argument35--欢迎拍文作文修改小组7.18作业

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TOPIC: ARGUMENT35 - The following appeared in the summary of a study on headaches suffered by the residents of Mentia.

"Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, for the past several decades food-processing companies have also been adding salicylates to foods as preservatives. This rise in the commercial use of salicylates has been found to correlate with a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by participants in our twenty-year study. Recently, food-processing companies have found that salicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods. With this new use for salicylates, we can expect a continued steady decline in the number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia."
WORDS: 523
TIME: 00:30:00
DATE: 2010-07-18 15:34:40

The study on headaches suggests that we can expect a continued steady decline in the number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia. After seriously consideration, you will find the suggestion is not convincing because of the logical flaws it suffers.

Firstly, the summary is based on the assumption that Salicylates can be taken to treat headaches, when has no supporting ground. The author only offers the information the Salicylates belongs to the same chemical family as aspirin and then it is taken as a way of curing headaches through the summary of the study. Although there are facts that salicylates have been added to foods, but there’s no evidence shows that food-processing companies do this to treat headaches. What's more, it is well-known that vitamin C and B2 belong to the same family but they have far different effects on human health and it is ridiculous to take vitamin C as a substitute of all other medicines of the same family as it.

Secondly, further study is required to reveal the relationship between the use of salicylates and the steady decline in the average number of headaches. There are many other possibilities help to cure people's headaches and we should owe that to one of them just because they occur simultaneously. It is generally accepted that the ozonosphere has been greatly destroyed in the past twenty years, can we draw a conclusion that depletion of the ozone layer helped to the decline of the average number of headaches?

Thirdly, even if we can substantiate that all the forgoing information are proper to support the reason of the suggestion, we cannot agree with the author that taking salicylates as additives of foods is enough for us to expect a decline in the number of headaches suffered by the average citizen of Mentia. That's because it lacing evidence to prove that salicylates have no side effects if ingested too often or in excess. There's possibility that it has interaction with other ingredients making foods unsafe to eat, no mention curing headaches.
Furthermore, even if salicylates be used as flavor additives for foods, what’s cannot be guaranteed is that take place in everywhere foods are produced. There are a large number of people who are in favor of pure natural foods which no company can add additives. On the other side, with the highly developed modern international trade and transportations we are sharing foods almost from every corner of the world. There’s possibility that our daily foods are mostly produced not in the local companies, so even there are some measure like adding additives, we are not necessarily be influenced.
In sum, the summary provides us a suggestion that is not well reasoned and supported. The author’s assertion is based on assumptions that are not proved in detail. To make it convincing a conclusion, further study to reveal the relationship between salicylates and headaches is needed, while the feasibility of adding it to food as additives should be further argued as well as whether the addition of salicylates will cause a continued decline of the number of people suffered from headaches in Mentia.