Reading Response #5

In my argument essay I explored the role of the fast food industry in the recent obesity epidemic. Currently, over half of the American population is overweight or obese. In fact, Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation, writes that, “we are a nation literally eating itself to death.” With the alarming rise obesity rates, some people are turning toward the fast food industry to lay blame. Its no secret that fast food restaurants can be seen everywhere today. With the high pace lifestyle of Americans, fast food restaurants are in high demand because they provide a quick and inexpensive meal for those always on the go.  In fact, 40% of American meals are eaten outside of the home. However, many people are not aware of the hidden dangers of fast food. Though fast food meals offer large portions of food for your buck, they are low in nutritional value and high in fat. On one hand, arguments have been made for the addictiveness of fast food. Foods high in fat can actually stimulate opioids or 'pleasure chemicals' in the brain, which can cause people to become overly dependent upon it. The consumption of fast food, though, is still largely a matter of personal choice. In my paper, my main argument is not to defend the fast food industry, but to point out that there many other factors that are influencing the nation’s weight. People are increasingly grabbing meals on the run to accommodate busy lifestyles and are missing out on the nutritional value that home cooked meals offer. Also, people today have become increasingly sedentary-driving to work instead of walking, performing little manual labor, driving to do errands, watching television, playing video games, and using a computer instead of exercising. It is clear that the nation less physically active than it was just a few years ago. Budget cuts have also limited the amount of physical activity students get at schools. In fact, 50 percent of teens get no vigorous exercise on a regular basis. In conclusion, obesity is not a direct result of the wide availability and convenience of fast food restaurants, but a culmination of many other factors of the American lifestyle. If America wants to loose weight, we must take responsibility for our own decisions instead of pointing fingers at the fast food industry.

There are many factors that go into creating an effective argument. As we discussed in class, the rhetorical situation explains that there is a dynamic relationship between the writer, reader, and subject of a writing situation. As Ballenger writes, good writing is not just a matter of following grammatical rules, but learning that different writing situations require something different. For example, a text message to a friend and a formal research paper vary greatly in the type of writing styles they convey. It is also important to understand your own purpose for writing the paper and the people for whom you are writing for. In persuasive writing, it is especially important to understand your audience. By doing so, you can create strong and highly effective arguments. In my argument essay specifically, I was writing largely to inform the general American public of the problems associated with obesity and to inspire them to make healthier lifestyle changes. Because my paper was written in an academic setting, it was also highly formal in tone.

Different mediums for your argument, such as commercials, billboard ads, or magazine ads, can also effect how you express your opinions. Ballenger writes that using text and images can actually be a powerful way to present an argument. In these types of ads, understanding your audience is still of importance, but it is also necessary to evaluate the sensory aspects of your visual. For example, the use of bright colors and different font styles can draw readers to the main focus of your ad.  Also, placing the main image of the ad in the center of the page can help readers focus on the central argument being made.

To revise my argument for a new medium and audience, I have decided to create a magazine ad that promotes a healthier lifestyle for college students. Because I will be presenting my ad to the class, I wanted to find a way to relate my essay to my classmates own lives specifically. Since fast food is convenient and cheap, it is a large part of the typical college life. Schlosser writes in his book that the typical American now consumes approximately three hamburgers and four orders of French fries every week and that the typical college student probably eats twice as many. Students going away to college are pre-warned about gaining the infamous “freshman 15,” as they very well should be. College students nowadays spend more of their leisure time indoors: playing video games, watching movies and TV. They are much less physically active than previous generations of students. They are also increasingly grabbing meals on the run from fast food restaurants to accommodate busy lifestyles. Breaking the fast food addiction can be hard, but I want to inspire college students to adopt healthier habits with my ad. I am not quite sure what my ad will be composed of specifically yet, but I do have some rough ideas. I want to show a picture of a student before they enter college, at a healthy weight and holding perhaps a carrot and a basketball, and then in comparison a picture of an obese college student playing video games and eating fast food. I want these images to be mostly black on a white background, except for maybe the carrot and the fast food, so they stand out to my audience. I will also use text to persuade my audience. Somewhere in the ad I will include some variation of the phrase “Stop Fattening America.” Through the use of text, images, and color, I hope to effectively present my argument to a new audience.

Word Count: 982