Final Exam Essays

Here are the links to the final exam essays:

"Is There Hope for the American Marriage?" by Caitlin Flanagan

"The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting" by Nancy Gibbs

"The Parable of the Democracy of Goods" by Roland Marchand

"Don't Blame the Eater" by David Zinczenko

Weber Writes

In case you still need to post comments/questions about Weber Writes, you can post them here! Remember, you need to have all twenty discussion questions and comments finished by Friday.

Also, just for fun:

A little humor...

My apologies to any art majors, but I'm pretty sure English would work just as well...maybe better :)

"Drug Representatives"

Looking over Isaacson's essay, what do you think he did well? What do you think he could have improved?

Examples of Persuasive Articles

Here are some great examples of persuasive articles, any of which would fit the criteria for the Essay #2 assignment.  The first article is from 1977 and contains one of the examples in our rhetorical appeals handout.  The rest are from the opinion pages of the websites I've suggested. Skim through the articles and see if they spark your interest; if not, let the articles lead you to other articles on their pages. At the end if this post I've also included websites for you to search.

"The Satisfactions of Housewifery and Motherhood" by Terry Martin Hekker

"Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" by Mitt Romney

"Why I am Pro-Life" by Thomas L. Friedman

"2008 Called.  It Wants to Know What Happened to Barack Obama" by John Cook

"Charts: Women Are Backing Obama by the Binderful" by Dave Gilson

"Mugging Our Descendants" by George F. Will

"It's Time to Allow Doping in Sport" by Ellis Cashmore

"Should Doping Be Allowed?" Room for Debate Forum

"Who Says There Is No Solution to Bullying?" by Becky Cohn-Vargas


cnn.com
nytimes.com
washingtonpost.com
motherjones.com
huffingtonpost.com
salon.com
sltrib.com
deseretnews.com
standard.net

"Ban on Fast Food TV Advertising"

Here is the link to our next reading:

"Ban on Fast Food TV Advertising"

Knowing the appeals used by print and TV advertisers, as well as the subtlety of the effects of the appeals, do you think a ban on fast food advertising during children's programming is appropriate? Do you think that it would be effective in curbing the obesity problem?  San Francisco has passed a similar measure that bans Happy Meal toys in meals that don't comply with a certain nutritional standard (here is a link to an article about it). Do you think that forcing corporations to take responsibility for obesity is effective?

"A Portfolio of TV Commercials"

Volkswagon: Snowplow
Union Carbide: Chick
Alka Seltzer: Spicy Meatball
Quaker Oats: Mikey
Coca-Cola: Mean Joe Green
Federal Express: Fast Talker
Pepsi Cola: Archaeology
Levi's: Launderette
Jeep: Snow Covered
Energizer: Darth Vader
Got Milk?: Aaron Burr
The Gap: Pardon Our Dust
Honda: Physics
Sony Bravia: Bunnies
Dove: Onslaught
Tide to Go: Interview
Planters Peanuts: Perfume