Argument 24 范文

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Argument 24/26/28

Arg 24use of salicylates as additives and reduction of headaches

24) A recently issued twenty-year study on headaches suffered by the residents of Mentia investigated the possible therapeutic effect of consuming salicylates. Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches. Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, food-processing companies also add salicylates to foods as preservatives. The twenty-year study found a correlation between the rise in the commercial use of salicylates and a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by study participants. At the time when the study concluded, food-processing companies had just discovered that salicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods, and, as a result, many companies plan to do so. Based on these study results, some health experts predict that residents of Mentia will suffer even fewer headaches in the future.

Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the prediction and the argument on which it is based are reasonable. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the prediction.

26) 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.

Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.

28) 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.

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.




G1: A recently issued twenty-year study on headaches suffered by the residents of Mentia investigated the possible therapeutic effect of consuming salicylates.

G2: Salicylates are members of the same chemical family as aspirin, a medicine used to treat headaches.

G3: Although many foods are naturally rich in salicylates, food-processing companies also add salicylates to foods as preservatives.

G4: The twenty-year study found a correlation between the rise in the commercial use of salicylates and a steady decline in the average number of headaches reported by study participants.

G5: At the time when the study concluded, food-processing companies had just discovered that salicylates can also be used as flavor additives for foods, and, as a result, many companies plan to do so.

C1: Based on these study results, some health experts predict that residents of Mentia will suffer even fewer headaches in the future.


A1 (G2): Substance that belong to the same chemical family would have similar therapeutic effect.

A2 (G3, G4): Correlation implies causation and other factors are not important.

A3 (G5, C1): The plan would be materialised and the flavoured food would be popular.


model essay


It is predicted that Mentia residents will suffer fewer headaches because the food companies are expected to use salicylates as flavor additives. A number of questions about the nature of the chemical, its relation to headache, the preferences of Mentia residents and the plans of the food companies have to be answered in order to evaluate the predictions.

To begin with, we need to know whether salicylates can treat headache in a way similar to aspirin. The mere fact that both chemicals belong to the same family does not mean that both chemicals would have same therapeutic effects for headache. If there is no direct evidence to prove that salicylates can treat headache, the prediction would become groundless.

The study has found a correlation between the use of salicylates and the reduction in headaches being reported. The first question we need to ask about the study is whether the self-report method is reliable, i.e. whether or not the study participants can accurately recall the incidents of headaches they experienced. If the data is not reliable, the results cannot be taken seriously. In addition, we need to see if there are other factors that might lead to the reduction of reported headache cases. For example, over the past 20 years, had aspirin or other drugs of similar effects become increasingly available and popular among the study participants? Did the participants change their diet or lifestyle that might have helped reduce headache? As we all know, correlation does not imply causal relation. More attention has to be paid to other related factors.

Now let's assume salicylates may in fact help reduce headache. The next question is this: will Mentia residents benefit from the chemicals in the future? Since the chemical has been used as preservatives, we need to ask if Mentia residents enjoy food that contain such preservatives. Maybe people in Mentia prefer to eat fresh food; if this is the case, they may not have access to the chemical as food preservatives.

Another possible source of salicylates is food with salicylates as the flavor additives. We do not know whether the food company would actually use the chemical as flavor additives despite their plans. We need to know whether they can get approval from government authories such as FDA to use the chemicals. We also need to take into account the costs of the chemical relative to other alternative additives. Finally, we have to ask questions about consumers' taste to decide if the food with such additives will become popular, especially among Mentia residents. Answers to all these questions may influence the companies' decisions on whether to use the chemical as favor additives and ultimately affect the accessibiliy of salicylates for Mentia residents.

A final question we need to address is about the demographics and the health conditions of Mentia residents. Maybe the chemical can help treat headache to some extent. But no chemical can magically cure all headaches. If Mentia residents are ageing or suffer from certain disease conditions that cause headache, having the chemical food may not reduce the cases of headache in the long run.

In conclusion, a number of gaps in reasoning have to be filled in the prediction that fewer Mentia residents will suffer headache. To evaluate the prediction, we need to answer all the questions discussed above by gathering more information about this issue.





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