"Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, for the past several decades, food-processing companies have also been adding salicylates to foods as preservatives. This rise in the commercial use of salicylates has been found to correlate with a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by participants in our twenty-year study. Recently, food-processing companies have found that salicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods. With this new use for salicylates, we can expect a continued steady decline in the number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia."
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.
The argument which appeared in the summary of a study on headaches suffered by residents of Mentia, stating that, theuse of salicylates would result into a continues steady decline in the number of headaches suffered by the citizens of Mentia is not completely logical as it has several flaws.
Firstly, the author assumes that since Salicylates belong to the same family of chemical compounds, it must follow the same biochemical pathway as that of aspirin. The argument provides no information about the working mechanism of salicylates, and how it might lead to reduction in headache. Thus, it does not establish any fundamental corelation between salicylates and headaches being cured.
Secondly, the correlation between rise of use of salicylated in food industries and a decline in headaches suffered by the participants seems superficial and biased. The study does not take into account the trends of headaches suffered by people around the globe; the reduction in average number of headaches could be global phenomenon due to unexplored causes.
Also, the argument does not mention which food industries, particularly, add salicylates to their products, as it is a vital measure of the number of people consuming these food items. For instance, if salicyalates are added to staples such as bread, rice and grains, there would be consumptions of these chemicals by a large number of citizens, whereas addition of salicylates to exotic or expensive food products would only be consumed by a few. Thus, we do not have any clear measure, if the participants consumes any salicylate added food products at all.
Lastly, the argument does not explore the other reasons that might have led to a decrease in average number of headaches. For instance, people living in areas with powerplants or industries have reported an enhancement in health and genral well being after the plants were closed down due to reduction in pollution levels and a favourable change in the average climate of the place.
Thus we can conclude that the argument is not completely sound. The evidence provided that the rise in use of salicyaltes in food industries is related to a drcrease in the average number of headaches in citizens of mentia does little to prove the conclusion. Further scintific studies are required to gain information about the biochemical pathway of salicylates in human body and establish its correlation to curing of headaches. Since no information of side effects of salicylate consumption has been mentioned in the argument, a continued addition of these chemicals in food products might ultimately lead to degradation of food quality and toxicity in humans.
Comments
e-rater score report
Attribute Value Ideal
Final score: 4.0 out of 6
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 5 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 13 2
No. of Sentences: 15 15
No. of Words: 429 350
No. of Characters: 2194 1500
No. of Different Words: 201 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.551 4.7
Average Word Length: 5.114 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.898 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 172 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 135 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 103 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 67 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 28.6 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 10.763 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.6 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.364 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.644 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.091 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 6 5
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 7, column 319, Rule ID: LARGE_NUMBER_OF[1]
Message: Specify a number, remove phrase, or simply use 'many' or 'numerous'
Suggestion: many; numerous
...d be consumptions of these chemicals by a large number of citizens, whereas addition of salicylat...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 9, column 315, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...losed down due to reduction in pollution levels and a favourable change in the av...
^^
Line 11, column 1, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Thus,
...n the average climate of the place. Thus we can conclude that the argument is no...
^^^^
Line 11, column 666, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...of food quality and toxicity in humans.
^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, first, firstly, if, lastly, second, secondly, so, thus, well, whereas, for instance, such as
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 13.0 19.6327345309 66% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 9.0 12.9520958084 69% => OK
Conjunction : 11.0 11.1786427146 98% => OK
Relative clauses : 8.0 13.6137724551 59% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 18.0 28.8173652695 62% => OK
Preposition: 80.0 55.5748502994 144% => OK
Nominalization: 25.0 16.3942115768 152% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2250.0 2260.96107784 100% => OK
No of words: 429.0 441.139720559 97% => OK
Chars per words: 5.24475524476 5.12650576532 102% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.55107846309 4.56307096286 100% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.9558359595 2.78398813304 106% => OK
Unique words: 207.0 204.123752495 101% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.482517482517 0.468620217663 103% => OK
syllable_count: 730.8 705.55239521 104% => 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: 10.0 8.76447105788 114% => OK
Subordination: 4.0 2.70958083832 148% => OK
Conjunction: 1.0 1.67365269461 60% => OK
Preposition: 1.0 4.22255489022 24% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 15.0 19.7664670659 76% => Need more sentences. Double check the format of sentences, make sure there is a space between two sentences, or have enough periods. And also check the lengths of sentences, maybe they are too long.
Sentence length: 28.0 22.8473053892 123% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively long.
Sentence length SD: 63.5050304219 57.8364921388 110% => OK
Chars per sentence: 150.0 119.503703932 126% => OK
Words per sentence: 28.6 23.324526521 123% => OK
Discourse Markers: 6.53333333333 5.70786347227 114% => OK
Paragraphs: 6.0 5.15768463074 116% => OK
Language errors: 4.0 5.25449101796 76% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 4.0 8.20758483034 49% => More positive sentences wanted.
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: 0.303701729441 0.218282227539 139% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.103909218931 0.0743258471296 140% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0746020668496 0.0701772020484 106% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.151095173195 0.128457276422 118% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0746746137792 0.0628817314937 119% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 17.6 14.3799401198 122% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 34.6 48.3550499002 72% => OK
smog_index: 11.2 7.1628742515 156% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 15.4 12.197005988 126% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 13.7 12.5979740519 109% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.07 8.32208582834 109% => OK
difficult_words: 110.0 98.500998004 112% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 14.5 12.3882235529 117% => OK
gunning_fog: 13.2 11.1389221557 119% => OK
text_standard: 15.0 11.9071856287 126% => 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.