woven baskets ETS argument essay please feed back

[dicapino]

Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.

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.

 

The authour of this text asserts that Palean baskets once thought to be unique to the Palean people are not so anymore, because of a recent discovery. While the baskets may not be indigenous to Palea, the evidence used to prop this author’s argument relies on flawed and vague assumptions.

Firstly, he has to expound on the discovery of the archaeologists. Were the baskets found in lithos similar to those found in Palea? It could be that the excavated baskets have patterns that are not found in Palean baskets. The author has to give evidence of Palean basket patterns and evince that they were also found on those excavated in Lithos.

Apart from providing evidence on the similarities of the baskets, he has to provide evidence on the amount of Palean type baskets that was found Lithos. From his premise the  phrase ‘such a palean basket’ could be interpreted as meaning  just one Palean type basket was found by the archaeologists , and this would not be enough to prove that the people of Lithos were also skilled in making these baskets and that the baskets were not peculiar to Palea.

Furthermore, to bolster his argument- that Palean people could only travel to Lithos by boat- water-tight the author has to show that there were no alternative routes between Palea and Lithos. As the text dosen’t state that these ancient towns were islands; there could have been alternative means to travel between these two towns by land, even if it might have taken longer time. And this could be a reason why palean baskets were found in lithos. Also, the claim that no Palean boats have been discovered should be strenghtened with evidence that shows that there are also no Lithos boats and also that Merchant ships or boats did not travel through the Brim river; as this facts can support the claim that there was economic contact between these towns that may have led to the presence of these baskets in Lithos.

In summary, the author’s claim that Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean fall shorts due to this inadequacies in its argument

[PeakPerformance]

While you identify the significant flaws with the argument, you are not developing each point fully enough. The 3 points worth addressing are given a single sentence in your third body paragraph, where each point must be a well-developed paragraph of its own. A good body paragraph will be a minimum of 5 sentences on a point. The scoring criteria calls for well-developed points with compelling support. Your first two body paragraphs are irrelevant and not worth addressing. Your thesis should be specific and set up the focus of the 3 points your body paragraphs will address. 

 

For example:

In order to evaluate the argument, further evidence is needed to show that travel between Palea and Lithos was only possible by boat during prehistoric times and that neither the Paleans, the Lithosians, nor nor any other village in the region had boats.

[dicapino]

@peakperformance thanks a lot. this information will be helpful.