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.