Kim woods

Essay 1 Instructions

Essay 1 (500 words) will be an argument paper concerning fast food in America.  You can use Fast Food Nation as a source for your information.  Don’t use other sources in your essay.  For this essay, you do not have to provide MLA documentation.  However, you must not copy from the book; you must put this information into your own words if you are going to use it, or quote it accurately if you are going to use the exact words.  Let us know who said it, and use proper punctuation.  Otherwise, it would be plagiarism.  If you are a little nervous about plagiarism, make sure you review the assigned plagiarism material.

Reread the helpful description of the argument in the Owl, which you can find in the Online Resources section of Blackboard.  Choose one prompt and write a 500-word argument essay.  Here are the prompts for Essay 1:

1. Fast food companies, such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Burger King, have made children the target of their advertisements for years.  There was a movement some years ago to rein in the aggressive practices of fast food ads, but eventually the movement was defeated and the advertising grew even stronger.  Do you think fast food companies should be allowed to advertise their products directly to children, such as through commercials during cartoon programming?  

1. Some critics of fast food have compared fast food to harmful products, such as cigarettes and alcohol, because more people die from illnesses linked to poor diets than people die from cigarettes and alcohol.  The critics want fast food to be treated the same way with warnings and age limitations.  Do you agree?  (To get the full impact of the fast food diet, I recommend seeing Morgan Spurlock’s “Supersize Me,” a documentary that followed a man on his 30-day McDonald’s diet.)

1. With fast food companies trying to increase their sales, they have resorted to selling their goods in school systems across the country.  Some school systems have been receptive because they are facing budget woes.  Do you think fast food should be available in schools?

Some important features of Essay 1:

1. Structure of essay must follow the structure in “The Owl”

2. Organization of argument must be clear

3. Writing must be clear and concise

4. Argument must be more than unsupported opinion.  Make sure you use a good balance of facts, logic, and examples.  You are trying to persuade the rest of the world with this essay.

5. When using facts, logic, and examples, make sure you do not copy these facts, etc.  You are not required to use MLA documentation for this first essay, but simply copying another’s ideas is considered plagiarism.  Best advice: put the information into your own words, or if you are confident about the rules of quoting, then you can use some quotes.

6. Grammatical errors must be at a minimum  

Things to Avoid

• Avoid overuse of the word “I.”  It is okay to use I if you have something pertinent to say, but mainly avoid it.  Of course, never use second person (you, your, yours, you’re, you’ll etc.).

• Avoid using phrases such as:

1. I think

2. I believe

3. I feel

4. In my opinion