This Evaluate writing assignment addresses Course Outcomes 2, 3 and 4. The writing assignment allows you to combine what you have learned in Modules 4 and 5 in your exploration of the childhood obesity epidemic and the role of the food industry. You have read and viewed the assigned materials discussing childhood obesity and the food industry, and in this writing assignment you will further analyze the factors that have contributed to the rise in childhood obesity.

One key factor is the food industry with its omnipresent role in advertising and its more subtle role in influencing schools and the science around nutrition. In this essay, you will start with the childhood obesity problem and then broaden out to your understanding of the effects of advertising on our food choices and eating patterns. Be sure to support your work with the learning materials provided and any additional references that you would like to include.

Please see the Readings and Materials page for review.

Instructions to Learners

In your essay, please address the following questions:

• What are the factors that contribute to the increased rates of obesity in children?
• What are the roles of parents and schools in the relationship between the food industry and childhood obesity?
• Describe and explain how the food industry contributes to the overconsumption of sugar.
• Finally, pick a common sugary treat and describe the advertising of that product.mWho is the intended audience? Where is the advertisement (e.g., billboard or television)? Do you think the advertisement is successful?

Your essay will be evaluated in terms of how thoroughly you: answer the questions above; use resources to document your main points; and properly cite referenced work.  Your essay should address all of the questions above and should consist of approximately 750 words of text (approximately 3 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text). Be sure to include specific examples and references from this week’s readings and any additional references you would like to include. Use in-text citations and a reference list that will make up an additional page.

To successfully complete M5.4 Evaluate, you will need to organize your responses to the questions and then craft a formatted essay that includes each of the following:  

• A title page.  
• Well-developed introductory paragraph explaining the purpose of the essay and briefly referencing some of the main points/contentions offered in the essay.
• The body of the essay should consist of your effort to best answer the primary questions from the assignment prompt and should consist of approximately 750 words of text (approximately 3 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text).  Though the method by which this is done is largely up to you, it is essential that the responses to the questions in the prompt be based upon scholarly readings and should remain at all times defensible (in an academic sense).  You have a great deal of information to draw from in creating your essay, including the assigned readings and hyperlinked sources in the Module Notes.  As is the case with every assignment in SOC221, presenting any unsubstantiated, illogical, or indefensible position will have an adverse effect on the final grade.  Please direct any questions regarding these expectations to the instructor.
• A concise concluding paragraph that briefly restates both the purpose of the essay as well as some of the primary argument offered by you, the essay’s author.  Be sure the concluding paragraph does not introduce new information.
• A list of all sources consulted the preparation of the essay.  The essay should be formatted according to APA-style documentation.  (Links to an external site.) This includes the format of the list of references.

M5.5 Evaluate is due at the end of Module 5 by Sunday at 11:59 PM EST.

This course fully integrates Turnitin. Be sure to view the Turnitin instructions before submitting.