The following appeared in a memo from the director of a large group of hospitals.
"In a laboratory study of liquid antibacterial hand soaps, a concentrated solution of UltraClean produced a 40 percent greater reduction in the bacteria population than did the liquid hand soaps currently used in our hospitals. During a subsequent test of UltraClean at our hospital in Workby, that hospital reported significantly fewer cases of patient infection than did any of the other hospitals in our group. Therefore, to prevent serious patient infections, we should supply UltraClean at all hand-washing stations throughout our hospital system."
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.
In this argument, the author concludes that in order to diminish patient infections, UltraClean should be supplied at all hand-washing stations throughout the hospital system. To bolster the argument, the author points out that 40 percent greater bacteria population can be reduced by the concentrated solution of UltraClean than the soaps currently used in the hospitals. Also, there were fewer cases of patient infection reported in hospital equipped with UltraClean than did other hospitals. However, with a detailed analysis, the readers could still identify some logical fallacies that might seriously undermine the original chain of reasoning in the statement.
To begin with, the author mentions a concentrated solution of UltraClean can bring about a 40 percent greater reduction in the bacteria population than the liquid hand soaps currently used in the hospitals. However, the unstated assumption is that what doctors use to wash hands is the concentrated hand soap. But the concentrated one may be hazardous for our skin and the UltraClean without concentration may not reduce the same amount of bacteria as the concentrated one. Another assumption in the sentence is that all the bacteria reduced by the hand soap are harmful for people’s health. But it is possible that what UltraClean eliminates are bacteria which are neutral or even beneficial to human body. Therefore, the author needs additional evidence to clarify the specific category of bacteria the soap can reduce. Otherwise, it is not convincing enough to conclude that UltraClean is a more advanced hand soap compared to its counterparts.
In addition, the author quotes a test revealing that hospital in Workby which had been equipped with UltraClean reported significantly fewer cases of patient infection than did any of the other hospitals in their group. The unstated assumption is that the equipment of UltraClean is the cause of the fewer cases of patient infection. But there are other possible reasons for the phenomenon. It is possible that the hospital in Workby is a hospital mainly curing cardiovascular diseases, diseases which are impossible to infect other people. Cases of patient infection, therefore, is natural to be fewer than other hospitals which mainly treat infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV. Or it is likely that the hospital in Workby pay more attention on the overall environment in the hospital like much cleaner medical facilities than other hospitals. Thus, without additional information of the exact reason of the fewer cases of patient infection in the hospital of Workby, it is difficult to access the merit of this statement.
Even if the reason of the fewer cases of infection is the supply of UltraClean, the argument that supplying UltraClean at all hand-washing stations throughout the hospital systemis can prevent patient infection is unwarranted. The author does not consider that great differences may exist between the hospital in Workby and other hospitals in the system and such differences would weaken the analogy of the two. Chances are that diseases like flu, SARS and coronavirus spread not by touching but by the tiny airborne droplets in the air. Thus, it is useless for people to wash hands in hospital where there are patients of those diseases. In conclusion, in order to better bolster the recommendation, more detailed information involving the similarities between the hospital in Workby and all the other hospitals are needed.
In a nutshell, the argument is unconvincing as it relies on several unjustified assumptions. Therefore, if the argument had included the given factors discussed above, it would have been more logically acceptable.
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 5, column 262, Rule ID: USE_TO_VERB[1]
Message: Did you mean 'used'?
Suggestion: used
...nstated assumption is that what doctors use to wash hands is the concentrated hand ...
^^^
Line 9, column 668, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
...ch mainly treat infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV. Or it is likely th...
^^
Line 13, column 98, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
... supply of UltraClean, the argument that supplying UltraClean at all hand-washing...
^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, however, if, may, so, still, therefore, thus, in addition, in conclusion, to begin with
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 32.0 19.6327345309 163% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 12.0 12.9520958084 93% => OK
Conjunction : 12.0 11.1786427146 107% => OK
Relative clauses : 19.0 13.6137724551 140% => OK
Pronoun: 28.0 28.8173652695 97% => OK
Preposition: 82.0 55.5748502994 148% => OK
Nominalization: 32.0 16.3942115768 195% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 3142.0 2260.96107784 139% => OK
No of words: 581.0 441.139720559 132% => OK
Chars per words: 5.40791738382 5.12650576532 105% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.90957651803 4.56307096286 108% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.96834984603 2.78398813304 107% => OK
Unique words: 244.0 204.123752495 120% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.419965576592 0.468620217663 90% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 981.0 705.55239521 139% => 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: 11.0 8.76447105788 126% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 2.70958083832 74% => OK
Conjunction: 4.0 1.67365269461 239% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 9.0 4.22255489022 213% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 25.0 19.7664670659 126% => OK
Sentence length: 23.0 22.8473053892 101% => OK
Sentence length SD: 42.4386616189 57.8364921388 73% => OK
Chars per sentence: 125.68 119.503703932 105% => OK
Words per sentence: 23.24 23.324526521 100% => OK
Discourse Markers: 3.92 5.70786347227 69% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 5.15768463074 97% => OK
Language errors: 3.0 5.25449101796 57% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 12.0 8.20758483034 146% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 6.0 6.88822355289 87% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 7.0 4.67664670659 150% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.176051968256 0.218282227539 81% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0571047613124 0.0743258471296 77% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0829141169607 0.0701772020484 118% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.102282915357 0.128457276422 80% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0940974793796 0.0628817314937 150% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 15.7 14.3799401198 109% => 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: 14.39 12.5979740519 114% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.53 8.32208582834 102% => OK
difficult_words: 138.0 98.500998004 140% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 14.0 12.3882235529 113% => OK
gunning_fog: 11.2 11.1389221557 101% => 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
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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.