The following is part of a memorandum from the president of Humana University.
"Last year the number of students who enrolled in online degree programs offered by nearby Omni University increased by 50 percent. During the same year, Omni showed a significant decrease from prior years in expenditures for dormitory and classroom space, most likely because online instruction takes place via the Internet. In contrast, over the past three years, enrollment at Humana University has failed to grow and the cost of maintaining buildings has increased. Thus, to increase enrollment and solve the problem of budget deficits at Humana University, we should initiate and actively promote online degree programs like those at Omni."
Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on these assumptions and what the implications are for the argument if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
A cursory look at the statement above that an increase of 50 percent of students at Omni Universit for online degree program has resulted in significant decrease in expenditure for dormitory and classroom space seems logical; after all, online degree programs require no classroom and dormitory space. Looking critically at the statement however, the presumtion has plethora of unstated assumptions that might results in reduction in cost of maintaining buildings at Omni University; hence the argument is illogical and uncompelling for Humana University authority to accept for decision making.
Firstly, the statement linking 50 percent increase to reduction in the cost maintain building at Omni university is incoherent. How does the the writer arrive at this conclusion the reduction might be as a result of a cummulative involvement in online students enrolment over the years and not just the year under review. It might even be as a result of other programs which the university has been engaging in, aside online degree program. Other internally generated revenue sources such as remedial program, sales of products etc. These are some of the hidden or unstated assumption that are needed to be considered by the writer before this argument can be valid.
Additionally, the writer stated that the reduction in cost of maintianing building at Omni University was due to their online degree program. How does the writer arrive at this conclusion. What are his sources of information? Has went for interview at Omni? There need to be evidence to bolster his presumtion. May be an op-ed in a magazine at Omni university for students is his source of information, without interviewing the school authority. We need to know how. There is a need for more evidence from the writer to make this argument compelling.
More so, Let's assume increase in online degree programs is what translated to the reduction in cost of maintaining buildings and dormitory at Omni University. Does it mean the same will work for Humana University? Does these two universities share everything in common? what work at Omni might not work at Humana due to the interest of the students, competency of the lecturers, expertise of the I.T. personel that will handle the online program among other things. Hence the writer needs to feed us more about the human, physical and sociological composition of these two universities before his argument can be reasonable.
Finally, the writer might not be totally wrong by comparing increase in online degree enrollment at Omni University to reduction in cost of building maintainance. In all actuallity, Online degree attracts low expenditure; But there is a need for more information, inherent or hidden assumption and evidence that needs to be uncovered in terms of the two universities' compostion, students demand, expertise etc.before his presumption can be valid for authorities and decision makers at Humana University.
Comments
Essay evaluation report
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 4.0 out of 6
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 20 15
No. of Words: 471 350
No. of Characters: 2433 1500
No. of Different Words: 206 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.659 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.166 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.888 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 189 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 141 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 119 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 80 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 23.55 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 14.112 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.55 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.341 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.523 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.095 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 3, column 138, Rule ID: ENGLISH_WORD_REPEAT_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a word
Suggestion: the
...Omni university is incoherent. How does the the writer arrive at this conclusion the re...
^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 138, Rule ID: DT_DT[1]
Message: Maybe you need to remove one determiner so that only 'the' or 'the' is left.
Suggestion: the; the
...Omni university is incoherent. How does the the writer arrive at this conclusion the re...
^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 253, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'students'' or 'student's'?
Suggestion: students'; student's
... of a cummulative involvement in online students enrolment over the years and not just t...
^^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 544, Rule ID: SOME_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'some'.
Suggestion: some
...ogram, sales of products etc. These are some of the hidden or unstated assumption that are ...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 231, Rule ID: HAVE_PART_AGREEMENT[6]
Message: Note: went is a past participle of "wend". Did you mean 'gone' (past participle of "go")?
Suggestion: gone
...hat are his sources of information? Has went for interview at Omni? There need to be...
^^^^
Line 5, column 316, Rule ID: HE_VERB_AGR[8]
Message: The proper name in singular (May) must be used with a third-person verb: 'is'.
Suggestion: is
...evidence to bolster his presumtion. May be an op-ed in a magazine at Omni universi...
^^
Line 7, column 271, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: What
...niversities share everything in common? what work at Omni might not work at Humana d...
^^^^
Line 7, column 467, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Hence,
... the online program among other things. Hence the writer needs to feed us more about ...
^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, finally, first, firstly, hence, however, if, look, may, so, after all, such as, as a result
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 21.0 19.6327345309 107% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 15.0 12.9520958084 116% => OK
Conjunction : 11.0 11.1786427146 98% => OK
Relative clauses : 7.0 13.6137724551 51% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 24.0 28.8173652695 83% => OK
Preposition: 75.0 55.5748502994 135% => OK
Nominalization: 30.0 16.3942115768 183% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2487.0 2260.96107784 110% => OK
No of words: 471.0 441.139720559 107% => OK
Chars per words: 5.28025477707 5.12650576532 103% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.65859790218 4.56307096286 102% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.97760084736 2.78398813304 107% => OK
Unique words: 209.0 204.123752495 102% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.443736730361 0.468620217663 95% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 810.0 705.55239521 115% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59920159681 106% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 3.0 4.96107784431 60% => OK
Article: 5.0 8.76447105788 57% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 2.70958083832 74% => OK
Conjunction: 1.0 1.67365269461 60% => OK
Preposition: 4.0 4.22255489022 95% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 22.0 19.7664670659 111% => OK
Sentence length: 21.0 22.8473053892 92% => OK
Sentence length SD: 87.8619432654 57.8364921388 152% => OK
Chars per sentence: 113.045454545 119.503703932 95% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.4090909091 23.324526521 92% => OK
Discourse Markers: 4.36363636364 5.70786347227 76% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 8.0 5.25449101796 152% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 9.0 8.20758483034 110% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 4.0 6.88822355289 58% => More negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 9.0 4.67664670659 192% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.230874217182 0.218282227539 106% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0785955057581 0.0743258471296 106% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0621970969631 0.0701772020484 89% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.156739729328 0.128457276422 122% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0249411818893 0.0628817314937 40% => 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: 14.1 14.3799401198 98% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 41.7 48.3550499002 86% => OK
smog_index: 11.2 7.1628742515 156% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 12.7 12.197005988 104% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 13.34 12.5979740519 106% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.5 8.32208582834 102% => OK
difficult_words: 114.0 98.500998004 116% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 20.5 12.3882235529 165% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 11.1389221557 93% => OK
text_standard: 13.0 11.9071856287 109% => 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.