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TOPIC: ARGUMENT167 - A folk remedy* for insomnia, the scent in lavender flowers, has now been proved effective. In a recent study, 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks on lavender-scented pillows in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored. During the first week, volunteers continued to take their usual sleeping medication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling tired. During the second week, the volunteers discontinued their medication. As a result, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felt even more tired. During the third week, the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than in the previous two weeks. This shows that over a short period of time lavender cures insomnia.
*A folk remedy is usually a plant-based form of treatment common to traditional forms of medicine, ones that developed before the advent of modern medical services and technology.
WORDS: 447          TIME: 00:45:00          DATE: 2010-07-10 17:13:53
Basing on a study, the argument draws a conclusion saying that lavender cures insomnia over a short period of a time. However it is not well reasoned and there are some weak points make it not convictive.
Firstly, the arguer have not make it clear whether the volunteers slept longer and more soundly during the third week results from the lavender-scented pillows. Since in the study they discontinued their medication, so we are not sure whether there exists the possibility that the medication they take disturbed their sleeping or it is the subsequent of the medication or it has sustained-effects. It is common sense that some medication's effectiveness turns out only after long term use. So the arguer has not rule out the influence of factors other than the lavender-scented pillows during the study, and we cannot draw a conclusion as the argument gives.
Furthermore, even if it is the particular pillow cause the improvement toward sleep, the study cannot tell us whether it is the remedy-lavender played the decisive role.  The study didn't show us what would happen if they had give the volunteers the same pillows without the special scent of the folk remedy, so we cannot make a decision about which factor is crucial, lavender or the pillow. To make the argument more persuasive, the arguer should add a part to the study to exclusive the possibility that the specific pillows take effect.
Moreover, even if we believe that it is the folk remedy-lavender, we still cannot say that it cures insomnia. That because the study only shows us that the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than in the previous two weeks, but we need further information about them to get to know whether their insomnia are cured completely by the lavender-scented pillows. We still do not know what will happen later on so there exits the possibility that their symptom of insomnia just were just slightly relief temporarily but have not been cured at all.
Additionally, the arguer paid less attention to certain performance of the volunteers after using lavender-scented pillows, that is they felt their feeling of tired has been waken during the first week and even more tired during the second week. That is to say I am afraid about the security of the folk-remedy. We have not get knowledge in-depth about the possible and underlying side affects we cannot use lavender to cure insomnia.
In summary, the argument is not well reasoned and we cannot make it sure that whether it is the folk-remedy lavender-scented pillows or other factors cause the improvement toward people's symptom of insomnia and whether it has any side affects to human body and health.