The sea otter is a small mammal that lives in waters along the western coast of North America from California to Alaska. When some sea otter populations off the Alaskan coast started rapidly declining a few years ago, it caused much concern because sea otters play an important ecological role in the coastal ecosystem. Experts started investigating the cause of the decline and quickly realized that there were two possible explanations: environmental pollution or attacks by predators. Initially, the pollution hypothesis seemed the more likely of the two. The first reason why pollution seemed the more likely cause was that there were known sources of it along the Alaskan coast, such as oil rigs and other sources of industrial chemical pollution. Water samples from the area revealed increased levels of chemicals that could decrease the otters' resistance to lifethreatening infections and thus could Indirectly cause their deaths. Second, other sea mammals such as seals and sea lions along the Alaskan coast were also declining, indicating that whatever had endangered the otters was affecting other sea mammals as well. This fact again pointed to environmental pollution, since it usually affects the entire ecosystem rather than a single species. Only widely occurring predators, such as the orca (a large predatory whale), could have the same effect, but orcas prefer to hunt much larger prey, such as other whales.
Third, scientists believed that the pollution hypothesis could also explain the uneven pattern of otter decline: at some Alaskan locations the otter populations declined greatly, while at others they remained stable. Some experts explained these observations by suggesting that ocean currents or other environmental factors may have created uneven concentrations of pollutants along the coast.
Summarize the points made in the lecture, being sure to explain how they respond to the specific points made in the reading passage.
The article and the lecture are both about the resoning for sea otter's decrease in population along the Alaskan coast, in which they provide three contradictory reasons. The author of the reading passage believes that the negative change in the sea otter's population is manily due to environmental pollution rather than attacks on them by predators. The lecture casts doubt on the claims made in the article. The speaker thinks that predators are the ones responsible for the rapid population decline of sea otters.
First of all, the author points out the sources of pollution that are obvious along the alaskan coast. It is supported by the research of water samples showing increased chemical pollution which are due to oil rigs and other industrial chemical pollution sources. This point is challenged by the lecturer as dead would be washed up along the shore. Furthermore, she argues by proposing that the dead sea otters' would not be washed up along the shore if the predators attack. And, in this case, they were not washed up.
Secondly, the author posits that when an environmental damage occours, it damages entire vicinity and would not only damage particular mammal. He supports his position by posing seals and sea lions' population decline and adds that orcas only hunt much larger prey. However, the speaker contends that orcas hunt smaller prey such as sea otters, seals and sea lions by stating the decrease of whales due to human hunters.
Finally, the author connects the uneven change in population, such as rapid decline in some areas and stable population in other areas with uneven pollution, which might be due to ocean currents ans other environmental factors. The speaker, on the other hand, posits the accessibility of the orcas corresponding to the location of availability of prey. She puts forth the idea that prey would not be accessible easily in shallow and rocky areas as orca is large and explains that these are the places where there is actually stable population and no rapid change.
In conclusion, the lecture and the reading are both about the reasons for decline in sea otter's population. The speaker effectively challenges the claims made in the article.
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 250, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'otters'' or 'otter's'?
Suggestion: otters'; otter's
...ves that the negative change in the sea otters population is manily due to environment...
^^^^^^
Line 1, column 351, 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.
...ther than attacks on them by predators. The lecture casts doubt on the claims made ...
^^^
Line 1, column 410, 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.
...oubt on the claims made in the article. The speaker thinks that predators are the ...
^^^
Line 1, column 428, Rule ID: WHITESPACE_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a whitespace
Suggestion:
... made in the article. The speaker thinks that predators are the ones responsible ...
^^
Line 5, column 193, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'lions'' or 'lion's'?
Suggestion: lions'; lion's
...ts his position by posing seals and sea lions population decline and adds that orcas ...
^^^^^
Line 9, column 90, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[2]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'otters'' or 'otter's'?
Suggestion: otters'; otter's
...th about the reasons for decline in sea otters population. The speaker effectively cha...
^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
actually, finally, first, furthermore, however, if, second, secondly, so, in conclusion, such as, first of all, on the other hand
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 16.0 10.4613686534 153% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 5.0 5.04856512141 99% => OK
Conjunction : 11.0 7.30242825607 151% => OK
Relative clauses : 14.0 12.0772626932 116% => OK
Pronoun: 21.0 22.412803532 94% => OK
Preposition: 46.0 30.3222958057 152% => OK
Nominalization: 15.0 5.01324503311 299% => Less nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1845.0 1373.03311258 134% => OK
No of words: 365.0 270.72406181 135% => OK
Chars per words: 5.05479452055 5.08290768461 99% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.37092360658 4.04702891845 108% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.58867722311 2.5805825403 100% => OK
Unique words: 177.0 145.348785872 122% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.484931506849 0.540411800872 90% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 575.1 419.366225166 137% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.55342163355 103% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 7.0 3.25607064018 215% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 11.0 8.23620309051 134% => OK
Subordination: 0.0 1.25165562914 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 0.0 1.51434878587 0% => OK
Preposition: 4.0 2.5761589404 155% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 17.0 13.0662251656 130% => OK
Sentence length: 21.0 21.2450331126 99% => OK
Sentence length SD: 49.8466853614 49.2860985944 101% => OK
Chars per sentence: 108.529411765 110.228320801 98% => OK
Words per sentence: 21.4705882353 21.698381199 99% => OK
Discourse Markers: 7.58823529412 7.06452816374 107% => OK
Paragraphs: 5.0 4.09492273731 122% => OK
Language errors: 6.0 4.19205298013 143% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 6.0 4.33554083885 138% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 7.0 4.45695364238 157% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 4.0 4.27373068433 94% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.240050937159 0.272083759551 88% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0765972080376 0.0996497079465 77% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0679457910808 0.0662205650399 103% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.135281330179 0.162205337803 83% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0658871310613 0.0443174109184 149% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 13.1 13.3589403974 98% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 50.16 53.8541721854 93% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 5.55761589404 158% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.5 11.0289183223 104% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.01 12.2367328918 98% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.53 8.42419426049 101% => OK
difficult_words: 89.0 63.6247240618 140% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 11.0 10.7273730684 103% => OK
gunning_fog: 10.4 10.498013245 99% => OK
text_standard: 9.0 11.2008830022 80% => OK
What are above readability scores?
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Write the essay in 20 minutes.
Rates: 73.3333333333 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 22.0 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.