English 103

English 103 has been an awesome course overall, but there are always some good and bad things within a course.  My least favorite aspects of the course included the homework out of the book.  I felt like the homework out of the book, looking at it is as an entity, was pointless.  Although there were parts that were helpful when we were doing our visual rhetoric paper, overall there was no use except to give us some homework.  Some of my favorite parts of the course included working in groups.  I got really close to my group this year and we worked really well together.  I also enjoyed the multimedia project, and working with my group on it.  It was a lot of fun, and our idea was spot on for the type of people that we are.  Another thing that I enjoyed was the debate we had between Twitter, Facebook and Myspace (Twitter won, of course).  But it was a great way to showcase and use our argumentative skills, but in a more interesting way that was more relevant to our age group.  Overall, this course was great and it definitely helped me in my argumentative skills and my writing skills, and it lead me to some friends that I hope to never lose.

Weekly Update

This week we did a lot, a lot, a lot of filming.  On Monday Summers and I filmed my sweet tea scene in Hendrix, and what my definition of southern hospitality is, which is all we had planned to do.  On Wednesday, we also got a lot of filming done.  I filmed my speaking part of the sweet tea scene, and also stated my scenes that I would be introducing.  Along with this Kendall did all of her scenes which included speaking about the Mason-Dixon line, and the lingo of the South.  This was one of my favorite parts because we gave examples of the lingo - it should be pretty cute!  On Thursday morning Summers and I met in Shilletter to film some more tea scenes, which was pretty funny.  That afternoon Summers and I met again to film her and her roommate shagging in the bottom of Lever.  We filmed about 3 minutes worth of shagging but probably only using 20-30 seconds of the video.  It was so cute!  Then, Summers greeted one stranger for one of her scenes, but we plan to greet a few more.  Summers and I spent some time editing after I filmed them shagging.  We only have a few more scenes until we get to fully edit it!  It is so awesome and I know that it will turn out better than we anticipated.  On Sunday we will film my closet scene, one more sweet tea scene, and Summers speaking to strangers.  On Monday we will edit during class and outside of class.  I'm going to help where I can but Summers is the tech queen in this group!

Multimedia Project Update 4-13-12

On Monday Kendall was not present, so Summers and I had to brainstorm for ourselves.  Originally, our group was going to do a campaign as to why Clemson is the best university to attend for undergraduate and graduate.  Summers came into class and had obviously contemplated our topic over the weekend.  She came in with some new ideas, ones that we both liked more so than our other idea.  Summers had a few different ideas - like southern hospitality, common misconceptions, media vs news, and one other that I can't recall right this minute.  From there, we decided that the southern hospitality culture would be a great topic to take on because of the location of our school.  We want to create a how-to video on southern hospitality.  Our steps will include:

Step 1: Live below the Mason-Dixon line

Step 2: Use the word "y'all" --> using different phrases

Step 3: Drink sweet tea on a daily basis

Step 4: Greet every stranger pleasantly

Step 5: Seersucker must be present in wardrobe (different styles --> sundresses, etc)

Step 6: Must learn how to shag

For our video we will open with each of us stating what Southern Hospitality is to us in the format:

Hi, I'm ______ and to me southern hospitality is ______. 

Then, we will ask students on campus what southern hospitality is to them, what it is like, how do you see it in every day life, etc.  Then, we will address the steps we mentioned earlier.  Kendall will address Step 1 and Step 2.  I will adress Step 3 and step 5, and Summers will address Steps 4 and 6.  For Step 1 we plan to show maps, and what it means to live in the South.  For Step 2, we plan to use proper language such as y'all, fixin' to, bless your heart, etc.  For Step 3, we plan to go into Shilletter or Hendrix and show someone drinking sweet tea for every meal.  For Step 4 we plan to walk around campus and catch people greeting people pleasantly, holding open doors, etc. For Step 5 we plan to build our own closet and showcase it as a people with proper southern attire.  For Step 6 we're not quite sure what we're going to do - but we might ask to attend a shag class and film a few moves!

Writing Center Meeting

I had my Writing Center meeting yesterday at 10:00 am with William.  I got there a little early, so we began our appointment before the scheduled time.  This was beneficial because we ended up talking about my paper for more than 30 minutes.  I first explained to him what my paper was about and a little background information.  He then asked me if I had anything specific I needed help with and I really didn't have that many questions, but I did ask him about the structure of my paper and if my thoughts and ideas flowed well together.  So we began by going through each of my paragraphs.  We first read through the Introduction, and he felt like my thesis was very vague and a little too general.  But, he thought that the topic of my paper was good and that I had access to a lot of information but that I would just have to find it.  From there, we went through each paragraph and I gave an overview of the main topic and idea.  Overall, he felt like my ideas were cohesive and that they flowed well together in the order that they were in.  He did not feel that way about some of my sentences concerning the paragraph about addressing counter arguments.  I had some choppy sentences that needed to be rewritten.  William was saying that he was concerned about what I was going to add to my paper, but that if I compared two commercials or advertisements from the same company and prove how children are becoming more and more susceptible to being targets for unhealthy food advertisements.  Overall, I believe that my writing center meeting was beneficial to my paper because William gave me helpful tips as to how I can make my paper better and more cohesive.

Research Outline

Emma Templeton

Eng 103-010

Lamos

Research Paper - Outline

I.  Introduction

·         Hook: When you flip through a magazine, or are casually watching the TV, how many times do you come across advertisements concerning fast food restaurants?  Also include some statistics on the rate of childhood obesity within the United States.

·         Thesis:  The advertising of the fast food industry in the United States is geared towards children, which in effect has caused the rate of childhood obesity within this country to increase over the past thirty years.

·         Implications: What are the effects of fast food advertising on a child's mind? What makes them want to eat fast food so badly?

II. The Beginnings of a Catastrophic Downfall

·         A brief overview of childhood obesity rates within the United States in present day as compared to the mid-1970s.

·         Research popular chain restaurants advertisement campaigns throughout those same years and compare the obesity rate to that of the advertising.

1.      McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, etc.

1.      Need to figure out which restaurants to focus on.

·         Use of ethos to catch the reader's attention, and therefore allowing the child to crave their food.

·         Source: Crawford and Jeffery’s Obesity Prevention and Public Health

·         Source: Childhood Obesity: Public-Health Crisis, Common Sense Cure

III. Target: Children

·         This section will be centered on how fast food companies cater their advertisement campaigns to children

·         Fast food companies are able to do this through commercials, toys, kid’s meals, mascots, etc. which are all forms of ethos

VI. Growing Up Into Obesity and Other Outside Influences

·         Counter arguments will be addressed in this section.

·         Many believe that fast food and fast food advertising is not a main reason for the increase in childhood obesity over the years

·         Source: Jan Grover’s book Food

·         Another counter argument can be that the children do not have control over how often they eat fast food – it is in the hands of the parents/guardians

V.  So, What Does This Say About America?

·         Summarize/recap all of the arguments in the paper into a smooth, flowing conclusion

·         Remember to address counter arguments also

Questions to address:

·         Why is this significant to America and why is such a huge concern across the United States?

·         If childhood obesity is such a monumental concern, what can we do about it? How can we decrease the number of children who are obese?

For extra credit I was planning on going to view and sign the book at the librarian's desk in the library and then visit the corresponding building in order to get credit for the extra credit.  Then, I was walking outside of Kinard one day after my physical science class and I saw the pendulum going crazy!  It was moving so fast which took me by surprise.  I whipped out my phone and decided to take a video of it for the extra credit (I know I looked like a goof ball whenever I showed my face on the camera - my bad).  It was interesting because the day that we went to visit the Pendulum the first time it was still.  It wasn't moving the slightest bit.  Then, I was casually walking across campus and boy was this thing going crazy!  It was really exciting to see the difference between one day and the next.  The whole concept of the pendulum is intriguing because it is nothing I have ever heard of before.  I think that this extra credit opportunity was an awesome opportunity because it held each student responsible to go out and do the extra credit if it really meant that much to him or her.  

My Library Adventure

While I was at Cooper I decided to find some print sources that will be beneficial to my research on childhood obesity and how it is affected by fast food advertising.  I searched on the library website to find some print sources and I came across a few books, and one government document.  The books I found include  edited by David Crawford and Robert W. Jeffery, Obesity edited by Elliott M. Blass, and Food edited by Jan Grover.  The government document is in two parts, and entitled Childhood Obesity: The Declining Healthy of America's Next Generation - Part I and Part II.  The book entitled Food does not include a lot of information in it about childhood obesity, although Chapter 3 is titled "Are Fast and Snack Foods responsible for Obesity Among Youth?".  Basically, this book will be beneficial in developing a counter argument to my belief because it has a brief section explaining why banning fast-food advertising would not reduce childhood obesity.  This book also explains how a child's mind works when it comes to food, which is really interesting.  I believe that this source will be beneficial to my overall research.  Obesity will give me a better understanding of obesity as a whole.  There is also a section in this book called "Environment Food Messages and Childhood Obesity" that provides statistics and factual information. While I was skimming this section I came across one statistic that both broke my heart and thoroughly surprised me.  It states that in the last three decades over/weight and obesity rates among United States children (ages 2 to 19) has increased from about 5% of all children in the 1970s to 35% for boys and 32% for girls in 2005.  That's insane!!  This is one of the reasons I want to write this paper - to gain a better understanding of childhood obesity and how and why it has increased so much in the past two to three decades.  In this section there is a subsection titled "The Marketing of Unhealthful Choices" which will be where I obtain information about fast food advertising, the marketing of it, and the like.  In the last print source I discovered (Obesity Prevention and Public Health) there is a brief section (pgs 237-239) about advertising and mass media and how youth are more susceptible to be influenced by the power of advertising.  This section will help me garner information about the topic, but will not be beneficial in specific information to my topic.  The government document that I found was a hearing before the Subcommittee on Children and Families.  The hearing was about examining childhood obesity, focusing on the declining health of America's next generation.  This document will be boring to read but will give me the government's standpoint on this topic and its plan of decreasing the number of obese children in the United States.  Overall, I had a very successful Coop experience today! Hoorah!

Research Freewrite

Over the past few decades the rate of obese children living in the United States has significantly increased.  This increase includes many different causes, but one that should be made note of is the advertisement of the fast food industry.  The fast food industry uses different advertising techniques to appeal to the younger audience through the use of kid's meals, toys, and mascots.  For example, McDonald's uses Ronald McDonald, while Wendy's uses Wendy, who appeals to many due to her cute freckles and kind looks.  The fact that fast food restaurants are easily accessible and even more convenient aids in childhood obesity.  Parents who work late hours, or are running errands stop by a fast food restaurants to grab a quick cheap meal, not knowing the terrible effects this meal will have on their child's body.  The actual nutritional value of the food served at fast food restaurants is detrimental to a child's body and in years after the effects of excessive eating out will begin to surface.  Even though the fast food industry is attempting to create better options to chose from, children will more than likely choose the unhealthy burgers and greasy french fries over sliced apples and yogurt.  Through this research paper I will discuss the different aspects of the fast food industry and its appeal to families and especially the younger generation.  I will examine advertisement campaigns along with the reasons why fast food is so accessible.
To research this topic I will examine government documents on childhood obesity and its increasing rate.  I also plan on using the internet to access Goggle Scholar and find scholarly articles on childhood obesity and how fast food restaurants play a vital role in its increase throughout the years.  I will compare the rate of obesity in the present with the rate of obesity in children in the past few decades.  To discover other important articles and journals I will use the Clemson Library Online Catalog which will lead me to the articles that I need.
The most difficult part of this assignment will be pulling in all aspects that I want to cover to form a cohesive paper and hypothesis.  There is a lot of information that can be covered when talking about childhood obesity and the fast food industry, therefore I will need to thoroughly research my topic in order to create a paper that is not too broad.  This paper will also require a lot of research on my part, therefore I will need to quickly begin on my research.

Timeline for Research Paper:
February 19-25: Begin research
February 26: Decide on a creative and well informed hypothesis and topic for the paper
March 4: Finish outline
March 5-9: Construct a very rough draft; make sure to have pictures to include in the research paper
March 16: Rough draft due to Mrs. Lamos
March 17-24: Spring Break
March 25-29: Make major revisions to paper; ones that are needed
March 30: Final draft due to Mrs. Lamos

Visual Rhetoric Assignment

Thesis:  This Coca-Cola advertisement uses vivid color imagery and the facade of fame and entertainment to catch the viewer's eye and to persuade the viewer of the advertisement to buy their product.

I chose this advertisement for my Visual Rhetoric paper because I feel that Coca-Cola did a phenomenal job in persuading the viewer to buy their product.  The simplistic white background gives way for the glass coke bottle to become the forefront of the ad.  The slogan "live on the Coke side of life" plays with the viewer's emotions.  This catchy slogan makes the viewer believe that their life as it is right now is not as extravagant and exciting as it can be if he/she was drinking Coca-Cola.  The use of the color red in the slogan and in the name of the product at the bottom of the advertisement is significant in that it is the color that Coca-Cola is known for, and that they use in many of their ad campaigns.  Also, red is a visually appealing color and therefore the contrast of the red slogan with the white background makes the slogan to pop out and catch the viewer's eye while flipping through a magazine.  The use of the glass bottle in the advertisement as opposed to the use of a plastic bottle or can ads to the reader's interest in the advertisement.  The glass bottle has no label on it, except for that of the word "Coke" in white letters.  This is because the illustrator wanted the viewer to see the rich brown color of the Coke spewing from the top of the bottle.  The dark spewing Coke from the top of the bottle adds visual intereest to the reader because it is not a technique seen in any other ad campaigns from other leading competition.  In the spewing Coke there are images of a microphone, guitar, and a broken up piano keyboard.  Also seen are people - one person is singing, another playing bass and one playing guitar, and lastly one person dancing freestyle.  This image is one of excitement and fame, which appeals to many viewers who crave this type of lifestyle.  Coke uses this type of advertisement to appeal to every audience.  It does not distinguish between race, gender, or socioeconomic class which makes it very appealing to all people.  Many people have the common dream of living a carefree lifestyle full of exhilarating fame which makes the ad very compatible to many people.  Coke did a good job of evoking a craving for fame and glory through their use of color imagery and persuasion in their advertisement.

My Life in Pictures

I took this picture at one of the first Clemson football games of the year.  This picture is so important to me because Clemson is my second home.  I will call this place my alma mater and bring my children here one day and retell them stories of my wonderful experiences from when I was a student.  It’s unbelievable what Clemson does to me.  You really just have to visit Clemson for yourself to really understand how important and great this place really is.  There is meaning to the phrases “There’s something in these hills”, “Solid Orange” and “All In”.  Anybody that doesn’t attend to Clemson University or hasn’t visited Clemson does not understand the effect this magnificent has.  There is so much spirit in Clemson, not only for the football team or athletic teams, but also for the school, the town, and life in Clemson in general.  Clemson is solid orange in every aspect. 

I chose this picture to put into this blog because my family and my sisters mean the world today.  The shaped who I am today and without them I would be nothing.  They understand me, know me, fight with me, fight for me, and support me in every single thing I do.  That’s pretty amazing if you ask me.  If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be attending my dream college or feel comfortable expressing myself in the way I do now.  I would do absolutely anything for my sisters, and I know they would do the same for me.  Raye and Meg are truly my best friends and I know I could trust them with my life, and with any secret I ever have.  My parents, likewise, are the most supportive parents.  They are strict and get angry at me but they would also do anything for me and I couldn’t ask for better parents. 

This picture was taken during a volleyball game.  Volleyball and my volleyball team hold a special part in my heart.  I grew up with this team, experienced losses and wins, and found friends throughout it all.  Even though I wasn’t the greatest volleyball player, I love the sport.  The kills, the serve receive, every aspect of the game.  My high school experience wouldn’t have been what it was if it weren’t for playing volleyball with the special girls that I got to play with all four years of high school.

Visual Rhetoric At Clemson

Visual rhetoric is evident in every day life.  Sitting in the dorm room, my roommate and I watch The Bachelor and get annoyed during commercial breaks when commercials for ABC shows, Miller Lite and Kellogg’s cereal come on.  My roommate goes to the refrigerator to get a Coke Zero and we sit down to finish the show.  When the show goes off I proceed downstairs to go put my laundry in the dryer and pass countless student flyers about a Pinterest craft night and how to buy/sell books from Barnes and Noble for this semester.  When I got to the laundry room a girl was singing Adele on her iPod.  I take my laundry out of the washer and into the drier and head to Wendy’s for a late night frosty when I pass multiple bike racks.  I also see girls filing out of Manning Dormitory dressing up in short skirts and mid-drift tops to go to parties.  Next, I walk into Wendy’s and see a beautifully crafted mural of Death Valley, Clemson gradation and all things important to Clemson. 

            The most persuasive rhetoric was that of the commercials on TV.  The exotic colors, perfected scripts, and interesting people combine to create a persuasive approach to sell their product.  Each product has a different approach according to the audience they want to persuade.  The most subtle form of rhetoric was that of the posters hanging up on the walls in the dormitory.  Rhetoric tries to shape a person as the product/producer seems fit.  The ultimate goal is to sell their product to the consumer in any way possible.  Contemporary society uses rhetoric to help persuade a person to agree, act, buy, attend or accept an argument.  In simpler terms society uses rhetoric in selfish ways – to get what it wants. 

First Week Back

"Finally I'm back in Clemson" is what I thought I would be saying when I got on campus on Tuesday afternoon.  Really though, Clemson is my second home.  I love Clemson and every single thing about it, butI miss my family and friends so much sometimes.  For example, Tuesday afternoon.  I began to become overwhelmed with the start of a new semester on the horizon and leaving my family.  Things began to look up though once Wednesday morning came around and I was trying to put my happy, positive face on.  I enjoyed all of my classes on Wednesday and was actually forgetting about the sadness that I was feeling on Tuesday.  I shouldn't have thought that so soon.  Thursday morning during my overly boring Physical Science class I was checking my Facebook and checked my notifications.  There was a notification from my roommate for next year; she is in my small group and had written in our small group's Facebook group.  The comment began "This is really hard for me because y'all mean soooo much to me" and I was confused.  To sum it up, she decided to move home to Virginia for this semester and isn't sure if she will be back next year.  Wow.  So my week just got worse; one of my very good friends and future roommate is moving back home.  Naturally, I was first very angry but knew that anger would not make me feel any better.  Granted, she was having a very hard time at Clemson and I know deep in my heart that she needed to move home.  I have to look out for her happiness, and put that ahead of mine. I know it will all blow over and that this was meant to happen, and that eventually everything will work itself out.  This has been a very eventful week back, but what else would you expect?  I love this place, and am so glad that I get to call this beautiful, magnificent, awesome place home.