Carved stone balls are a curious type of artifact found at a number of locations in Scotland. They date from the late Neolithic period, around 4,000 years ago. They are round in shape; they were carved from several types of stone; most are about 70 mm in diameter; and many are ornamented to some degree. Archaeologists do not agree about their purpose and meaning, but there are several theories.
One theory is that the carved stone balls were weapons used in hunting or fighting. Some of the stone balls have been found with holes in them, and many have grooves on the surface. It is possible that a cord was strung through the holes or laid in the grooves around the ball. Holding the stone balls at the end of the cord would have allowed a person to swing it around or throw it.
A second theory is that the carved stone balls were used as part of a primitive system of weights and measures. The fact that they are so nearly uniform in size – at 70 mm in diameter – suggests that the balls were interchangeable and represented some standard unit of measure. They could have been used as standard weights to measure quantities of grain or other food, or anything that needed to be measured by weight on a balance or scale for the purpose of trade.
A third theory is that the carved stone balls served a social purpose as opposed to a practical or utilitarian one. This view is supported by the fact that many stone balls have elaborate designs. The elaborate carving suggests that the stones may have marked the important social status of their owners.
The reading and the lecture are both about carved stones balls, which are found in Scotland and date back to the Neolithic period. The author of the reading believes there are three explanations of the purpose and meaning of the balls. The lecturer challenges the statements made by the author. she is of the opinion that none of the explanations of the reading is likely the case.
First of all, the author suggests that the carved balls were used for hunting or fighting. it is mentioned that the balls have holes and grooves on them, and it allowed a person to swing them. The argument is refuted by the lecturer. she says most of weapons that were used in the same era show some form of wear and cracks. Furthermore, she argues that the balls have been well perserved, indicating they were not used for said purposes.
Secondly, the article posits that they were used as weights and measures. The article notes the stone balls are uniform in size and shape. The lecturer, however, rebuts this by asserting that the masses of the balls vary from one another. she elaborates on this by mentioning that the balls are made from different types of stones and have different densities. As a result, it is unlikely that they were used as a unit.
Finally, it is stated in the article that the balls were used as a status indicator. The article establishes that the balls have fancy designs and it suggests they marked their owners social status. The lecturer, on the other hand, opposes that even though some balls have elaborate designs, most of the balls have really simple design. she puts forth the idea that high ranking person usually buried with their possessions, but the balls have not been found in tombs and graves, suggesting there were not used as a social status indicator.
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 237, Rule ID: ENGLISH_WORD_REPEAT_BEGINNING_RULE
Message: Three successive sentences begin with the same word. Reword the sentence or use a thesaurus to find a synonym.
...f the purpose and meaning of the balls. The lecturer challenges the statements made...
^^^
Line 1, column 296, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: She
...nges the statements made by the author. she is of the opinion that none of the expl...
^^^
Line 3, column 92, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: It
...alls were used for hunting or fighting. it is mentioned that the balls have holes ...
^^
Line 3, column 235, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: She
...he argument is refuted by the lecturer. she says most of weapons that were used in ...
^^^
Line 3, column 244, Rule ID: MOST_SOME_OF_NNS[1]
Message: After 'most of', you should use 'the' ('most of the weapons') or simply say ''most weapons''.
Suggestion: most of the weapons; most weapons
...nt is refuted by the lecturer. she says most of weapons that were used in the same era show som...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 113, Rule ID: ADJECTIVE_IN_ATTRIBUTE[1]
Message: A more concise phrase may lose no meaning and sound more powerful.
Suggestion: uniform
.... The article notes the stone balls are uniform in size and shape. The lecturer, however, rebut...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 240, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: She
...ses of the balls vary from one another. she elaborates on this by mentioning that t...
^^^
Line 7, column 338, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: She
...of the balls have really simple design. she puts forth the idea that high ranking p...
^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, finally, first, furthermore, however, if, really, second, secondly, so, well, as a result, first of all, on the other hand
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 20.0 10.4613686534 191% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 0.0 5.04856512141 0% => OK
Conjunction : 13.0 7.30242825607 178% => OK
Relative clauses : 14.0 12.0772626932 116% => OK
Pronoun: 33.0 22.412803532 147% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 30.0 30.3222958057 99% => OK
Nominalization: 1.0 5.01324503311 20% => More nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1478.0 1373.03311258 108% => OK
No of words: 313.0 270.72406181 116% => OK
Chars per words: 4.72204472843 5.08290768461 93% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.20616286096 4.04702891845 104% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.33226837061 2.5805825403 90% => OK
Unique words: 150.0 145.348785872 103% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.479233226837 0.540411800872 89% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 460.8 419.366225166 110% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.55342163355 97% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 8.0 3.25607064018 246% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 10.0 8.23620309051 121% => OK
Subordination: 1.0 1.25165562914 80% => OK
Conjunction: 2.0 1.51434878587 132% => OK
Preposition: 1.0 2.5761589404 39% => More preposition wanted as sentence beginning.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 18.0 13.0662251656 138% => OK
Sentence length: 17.0 21.2450331126 80% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 36.0616755635 49.2860985944 73% => OK
Chars per sentence: 82.1111111111 110.228320801 74% => OK
Words per sentence: 17.3888888889 21.698381199 80% => OK
Discourse Markers: 7.05555555556 7.06452816374 100% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 8.0 4.19205298013 191% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 2.0 4.33554083885 46% => More positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 4.45695364238 112% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 11.0 4.27373068433 257% => Less facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.239063056811 0.272083759551 88% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0750357395508 0.0996497079465 75% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0636068452395 0.0662205650399 96% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.143807441671 0.162205337803 89% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0617287145066 0.0443174109184 139% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 9.5 13.3589403974 71% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 62.68 53.8541721854 116% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 5.55761589404 56% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 8.7 11.0289183223 79% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 9.8 12.2367328918 80% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.06 8.42419426049 96% => OK
difficult_words: 71.0 63.6247240618 112% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 7.5 10.7273730684 70% => OK
gunning_fog: 8.8 10.498013245 84% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.2008830022 80% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Rates: 71.6666666667 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 21.5 Out of 30
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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.