Your challenge is to write a review/critique of some “publication” related to this course—namely anything connecting food, health, and diet. I suggest using an article or blog post from a website, newspaper, or magazine that offers some kind of dietary advice. You should find them with Google by searching something you’re interested in: “paleo diet”, “health benefits blueberries”, “cereal health nutrition”, etc. You get the idea.
It really doesn’t matter what the topic is or what you pick. However, don’t choose something that is super long or complex; that creates way more work for you than is necessary here. Also, don’t choose anything that is super short and trite; it simply won’t give you enough material to work with. Otherwise, pick something you want to read!
This assignment shows that you’re able to apply the course discussion and activities in the real world by critically analyzing some source that you might read even outside of this course. This is the goal of the entire course—see the learning objectives on the syllabus!—to help you think carefully and historically about diet and health. In terms of the writing itself, the assignments encourage/force you to focus on the clarity and concision of your thinking and expression. It’s a super useful skill that you’ll frequently employ in your future career, whatever it is.
Your essay must be right around 600 words. This restrictive format is very deliberate, to force you to focus on quality over quantity. The challenge isn’t to write 600 words, but pack as much analysis into that space as you can, and to make your writing as concise and clear as possible.
You should begin your essay with a quick summary of the source—no more than a few sentences—so that your readers have an idea of what the point is (assume they have not read it themselves, which is likely true).
The main question we’re focusing on for this assignment: How does the author establish expertise or authority? What techniques are used? We basically did this assignment regarding the Cheyne reading in class on Wednesday as the Shapin article walks us through it (you took good notes, right?). Think about whether the same kinds of techniques appear do or don’t appear in whatever you’re critiquing. Not all will apply, of course, and you might notice other techniques as well. Remember that some techniques are obvious, others much more subtle.
Another question to keep in mind as you write: How can the history of diet and health (as we’ve discussed it so far), provide any insight into what the article is talking about? For instance, you might discuss how your source balances common sense and medical expertise.
One of the major goals of this assignment is to show me that you’re doing the reading, and you will do this by deliberately drawing from the readings in your analysis. Do you see any distinct similarities or differences between expertise from our earlier readings? You should cite passages from the readings with author-date notation.
An example: Although Cheyne appealed to his personal experience with diet, he himself was extraordinarily large (Shapin, 276).
Please do not cite things from outside course readings—this assignment is to help me evaluate your engagement with our course materials.
NOTE: If your essay does not meet minimum formatting requirements, I will return it to you, and you will have to fix it, turn it in again, and you will lose points for being annoying.
In the process of getting your ideas on paper, you might end up with something like: “This article does not cite any research. The lack of research means it is difficult to understand if it should be trusted.”
During revisions, you should rephrase this to: “The article’s lack of citations compromises its authority and casts out on its validity.”
This kind of revision gives you much-needed space for more analysis and makes your writing (and you, by extension) smarter.
NOTE: Revisions are hard! But they are the only way to make your writing shine.
If you are not pleased with your grade, you can revise and resubmit them within 1 week of getting them back. You get an average grade between the two, though I tend to count the second one a bit more. I encourage you to meet with me about your essay before revising it to make sure you have a clear understanding how to improve it.
Please email me anytime with questions or concerns, including whether a particular source will work with the assignment. It is always worthwhile to talk about these things in class, too. Don’t hesitate to ask.