Advance CompositionName:

Persuasive Unit

Fast Food: Who’s to Blame?

Part One: Pre-reading Questions for “It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” by Shannon Brownlee and “If you Pitch It, They Will Eat” by David Barboza

  1. What do the titles, “It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” and “If you Pitch It, They Will Eat,” tell you about the authors’ positions on who is responsible for America’s growing weight problem?
  1. What do you think is the purpose of these articles?
  1. “Portion Distortion” was published in the Sacramento Bee and “If You Pitch It” was published by The New York Times. What similarities do you think the articles might have? What differences? Do you think they will be equally reliable?
  1. What else can you tell about the articles just by looking at them?
  1. Read the first and last paragraph of each article. What arguments do you think Brownlee will make? What is the intended audience? How do you know?
  1. What arguments to you think Barboza will make? What is the intended audience? How do you know?
  1. Are the authors more likely to draw upon ethos, pathos or logos in order to be persuasive? Why?

Part Two: Vocabulary from Brownlee’s “Portion Distortion and Barboza’s “If You Pitch It”

Word / Definition / Know it Well / Have Heard of it / Don’t Know it
portion
distortion
manipulation
revenue
induce
promotional
marketing
class-action
proliferation

Part Three: Post-reading questions for “Portion Distortion”

  1. Look back at your original predictions for the article. Which were right? Which did you have to modify as you read?
  1. What is the main idea of “Portion Distortion”? According to Brownlee, who is to blame for America’s obesity problem? Underline or highlight the sentence that clearly states who is to blame.
  1. What does Brownlee think is the solution to the problem?

Part Four: Post-reading questions for “If You Pitch It”

  1. Look back at your original predictions for the article. Which were right? Which did you have to modify as you read?
  1. What is the main idea of “If You Pitch It”? According to Barboza, who is to blame for America’s obesity problem? Underline or highlight the sentence that clearly states who is to blame.
  1. What does Barboza think is the solution to the problem?

Part Five: Pre-reading Questions for Weintraub’s “The Battle Against Fast Food,” Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater,” and the letters to the editor.

  1. Read the first two and the last paragraph of Weintraub’s article. According to Weintraub, who is responsible for America’s obesity problem? What arguments do you think he will make?
  1. How do you think he will respond to the arguments raised by Brownlee and Barboza?
  1. Read the first two and last paragraph of Zinczenko’s article. Why does he bring up Jay Leno’s monologue? According to Zinczenko, who is responsible for America’s obesity problem? What arguments do you think he will make?
  1. How do you think he will respond to the arguments raised by Brownlee and Barboza?
  1. Read the last paragraph of each of the letters to the editor. Identify who the writer thinks is to blame for each.

Part Six: Vocabulary from Weintraub’s “The Battle Against Fast Food,” Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater,” and the letters to the editor

Word / Definition / Know it Well / Have Heard of It / Don’t Know It
epidemic
step up to the plate
face up to the fact
crunched data
implement
prevalence
incentives
sloth
opiate
purveyors
latchkey kid
prepared food
alternatives
launching
vulnerable
litigious
liability
entitled
defendant
plaintiff
clogging
credibility

Part Seven: Thinking Critically

Questions about Logic (Logos)

  1. Which article is the most convincing?
  1. What are the major claims presented in that article?
  1. What claims in that article are weak or unsupported?
  1. What other counterarguments could the author consider?
  1. Has the author left out an argument on purpose?

Questions about the Writer (Ethos)

  1. What is the author’s background?
  1. Is this author knowledgeable? Smart? Successful? How do you know?
  1. Do you trust this author? Why or why not?
  1. Do you think this author is deceptive? Why or why not?

Questions about Emotions (Pathos)

  1. How does the article affect you? Which parts?
  1. Do you think the author is trying to manipulate your emotions? How?
  1. Do your emotions conflict with your logical interpretation of the arguments? If so, how?
  1. Does the author use humor? How does this affect your acceptance of his/her ideas?

Part Eight: Redefining Vocabulary

Use the vocabulary words that you have already defined to fill in the blanks in the sentences that follow. You may need to change the vocabulary word’s form to fit the sentence.

  1. Some critics of the fast food industry ______that it intentionally tries to make us eat too much.
  2. Increasing ______sizes while keeping costs down induces customers to eat more.
  3. Parents are ______for making sure their children eat nutritious food and get enough exercise.
  4. The lack of physical education in the schools is contributing to the epidemic of childhood ______.
  5. It’s the fault of parent who let their children eat ______food.
  6. We shouldn’t ______junk food until we encourage more personal responsibility for one’s own health.
  7. ______for fast food should carry warning labels such as those for tobacco and alcohol.
  8. Fast-food restaurants need to ______nutrition information to consumers.

Part Nine: Writing Directions

Read the excerpt from Weintraub’s “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home”:

“As Americans add pounds, critics are increasingly blaming the fast-food industry. Teenagers have filed lawsuits blaming McDonald’s for their health problems, and a public health group in California has asked the governor to declare childhood obesity a state of emergency. But parents––not the fast-food companies, not the government––are in the best position to fight the epidemic of overweight children. Parents are responsible for teaching kids healthy eating and exercise habits. Parents are to blame if they let kids eat unhealthy foods and sit in front of the television or computer for hours at a time. We have laws against parents leaving a loaded weapon where children can find it and use it to hurt themselves or others. It’s time to get parents to take the same responsibility to protect their children from unhealthy foods and lack of exercise.”

Write an essay in which you explain Weintraub’s argument and discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with his analysis. Support your position, providing reasons an examples from your own experience, observations, and/or the readings. Your essay should be as well-organized and carefully written as you can make it.

Part Ten: Quick Write/Brainstorming

Take the next 10 minutes to write informally in response to the prompt above. How do you feel about Weintraub’s assertions? Do you agree or disagree with him? Why? Keep your pen flowing with any ideas on the issue.

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Planning

Create an organizational plan for your essay. Below you will find three options for finding the organization of ideas for your topic. Choose one to use as you plan for your own essay, or organize your ideas in a way that works for you. Make sure your plan includes: a thesis statement, focus topics for your paragraphs as well as which examples those paragraphs will use, and counter-arguments.

Option 1: Outline

  1. Thesis Statement: In the play, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare wishes to demonstrate the fatal error of letting one’s pride blur his judgment.
  2. Body Paragraphs
  3. Julius Caesar become so tempted by the prospect of becoming dictator that he rejects the warnings of those close to him.
  4. Soothsayer
  5. Sacrifices made by priests
  6. Ominous storms and signs in the streets
  7. Calpurnia’s dream
  8. Upon receipt of power, Brutus doesn’t listen to the counsel of those closest to him.
  9. Doesn’t listen to Senators and Cassius when urged to kill Antony.
  10. Doesn’t listen to Cassius concerning letting Antony speak at Caesar’s funeral.
  11. Doesn’t listen to Cassius concerning battle plans
  12. Caesar allows himself to be flattered, causing him to err in judgment.
  13. Decius flatters Caesar into attending the Ides of March
  14. The senators bow before him just before they murder him.
  15. Brutus, upon being flattered that he is important, is easily swayed.
  16. Cassius tells him that he is equal, if not better than Caesar.
  17. Falsified letters from plebeians make him decide to assassinate Caesar.
  18. Conclusion: It ends badly for them both. Both had ambition that ended up ending their lives.

Option 2: Webbing

Option 3: Table

Thesis Statement:
1st ¶ topic sentence: / 2nd ¶ topic sentence: / 3rd ¶ topic sentence: / 4th ¶ topic sentence:
Evidence / Analysis / Evidence / Analysis / Evidence / Analysis / Evidence / Analysis
Conclusion:

Checklist for your essay: Before turning in your essay draft to your teacher, ask yourself the following questions and if the answer is no, you may still have some work to do.

  • Do you clearly explain Weintraub’s argument?
  • Does the essay show you understand the issues in the reading?
  • Does the essay make clear whether you agree or disagree with Weintraub and how much?
  • Do the paragraphs provide specific evidence to support my claim?
  • Is there enough explanation of the examples to help the reader understand why I feel the way I do?
  • Do I use other sources (the other readings) to support my thesis?
  • Do I have an introduction, body and conclusion?
  • Do I have a clear thesis statement?
  • Does each body paragraph have a clear topic sentence and supporting examples?
  • Do I include counter-arguments?
  • Is the essay typed and double-spaced in a 12-point, Times New Roman font?
  • Do I use some of the sentence forms we’ve practiced in our sentence work practice?
  • Do I use appropriate and precise academic vocabulary?
  • Are words spelled correctly and proper essay format used?

Reflecting on your draft

  1. What was the most difficult about this writing assignment?
  1. What was the easiest?
  1. What did you learn about arguing by completing this assignment?
  1. What do you think the strengths are of your argument?
  1. What are the weaknesses, if any, of your paper?
  1. What did you learn about writing from this assignment?

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