 percent of complaints and a number of complaints in special case that they provide customer requiring butter with margarine logically supports the satisfaction of customers about recent replacement, from butter to margarine. The evidences and assumptions the memo rests on, However, is too scanty to prove the conclusion.
first of all, even conceding only 2 percent of complaints, it cannot be directly connected to 98 percent of satisfaction from customers. we can discuss alternative explanations to rebut the evidence. The business manager says the change occurs recently, so the complaints are also not too long ago. In other words, a number of complaints in the future lie dormant. it cannot be certain that customers do complain right after feeling unsavory from margarine, so they need enough time to think the change in the restaurant and raise their complaints. if so, the probability to increase the percentage of complaints is pretty high in the long run.
Secondly, the expressions of the number descripted in the memo is so vague. The business manager write down his report that "many servers" say that "a number of" customers who ask for butter do not complain when served margarine instead. The murky description about the number like this, obviously, cannot be the adequate evidence. Except for this, he doesn't provide any information about this special situation. "A number of" customers several servers reported can be included in respectively different proportion as the specific number like 10 people or 100 people. if only few people complain as the business manager assumes, it is not qualitative index to evaluate the customer's satisfaction. The number does not commensurate the degree of each customer's dissatisfaction.
Finally, it is implausible to affirm that the customers do not feel the distinction between butter and margarine or they think the word "butter" means either butter or margarine. As I mentioned, the situation in the memorandum is unordinary, because the servers belie customers margarine by naming it butter. In this case, the customer can be easily confused to margarine. Another possibility may be explained that customers may think it is just the server's mistakes so they just decide to acquiesce for the server. Without eliminating these possibilities, the argument is still controversial.
To sum, the argument in the memorandum is rife with holes. To evaluate it better, we need more specific information discussed above. first, the total complaints in the long term, at least 3 months are required. Second, the precise and specific figures of customers and servers are needed for the calculation of rate. Lastly, we need to know whether other possibility of customers' behavior to confuse butter and margarine can be excluded or not.
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: 21 15
No. of Words: 488 350
No. of Characters: 2539 1500
No. of Different Words: 234 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.7 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.203 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.928 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 204 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 153 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 117 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 82 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 23.238 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 14.339 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.619 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.293 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.511 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.109 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 264, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: He
...ed butter into margarine in their cook. he believes the report about overall 2 per...
^^
Line 5, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: First
...oo scanty to prove the conclusion. first of all, even conceding only 2 percent o...
^^^^^
Line 5, column 138, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: We
...percent of satisfaction from customers. we can discuss alternative explanations to...
^^
Line 5, column 366, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: It
...f complaints in the future lie dormant. it cannot be certain that customers do com...
^^
Line 5, column 550, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: If
... restaurant and raise their complaints. if so, the probability to increase the per...
^^
Line 9, column 373, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING
Message: Possible spelling mistake found
Suggestion: doesn't
... adequate evidence. Except for this, he doesnt provide any information about this spec...
^^^^^^
Line 9, column 599, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: If
...ic number like 10 people or 100 people. if only few people complain as the busines...
^^
Line 9, column 704, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[2]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'customers'' or 'customer's'?
Suggestion: customers'; customer's
...s not qualitative index to evaluate the customers satisfaction. The number does not comme...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 9, column 780, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[2]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'customers'' or 'customer's'?
Suggestion: customers'; customer's
...oes not commensurate the degree of each customers dissatisfaction. Finally, it is im...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 13, column 312, Rule ID: IT_VBZ[1]
Message: Did you mean 'butters'?
Suggestion: butters
... belie customers margarine by naming it butter. In this case, the customer can be easi...
^^^^^^
Line 17, column 75, Rule ID: IT_VBZ[1]
Message: Did you mean 'betters', 'wells'?
Suggestion: betters; wells
...ndum is rife with holes. To evaluate it better, we need more specific information disc...
^^^^^^
Line 17, column 134, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: First
...e specific information discussed above. first, the total complaints in the long term,...
^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, finally, first, however, if, lastly, may, second, secondly, so, still, at least, except for, first of all, in other words
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 19.0 19.6327345309 97% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 12.0 12.9520958084 93% => OK
Conjunction : 11.0 11.1786427146 98% => OK
Relative clauses : 9.0 13.6137724551 66% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 33.0 28.8173652695 115% => OK
Preposition: 66.0 55.5748502994 119% => OK
Nominalization: 18.0 16.3942115768 110% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2661.0 2260.96107784 118% => OK
No of words: 487.0 441.139720559 110% => OK
Chars per words: 5.46406570842 5.12650576532 107% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.69766713281 4.56307096286 103% => OK
Word Length SD: 3.06808890224 2.78398813304 110% => OK
Unique words: 244.0 204.123752495 120% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.501026694045 0.468620217663 107% => OK
syllable_count: 830.7 705.55239521 118% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59920159681 106% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 9.0 4.96107784431 181% => OK
Article: 18.0 8.76447105788 205% => Less articles wanted as sentence beginning.
Subordination: 4.0 2.70958083832 148% => OK
Conjunction: 0.0 1.67365269461 0% => OK
Preposition: 9.0 4.22255489022 213% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 27.0 19.7664670659 137% => OK
Sentence length: 18.0 22.8473053892 79% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 48.2376945082 57.8364921388 83% => OK
Chars per sentence: 98.5555555556 119.503703932 82% => OK
Words per sentence: 18.037037037 23.324526521 77% => OK
Discourse Markers: 4.88888888889 5.70786347227 86% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 12.0 5.25449101796 228% => Less language errors wanted.
Sentences with positive sentiment : 11.0 8.20758483034 134% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 10.0 6.88822355289 145% => 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: 0.188875635044 0.218282227539 87% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0474045838906 0.0743258471296 64% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0694378599151 0.0701772020484 99% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.107686176553 0.128457276422 84% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.073134026013 0.0628817314937 116% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 13.3 14.3799401198 92% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 44.75 48.3550499002 93% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.5 12.197005988 94% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 14.09 12.5979740519 112% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.61 8.32208582834 103% => OK
difficult_words: 126.0 98.500998004 128% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 11.5 12.3882235529 93% => OK
gunning_fog: 9.2 11.1389221557 83% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.9071856287 76% => 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.