The following appeared as part of a petition sent to residents of Youngtown by an environmental protection group:
"The Smith Corporation should not be permitted to develop the land that is now part of the Youngtown Wildlife Preserve. This sanctuary is essential to the survival of the 300 bird species that live in our area. Although only a small percentage of the land will be sold to Smith, the proposed development will have disastrous consequences for our area. The company plans to build a small hotel on the land. Although they have promised to ensure the preservation of the sanctuary, there is no way that their plans will do anything but harm the sanctuary. There are no circumstances under which this sale will benefit our community, which relies on tourists who visit primarily to see our magnificient bird population"
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 if the assumptions prove unwarranted.
The author argues that if the Smith Corporation is allowed to develop the land part of Youngtown Wildlife Preserve, it will have disastrous consequences to the environment without any benefit to the community. Some of the points made by the author and the assumptions made therein need to be better analyzed.
The author states that the Youngtown Wildlife Preserve is essential to the survival of the various bird species, but does not explain how ? Is it the only sanctuary in the area or does it have some exclusive conditions (like some water bodies or trees) which are necessary for the survival of the birds and are not available in the other sanctuaries. If the sanctuary is in no way unique, it weakens the author's argument.
The author does not state the exact percentage of the land which is being sold to the corporation. If the percentage is really very small(like 0.1%) it is unlikely to have any significant consequences on the natural conditions. Whereas, a percentage of 5% may have much more dire consequences and strengthen author's argument.
The author says that even though the company has promised to ensure preservation of sanctuary, there is no way that they can keep their promise. The author seems to portray distrust in the corporation. If the author has facts where the corporation has failed to keep it's promise in the past, it may help the argument. Without any such facts, it can only be considered as an allegation.
The author also states that the project will not be beneficial in any ways to the community. However, it is possible that the tourists who currently visit Youngtown do not have enough choices of accomodation. Presence of a new hotel in the proximit of the sanctuary, may significantly increase the number of tourists. This will significantly weaken author's argument.
Finally, we need to know, that in case all the above arguments favour the author, how can the residents help the environmental group's petition. If the project has been already approved after proper analysis by various government bodies, there is little that the residents can do.
Sentence: If the author has facts where the corporation has failed to keep it's promise in the past, it may help the argument.
Description: The fragment it's promise in is rare
Suggestion: Possible agreement error: Replace promise with verb, past tense
Sentence: However, it is possible that the tourists who currently visit Youngtown do not have enough choices of accomodation.
Error: accomodation Suggestion: accommodation
Sentence: Presence of a new hotel in the proximit of the sanctuary, may significantly increase the number of tourists.
Error: proximit Suggestion: No alternate word
Attribute Value Ideal
Score: 4.5 out of 6
Category: Good Excellent
No. of Grammatical Errors: 1 2
No. of Spelling Errors: 2 2
No. of Sentences: 18 15
No. of Words: 351 350
No. of Characters: 1706 1500
No. of Different Words: 172 200
Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.328 4.7
Average Word Length: 4.86 4.6
Word Length SD: 2.766 2.4
No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 122 100
No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 95 80
No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 71 40
No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 45 20
Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0
Avg. Sentence Length: 19.5 21.0
Sentence Length SD: 7.552 7.5
Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.611 0.12
Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.346 0.35
Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.609 0.50
Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.101 0.07
Number of Paragraphs: 6 5