"To see what is in front of one's nose requires constant struggle." - George Orwell
Over the course of our first unit, we looked at the impact of what happens when logic fails. From advertisers who desire to create loyal brand followers (remember that Apple ad?) to those leaders in our world’s history who manipulated logic and ultimately destroyed many lives, fallacies are everywhere. We traveled to D.C. to see how newspapers carefully pick just the right headlines and how photographers use images to create compelling arguments. We also bore witness to one of the darkest times in our world's history. We saw the destruction caused by man's inhumanity to man.
While hindsight often provides clarity, sometimes it is difficult to see the failed logic to which we are exposed in our every day lives. Images and information bombard us with recommendations about what choices will lead to a better, stronger, healthier, more vibrant life. Many of these messages can contradict each other, and we easily can become confused about the choices we make or think we should make.
Your task is to write an informative paper that tackles a recommended product or a recommended way of life that is advertised as ‘good for you’ and after careful reading and research, decide the truth of the matter.
Think about anything that claims you will be:
ostronger
ofaster
ohealthier
othinner
omore muscular
omore alert
This paper will require you to consider the following questions:
What is the promise of this product/ lifestyle?
Who is advocating for this product/ lifestyle? How does this source benefit from this claim?
What is the evidence that the product/lifestyle is beneficial?
Why might this person/group have interest in advocating for the product?
Why might audiences believe the claim is true?
What is the truth of this product/lifestyle? Does it really do what it says? NEED RESEARCH HERE
What is the impact of this claim?
Requirements:
Cover Page: With Running Header, Original Title, Times New Roman, Font 12...look up APA cover page design.
Annotated Bibliography: You will need all of your sources written in an annotated bibliography where you cite the source information in APA format and also include a brief paragraph justifying the credibility of the source. Justifying credibility includes verifying the author/source expertise on the subject, impressing upon your audience the number of published works in their name and/or the experience they have gained which lends to speaking about the topic.
Thesis: Your thesis will be created AFTER you are done researching. I mean, honestly, how can you know what the conclusion of your research will be before you are done researching. While researching you will change your mind on the topic a lot (or at least you should). Your research should fairly defend both sides of the argument and not show bias. Your thesis will derive from the TRUTH and not just what you want the truth to sound like.
Development Process: After you have completed researching and identified your claim, it's time to develop this research into a reader-friendly paper that clearly moves your audience through what is important to know about this huge topic. Every day in class we will work on a part of the paper. Bring your laptops if you would like so you can work right in class. I can lock them up for you. Gathering and Organizing InformationFor this assignment, you will be using linoit to organize your notes.You will create your own group and invite me to it. See linoit instructions if you need help.Then you can organize your boards by source or by argument...You decide what color stickies to use. Be sure that you create stickies with source info (some people do that on one board).Then every sticky is tagged with source info. so that you stay organized.See me if you want some help organizing your board(s).You will earn process points for your notes.
Come prepared and use your time out of class to stay on top of this paper.
We will practice and you will be graded with the following in mind:
Using in-text and parenthetical citations. Structuring your paper with clear topic sentences and controlling key words. Building momentum and flow with transitions. Writing a really high interest introduction. Closing with a smart and forward thinking conclusion.
*Of course, sentence variety, effective word choice, correct spelling, proper use of commas, and all of the other basics of writing are expected. Don't lose points in these categories. Find an editor or step up your game yourself. These expectations have to be met.
Some Potential Topics... Crossfit -Training
Organic
Vitamins
Water - bottled water vs. tap / how much to consume
GMO’s - need to narrow -- mutations? nutrient shortage?
Corn - ethanol - Cars run on food…. but food shortage/ limits crops … water as a resource
Vegan / Gluten Free/ Kale/ Soy
Locavore Movement
High Protein Diet
Raw Milk
Milk
Creatine / Supplements
Monster Drinks/ 5 hour energy
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Dyes
Nutritional Cleanse
Exercise - excessive / obsessions
Paleo Diet
Raw Foods Diet
Fruits and Veggies only - diet
South Beach Diet
Atkins Diet
Sugar / Salt
E-cigarettes
Antibiotics
Running - or other high impact sports (football / soccer / basketball)
Research Paper - Digging up the Truth
Edit 0 17…"To see what is in front of one's nose requires constant struggle." - George Orwell
Over the course of our first unit, we looked at the impact of what happens when logic fails. From advertisers who desire to create loyal brand followers (remember that Apple ad?) to those leaders in our world’s history who manipulated logic and ultimately destroyed many lives, fallacies are everywhere. We traveled to D.C. to see how newspapers carefully pick just the right headlines and how photographers use images to create compelling arguments. We also bore witness to one of the darkest times in our world's history. We saw the destruction caused by man's inhumanity to man.
While hindsight often provides clarity, sometimes it is difficult to see the failed logic to which we are exposed in our every day lives. Images and information bombard us with recommendations about what choices will lead to a better, stronger, healthier, more vibrant life. Many of these messages can contradict each other, and we easily can become confused about the choices we make or think we should make.
Your task is to write an informative paper that tackles a recommended product or a recommended way of life that is advertised as ‘good for you’ and after careful reading and research, decide the truth of the matter.
Think about anything that claims you will be:
This paper will require you to consider the following questions:
What is the promise of this product/ lifestyle?
Who is advocating for this product/ lifestyle? How does this source benefit from this claim?
What is the evidence that the product/lifestyle is beneficial?
Why might this person/group have interest in advocating for the product?
Why might audiences believe the claim is true?
What is the truth of this product/lifestyle? Does it really do what it says? NEED RESEARCH HERE
What is the impact of this claim?
Requirements:
Cover Page: With Running Header, Original Title, Times New Roman, Font 12...look up APA cover page design.
Annotated Bibliography: You will need all of your sources written in an annotated bibliography where you cite the source information in APA format and also include a brief paragraph justifying the credibility of the source. Justifying credibility includes verifying the author/source expertise on the subject, impressing upon your audience the number of published works in their name and/or the experience they have gained which lends to speaking about the topic.
Thesis: Your thesis will be created AFTER you are done researching. I mean, honestly, how can you know what the conclusion of your research will be before you are done researching. While researching you will change your mind on the topic a lot (or at least you should). Your research should fairly defend both sides of the argument and not show bias. Your thesis will derive from the TRUTH and not just what you want the truth to sound like.
Development Process: After you have completed researching and identified your claim, it's time to develop this research into a reader-friendly paper that clearly moves your audience through what is important to know about this huge topic. Every day in class we will work on a part of the paper. Bring your laptops if you would like so you can work right in class. I can lock them up for you.
Gathering and Organizing InformationFor this assignment, you will be using linoit to organize your notes.You will create your own group and invite me to it. See linoit instructions if you need help.Then you can organize your boards by source or by argument...You decide what color stickies to use. Be sure that you create stickies with source info (some people do that on one board).Then every sticky is tagged with source info. so that you stay organized.See me if you want some help organizing your board(s).You will earn process points for your notes.
Come prepared and use your time out of class to stay on top of this paper.
We will practice and you will be graded with the following in mind:
Using in-text and parenthetical citations.
Structuring your paper with clear topic sentences and controlling key words.
Building momentum and flow with transitions.
Writing a really high interest introduction.
Closing with a smart and forward thinking conclusion.
*Of course, sentence variety, effective word choice, correct spelling, proper use of commas, and all of the other basics of writing are expected. Don't lose points in these categories. Find an editor or step up your game yourself. These expectations have to be met.
Some Potential Topics...
Crossfit -Training
Organic
Vitamins
Water - bottled water vs. tap / how much to consume
GMO’s - need to narrow -- mutations? nutrient shortage?
Corn - ethanol - Cars run on food…. but food shortage/ limits crops … water as a resource
Vegan / Gluten Free/ Kale/ Soy
Locavore Movement
High Protein Diet
Raw Milk
Milk
Creatine / Supplements
Monster Drinks/ 5 hour energy
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Dyes
Nutritional Cleanse
Exercise - excessive / obsessions
Paleo Diet
Raw Foods Diet
Fruits and Veggies only - diet
South Beach Diet
Atkins Diet
Sugar / Salt
E-cigarettes
Antibiotics
Running - or other high impact sports (football / soccer / basketball)
A Clip from Portlandia
A Few Places to Get Started
Articles from Huffington Post
What the Government Got Wrong About Nutrition
5 Foods This Nutritionist Wouldn't Eat
Article on GMO's
The Pros and Cons of the Paleo Diet
A series of TED talks on Food
TED Talks - Food
Recent Books on Food
An Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan
In Defense of Food - - Michael Pollan
GMO 101 - A Practical guide by Mr. Alain Braux (Sep 3, 2014)
Bet the Farm: How Food Stopped Being Food by Frederick Kaufman (Oct 1, 2012)