Prompt 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

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Prompt: “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 by the author may at first may sound logical but on further contemplation one observes that lack of concrete evidences. Hence the author conclusion that by terminating the student evaluation of professors, the graduates will have a better chance at securing jobs is untenable. However the argument would have been strengthen if certain evidences were provides .

The author first presents the fact that the overall student grade averages at omega have risen by 30 percent. Here the author fails to provide prudent evidences that link the percent rise to the new procedures. He directly presumes that the rise was due to the implementation of the new method. However there could have been other factors , that could have affected the students average grade like - introduction of new teaching schemes , a change in syllabus or new recruits . Hence the author should have stated solid evidences that supported his claim that new procedure was the sole factor that led to grade percent rise .The evidence would then have bolsterred the argument

Moreover the author then asserts that the employers believe that the grades were flawed and do no reflect the students achievement. The author surmised that the grades were dubious . However he fails to consider that maybe the new procedure did have an propitious effect on the student's performance. Perhaps because the professors were evaluated , they enhanced their teaching method or maybe they adopted better techniques; this also could have led to an increase in average grade percent. Thus the authors claim contains an element of ambiguity. It can be negated if the author had laid down certain evidences that prove that the higher grades are not authentic.

Finally the author concludes that terminating the procedure would enable the graduates to secure better jobs. Suppose if the university terminates the evaluation procedure then , if the grades were not valid the average grades will depreciate. Moreover if the grades were legitimate and supposing the grades were a result of the new procedure, discontinuing the procedure will then have an adverse effect on the grade. In both the above mentioned scenarios the graduates are unlikely to get a better job. Thus there is no guarantee that the graduates will get a better job just by terminating the evaluation procedure. However if a direct connection was suggested by concrete evidences between the termination of the procedure and the ensuring of better jobs was suggested by evidences, then it would have substantiated the claim.

Because of the want of evidences the argument falls apart. Hence the author should have cited definitive evidences like- surveys, statistics- on which sound assumptions could be based. Then the argument would have been more credible.

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Average: 6.7 (3 votes)
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Comments

argument 1 -- OK

argument 2 -- OK

argument 3 -- OK

Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 5.0 out of 6
Category: Very Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 0 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2
No. of Sentences: 23 15
No. of Words: 446 350
No. of Characters: 2306 1500
No. of Different Words: 196 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.596 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.17 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.643 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 175 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 136 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 98 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 66 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 19.391 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.335 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.783 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.339 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.535 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.129 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5