A recently issued twenty-year study on headaches suffered by the residents of Mentia investigated the possible therapeutic effect of consuming salicylates. Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, food-processing companies also add salicylates to foods as preservatives. The twenty-year study found a correlation between the rise in the commercial use of salicylates and a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by study participants. At the time when the study concluded, food-processing companies had just discovered that salicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods, and, as a result, many companies plan to do so. Based on these study results, some health experts predict that residents of Mentia will suffer even fewer headaches in the future.
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.
The arguemnt states that since salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin and that food-processing companies are planning to add salicylates as flavour additives for food, the residents of mentia will suffer even fewer headaches in the future. The argument uses the premise that the twenty-year study found a correlation between the rise in the commercial use of salicylates and a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by study participants. these premises have been hastily used to draw the conclusion regarding the expected decline in the number of headaches. Before any serious action is taken, the following three points must be answered.
first, the author assumes that even if the food-processing companies are successful in adding salicylates to their products, the consumers will buy these products and consume them. if food-processing companies keep adding new chemicals and the population of mentia is very health cautious then those consumers will never buy those products. For example, if the population of mentia is full of athletes, models, actors and health fanatics who are very specific about buying non processed food, then the companies will not be able to sell their product. Accordingly, the number of headaches might not decrease. Hence, we must first find out the number of health cautious people and the number of people willing to each processed food after addition of such chemicals.
Second, the author assumes that it is due to salicylates that there will be a decline in the number of headaches. Similarity in structure between salicylates and aspirin does not necessairily guarantee that they will perform the exact same role. there may also some unkown side effects due to which salicylates may be harmful to the human body. For example, there exists compound called isotopes which are of the same family yet, they may have significantly different properties. consequently, it would not be prudent to proceed forward without a deeper study on the exact role of salicylates in headaches.
Third, the author assumes that decline in the headaches observed in the study are only because of salicylates. there may be other more dominating factors that cause a reduction in the number of headaches. For example, there 20 years ago there may have been more people above the age of 60 in mentia, but now the population consists of only people less than 30 years old. these younger folks might have fewer headaches, consequently leading to lower number of headaches observed in the sample population.
In conclusion, the argument as it stands now is considerably flawed because of reliance on several unwarranted assumptions. if the health experts are able to provide resonable answers to the three aforementioned questions (perhaps in the form of systematic research study), then it would be possible to exhaustively evaluate the viability of the argument.
Comments
e-rater score report
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 3.5 out of 6
Category: Satisfactory Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 6 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 10 2
No. of Sentences: 13 15
No. of Words: 468 350
No. of Characters: 2407 1500
No. of Different Words: 216 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.651 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.143 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.818 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 182 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 137 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 97 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 68 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 36 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 14.602 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.846 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.394 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.645 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.154 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 5 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 484, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: These
...adaches reported by study participants. these premises have been hastily used to draw...
^^^^^
Line 4, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: First
...ng three points must be answered. first, the author assumes that even if the fo...
^^^^^
Line 4, column 182, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: If
...ll buy these products and consume them. if food-processing companies keep adding n...
^^
Line 7, column 247, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: There
... they will perform the exact same role. there may also some unkown side effects due t...
^^^^^
Line 7, column 481, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Consequently
...ave significantly different properties. consequently, it would not be prudent to proceed for...
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 10, column 112, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: There
... study are only because of salicylates. there may be other more dominating factors th...
^^^^^
Line 10, column 372, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: These
... of only people less than 30 years old. these younger folks might have fewer headache...
^^^^^
Line 13, column 125, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: If
...nce on several unwarranted assumptions. if the health experts are able to provide ...
^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
accordingly, also, but, consequently, first, hence, if, may, regarding, second, so, then, third, for example, in conclusion
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 21.0 19.6327345309 107% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 17.0 12.9520958084 131% => OK
Conjunction : 9.0 11.1786427146 81% => OK
Relative clauses : 12.0 13.6137724551 88% => OK
Pronoun: 24.0 28.8173652695 83% => OK
Preposition: 64.0 55.5748502994 115% => OK
Nominalization: 11.0 16.3942115768 67% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2471.0 2260.96107784 109% => OK
No of words: 468.0 441.139720559 106% => OK
Chars per words: 5.27991452991 5.12650576532 103% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.65116196802 4.56307096286 102% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.89655569289 2.78398813304 104% => OK
Unique words: 228.0 204.123752495 112% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.487179487179 0.468620217663 104% => OK
syllable_count: 783.0 705.55239521 111% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.7 1.59920159681 106% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 5.0 4.96107784431 101% => OK
Article: 10.0 8.76447105788 114% => OK
Subordination: 4.0 2.70958083832 148% => OK
Conjunction: 1.0 1.67365269461 60% => OK
Preposition: 2.0 4.22255489022 47% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 20.0 19.7664670659 101% => OK
Sentence length: 23.0 22.8473053892 101% => OK
Sentence length SD: 51.8602689927 57.8364921388 90% => OK
Chars per sentence: 123.55 119.503703932 103% => OK
Words per sentence: 23.4 23.324526521 100% => OK
Discourse Markers: 6.15 5.70786347227 108% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 8.0 5.25449101796 152% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 5.0 8.20758483034 61% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 9.0 6.88822355289 131% => 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: 0.244651305847 0.218282227539 112% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0714507677353 0.0743258471296 96% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0753350499465 0.0701772020484 107% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.129553071229 0.128457276422 101% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.103092733757 0.0628817314937 164% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 15.1 14.3799401198 105% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 39.67 48.3550499002 82% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 13.4 12.197005988 110% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 13.64 12.5979740519 108% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.72 8.32208582834 105% => OK
difficult_words: 117.0 98.500998004 119% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 14.5 12.3882235529 117% => OK
gunning_fog: 11.2 11.1389221557 101% => 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.