Fall 2005, E. Johnson

Topic for Essay 2

Advertising

Invention exercise: in groups, list as many of the following as you can:

• Ads that use emotion
• Ads that use humor
• Ads that use celebrities
• Ads that increase women's insecurity about their bodies
• Ads that are demeaning to people of color
• Ads that use sex to sell
• Ads that appeal to logic
• Ads that objectify men's bodies

You can use these as examples in your essay. A note on exemplification as a writing strategy: The example MUST be relevant to the point you are making. That is, it must truly be an example of the concept you are writing about, AND you must be able to explain why it is a good example.

Write your essay about one of the following topics:

1. (Informative) Why is advertising effective?

OR

2. (Argumentative) How does advertising affect particular groups in society?

You are encouraged to use cause and/or effect invention strategies, as well as exemplification. Be careful with the word because. A statement like "Women have eating disorders because advertisers use thin models" must be broken down into logical steps. What are the logical connections between thin models and eating disorders? As with exemplification, you must be able to EXPLAIN how the cause leads to the effect. Think about how your ideas are related.

The thesis must be analytical. You must choose ONE idea and explore it in depth. No tripartite essays allowed.

You must use quotations from at least two of the readings on advertising. Quotations MUST be relevant to the idea you are discussing. Use the MLA form of parenthetical citations, e.g. (Johnson 159), and include a Works Cited section at the end of your paper in MLA format. See your writing handbook for details.

The paper must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, with one-inch margins all the way around. The minimum length is 3 full pages, and the maximum length is 5 pages. You may include a graphic as long as the source is cited.