GRE Argument: The following is a memorandum from the business manager of a television station.
"Over the past year, our late-night news program has devoted increased time to national news and less time to weather and local news. During this period, most of the complaints received from viewers were concerned with our station's coverage of weather and local news. In addition, local businesses that used to advertise during our late-night news program have canceled their advertising contracts with us. Therefore, in order to attract more viewers to our news programs and to avoid losing any further advertising revenues, we should expand our coverage of weather and local news on all our news programs."
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 author here tries to come up with arguments to support their hypothesis that, the viewers have complaints with coverage of the weather and the local news. Stating, that they have received complaints regarding the same, and the advertisers threaten to remove the sponsorship money. This shows that they fail to mention several factors, also revealing several instances of poor reasoning and distorting of the view of the situations by providing weak claims. To garner support, they also state that they might reverse their decision of the increased national news time to gain back the viewers and advertisers. However further scrutiny of the evidence reveals that it provides little credible support to the author. Hence the overall claim seems to be incomplete and unsubstantiated.
Firstly, the biggest leap in logic is taken by the author when they attribute the decrease in advertisements to the reduction in the local news, and not mentioning anything about the quality of the news or agitation of the viewers. Had the author mentioned anything about the viewers threating to stop watching due to this issue or the quality of the national news reported was not the issue behind the adverts leaving, then it would have a stronger case for the author's hypothesis. In accordance with that, the author has also provided underwhelming proof for the views of their subscribers, by just mentioning that the viewers had "concerns" without telling as to what their exact issue with the coverage was. For example, if in a news channel X, their main anchor who covered regional news Y leaves, then the viewers will surely raise their concerns on the coverage, but this situation has nothing to do with the national news.
Secondly, the author also needs to provide facts, as to whether the viewership actually decreased in the time national news was aired. If this did not happen, then it weakens the case of the author. Furthermore, the author also fails to mention whether the viewers had issues with the increased national news time in the show, or the quality of coverage to the local one.
Finally, before concluding, the author also goes onto claim that they will be bringing back the original distribution of the news to appease the advertisers and the viewers. To help them solidify their claim, the author should have conducted studies comparing the "viewership vs the duration of late-night show" or "Response to advertisements vs the local or national news” etc. All in all, exhaustive and sturdy research is required to eliminate any fallbacks before changing the time distributions again.
While the argument put forward by the author is quite innovative and interesting, the presented data could have been more exhausting in order to fully convince the readers. In conclusion, the author's argument seems unpersuasive and to bolster their claims, they should have provided more concrete evidence and analysis to determine if the given hypothesis is truly the method to bring back appease the two parties.
| Post date | Users | Rates | Link to Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-08-22 | Ataraxia-m | 66 | view |
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Comments
Essay evaluations by e-grader
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 614, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: However,
... gain back the viewers and advertisers. However further scrutiny of the evidence reveal...
^^^^^^^
Line 1, column 719, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Hence,
... little credible support to the author. Hence the overall claim seems to be incomplet...
^^^^^
Line 2, column 464, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[2]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'authors'' or 'author's'?
Suggestion: authors'; author's
...n it would have a stronger case for the authors hypothesis. In accordance with that, th...
^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 51, Rule ID: WHETHER[6]
Message: Can you shorten this phrase to just 'whether', or rephrase the sentence to avoid "as to"?
Suggestion: whether
...the author also needs to provide facts, as to whether the viewership actually decreased in th...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 4, column 388, Rule ID: EN_UNPAIRED_BRACKETS
Message: Unpaired symbol: '“' seems to be missing
...rtisements vs the local or national news” etc. All in all, exhaustive and sturdy ...
^
Line 5, column 193, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'authors'' or 'author's'?
Suggestion: authors'; author's
...onvince the readers. In conclusion, the authors argument seems unpersuasive and to bols...
^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
actually, also, but, finally, first, firstly, furthermore, hence, however, if, regarding, second, secondly, so, then, while, as to, for example, in conclusion
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 10.0 19.6327345309 51% => More to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 7.0 12.9520958084 54% => OK
Conjunction : 17.0 11.1786427146 152% => OK
Relative clauses : 10.0 13.6137724551 73% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 31.0 28.8173652695 108% => OK
Preposition: 69.0 55.5748502994 124% => OK
Nominalization: 12.0 16.3942115768 73% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2555.0 2260.96107784 113% => OK
No of words: 493.0 441.139720559 112% => OK
Chars per words: 5.18255578093 5.12650576532 101% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.71206996034 4.56307096286 103% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.84594949187 2.78398813304 102% => OK
Unique words: 242.0 204.123752495 119% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.490872210953 0.468620217663 105% => OK
syllable_count: 778.5 705.55239521 110% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.59920159681 100% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 5.0 4.96107784431 101% => OK
Article: 10.0 8.76447105788 114% => OK
Subordination: 5.0 2.70958083832 185% => OK
Conjunction: 5.0 1.67365269461 299% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 7.0 4.22255489022 166% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 18.0 19.7664670659 91% => OK
Sentence length: 27.0 22.8473053892 118% => OK
Sentence length SD: 56.1412460333 57.8364921388 97% => OK
Chars per sentence: 141.944444444 119.503703932 119% => OK
Words per sentence: 27.3888888889 23.324526521 117% => OK
Discourse Markers: 8.77777777778 5.70786347227 154% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 6.0 5.25449101796 114% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 7.0 8.20758483034 85% => OK
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: 0.197509547389 0.218282227539 90% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0710496209127 0.0743258471296 96% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0638941408276 0.0701772020484 91% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.121935315017 0.128457276422 95% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0562976018526 0.0628817314937 90% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 16.7 14.3799401198 116% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 44.07 48.3550499002 91% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 13.8 12.197005988 113% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 13.06 12.5979740519 104% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.04 8.32208582834 109% => OK
difficult_words: 127.0 98.500998004 129% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 13.5 12.3882235529 109% => OK
gunning_fog: 12.8 11.1389221557 115% => OK
text_standard: 14.0 11.9071856287 118% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 66.67 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.0 Out of 6
---------------------
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.
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 614, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: However,
... gain back the viewers and advertisers. However further scrutiny of the evidence reveal...
^^^^^^^
Line 1, column 719, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Hence,
... little credible support to the author. Hence the overall claim seems to be incomplet...
^^^^^
Line 2, column 464, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[2]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'authors'' or 'author's'?
Suggestion: authors'; author's
...n it would have a stronger case for the authors hypothesis. In accordance with that, th...
^^^^^^^
Line 3, column 51, Rule ID: WHETHER[6]
Message: Can you shorten this phrase to just 'whether', or rephrase the sentence to avoid "as to"?
Suggestion: whether
...the author also needs to provide facts, as to whether the viewership actually decreased in th...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 4, column 388, Rule ID: EN_UNPAIRED_BRACKETS
Message: Unpaired symbol: '“' seems to be missing
...rtisements vs the local or national news” etc. All in all, exhaustive and sturdy ...
^
Line 5, column 193, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'authors'' or 'author's'?
Suggestion: authors'; author's
...onvince the readers. In conclusion, the authors argument seems unpersuasive and to bols...
^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
actually, also, but, finally, first, firstly, furthermore, hence, however, if, regarding, second, secondly, so, then, while, as to, for example, in conclusion
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 10.0 19.6327345309 51% => More to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 7.0 12.9520958084 54% => OK
Conjunction : 17.0 11.1786427146 152% => OK
Relative clauses : 10.0 13.6137724551 73% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 31.0 28.8173652695 108% => OK
Preposition: 69.0 55.5748502994 124% => OK
Nominalization: 12.0 16.3942115768 73% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 2555.0 2260.96107784 113% => OK
No of words: 493.0 441.139720559 112% => OK
Chars per words: 5.18255578093 5.12650576532 101% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.71206996034 4.56307096286 103% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.84594949187 2.78398813304 102% => OK
Unique words: 242.0 204.123752495 119% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.490872210953 0.468620217663 105% => OK
syllable_count: 778.5 705.55239521 110% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.59920159681 100% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 5.0 4.96107784431 101% => OK
Article: 10.0 8.76447105788 114% => OK
Subordination: 5.0 2.70958083832 185% => OK
Conjunction: 5.0 1.67365269461 299% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 7.0 4.22255489022 166% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 18.0 19.7664670659 91% => OK
Sentence length: 27.0 22.8473053892 118% => OK
Sentence length SD: 56.1412460333 57.8364921388 97% => OK
Chars per sentence: 141.944444444 119.503703932 119% => OK
Words per sentence: 27.3888888889 23.324526521 117% => OK
Discourse Markers: 8.77777777778 5.70786347227 154% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 6.0 5.25449101796 114% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 7.0 8.20758483034 85% => OK
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: 0.197509547389 0.218282227539 90% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0710496209127 0.0743258471296 96% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0638941408276 0.0701772020484 91% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.121935315017 0.128457276422 95% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0562976018526 0.0628817314937 90% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 16.7 14.3799401198 116% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 44.07 48.3550499002 91% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.1628742515 123% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 13.8 12.197005988 113% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 13.06 12.5979740519 104% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.04 8.32208582834 109% => OK
difficult_words: 127.0 98.500998004 129% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 13.5 12.3882235529 109% => OK
gunning_fog: 12.8 11.1389221557 115% => OK
text_standard: 14.0 11.9071856287 118% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 66.67 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.0 Out of 6
---------------------
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.