argument167 【0710G-HIT坚持交作业小组第十九次作业】SavileRow

SavileRowUID：2284947

题目：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.
字数：416（492）          用时：00:25:00          日期：2007-8-19 18:32:22

1 废话
2 第三周改善的睡眠情况可能和薰衣草没关系
3 志愿者的回答主关
4 不一定能推广：人数和病症
5 废话

这篇感觉不是很好写，所以没写完

The arguer asserts that a short period of time lavender is effective in curing insomnia. To support his assertion, he points out that the effectiveness of lavender could be demonstrated by a three-week study involving 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia. Careful examination of this evidence, however, reveals that it lends little credible support to his assertion.

Firstly, the assumption that the longer and sounder sleep during the third week is attributable to lavender is unjustifiable, especially when there is sleeping medication involved. The deteriorating sleeping condition in the second week might be due to patients' reliance on sleeping medication was suddenly removed. When it came to the third week, the meliorating sleeping condition might be attributable to the delayed function of sleeping medication taken in the first week. Besides, even if the medication factor was precluded, there are many other variables which may result the longer and sounder sleep in the third week. For example, since the patients responded that they waken more tired and slept less soundly in the second week, it is as likely that they finally could not stand the tiredness. Or, perhaps patients got used to the environment of the controlled room gradually, so they were more relaxed. Either event above is true, we can deduct that lavender might not play a role in the improved sleeping condition in the third week. Simply put, without ruling these possibilities, the arguer cannot validate his assumption.

Secondly, the arguer unfairly assumes that the insomnia was cured in the third week. However, his judgment rests on the response of patients which is quite subjective. Thus, lacking a unified standard in evaluating the treatment of insomnia makes this study less valid. Actually, there must be more scientific standards in determining the sleeping condition. For instance, through monitoring the brain activities of patients during the study is more believable and physiology-oriented.

Finally, even if we accept that lavender is conducive in improving the sleeping condition of patients in the study, the arguer is too hasty to draw the conclusion that lavender cures insomnia. On one hand, the patients involved perhaps cannot typify the whole population with chronic insomnia because 30 patients probably are too small a group compared with total number. And we are not informed weather these patients were chosen randomly. On the other hand, the patients involved suffered from chronic insomnia. The fact that lavender is effective in curing their problem is little indication that it is also effective in curing other forms of insomnia. It is possible that lavender cannot cure other forms of insomnia at all except for chronic insomnia. Without further study, the arguer is not able to expand the result in this study to a larger scale.

In sum, the assertion is logically flawed and therefore unconvincing as it stands. To better bolster the assertion, the arguer needs to provide further evidence confirming that it was lavender that improved the sleeping condition in the study. Also, he has to prove that lavender is also effective in curing other forms of insomnia.

doris_gxcUID：2370933

Firstly, the assumption that the longer and sounder sleep during the third week is attributable to lavender is unjustifiable, especially when there is sleeping medication involved. The deteriorating sleeping condition in the second week might be due to patients' reliance on sleeping medication was suddenly removed. When it came to the third week, the meliorating sleeping condition might be attributable to the delayed function of sleeping medication taken in the first week. Besides, even if the medication factor was precluded, there are many other variables which may result the longer and sounder sleep in the third week. For example, since the patients responded that they waken more tired and slept less soundly in the second week, it is as likely that they finally could not stand the tiredness. Or, perhaps patients got used to the environment of the controlled room gradually, so they were more relaxed.(这个点有点弱，可以放在前面) Either event above is true, we can deduct that lavender might not play a role in the improved sleeping condition in the third week. Simply put, without ruling these possibilities, the arguer cannot validate his assumption.

Secondly, the arguer unfairly assumes that the insomnia was cured in the third week. However, his judgment rests on the response of patients which is quite subjective. Thus, lacking a unified standard in evaluating the treatment of insomnia makes this study less valid. Actually, there must be more scientific standards in determining the sleeping condition. For instance, through monitoring the brain activities of patients during the study is more believable and physiology-oriented.（还可以写需要follow-up survey来确定没有复发这一点）