Unit 1
In the eye of
the beholder
1
Unit Overview
Task Cycle 1: Concepts of beauty
4
5
Task
Put forward a position in speaking
Academic
Literacy Focus
Putting forward and developing a position in speaking
Language Focus
Avoiding unsupported assertions
8
Follow-up Task 1
Putting forward and developing a position cautiously
8
Academic
Literacy Focus
Writing a structured paragraph (review)
8
Follow-up Task 2
Write a paragraph in which you put forward and develop
a position
9
Academic
Literacy Focus
Ways of reading
Task Cycle 2: A universal concept of beauty
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9
12
Task
Use evidence to put forward a position in writing
13
Academic
Literacy Focus
Expository and argumentative writing
16
Argument essays: Introductions
A good thesis statement
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17
Follow-up Task
Write an introduction for an argument essay
22
Academic
Literacy Focus
Reading Critically: Fact or opinion?
Task Cycle 3: Concepts of beauty and the media
Cosmetic surgery
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25
Task
Read and analyse the effectiveness of a journalistic
style argument essay
26
Academic
Literacy Focus
Argument essays: Conclusions
31
Argument essays: Coherence and cohesion
32
Watch a video and discuss the pros and cons of
cosmetic surgery
33
Follow-up Task
2
Academic
Literacy Focus
Reading Critically: Comparing points of view/positions
Task Cycle 4: Dieting and slimming in Hong Kong
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36
Task (Part 1)
Based on a sharing of three texts, take a position and
write a thesis statement for an argument essay in
support of that position
38
Academic
Literacy Focus
Argument essays: Introducing and refuting other points
of view/positions (acknowledging counter-arguments)
39
Argument essays: Structuring an argument essay
41
Language Focus
Argument essays: Language in arguments
45
Task (Part 2)
Write a plan for an argument essay in support of a
position
46
Academic
Literacy Focus
Argument essays: Using information from sources to
support a position
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Unit Assessed Task
At the end of Week 8 you will submit an essay to Canvas. It is an argument essay. In
this essay you should put forward and support a position or point of view on the topic
of beauty.
Before then, you will explore and discuss this topic in class. As you work through the
Unit your instructor will also direct you to some articles on Canvas. You should
download and read these articles to help you come to a position on the topic. There
are questions on Canvas to help you analyse these articles. You can of course
supplement this reading with research of your own.
In your essay you should:
 Put forward a thesis (i.e. a position or point of view);
 Present a series of arguments to convince your reader of your position;
 Support your arguments with appropriate evidence; and
 Conclude in a way that sums up and reinforces your thesis.
You should write 600- 800 words (an introduction, a conclusion and probably three
well-developed body paragraphs).
You should make appropriate in-text citations (a summary or a paraphrase, not a
quotation) to support the development of your arguments. These might be from the
articles on Canvas, or other sources. You must list all your sources in a reference
list, and keep in mind what you have learned about appropriate use of sources and
avoiding plagiarism.
3
Task Cycle 1
The objective of this task cycle is to
enable you to put forward and
develop a position on a topic.
Pre-Task Activities
1. What is beauty? Complete the statements about beauty by matching the first
half in column A with a suitable ending in column B.
A
Beauty is a quality of something that is
Beauty can be seen not only in the human
form,
Although we can say what a beautiful woman
or beautiful flower is,
We are born equipped with
Beauty is the pleasure
-
B
an innate eye for beauty.
intrinsic to it (e.g. its colour or its form) and is
independent of who is looking at it.
we cannot say what beauty unattached to any
object is.
an object evokes in us.
but also in nature, and in artistic and scientific
creations.
Which statement do you like best? Why?
Throughout history people have tried to define what beauty is. What other
definitions are you familiar with? (Hint: Look at the name of this unit.)
What do you think beauty is?
2. Discuss the following questions with a partner or small group:
Reference is made above to a beautiful woman, but can men also be beautiful?
Image from designer Jian Lasala's Facebook page
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Task Cycle 1
Unit
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In December 2010, American Vogue featured eight female Asian models who were,
according to the magazine, ‘redefining traditional concepts of beauty’.*
Whose traditions were they probably referring to?
*This means: ‘changing our ideas about what is beautiful’.
Photographed by Steven
Meisel for Vogue.
This picture appeared
with the article “Asia
Major”, written by
Samantha V. Chang.
The Task
Step 1: Sit with one or two other students. Choose one of
the following statements:
It is better to be beautiful than to be clever.
Beauty does not need to be seen.
Beauty and happiness do not always go hand in
hand.
Modern concepts of beauty are no different from
those of antiquity (e.g. the ancient Greeks and
Romans).
Beauty is confidence.
Together, decide how to put forward a position for
or against the statement, and how you will support
your position with arguments and evidence.
Step 2: When you are ready, move to another group.
Speak for two minutes. Can you convince
members of this new group that your position is
right?
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Unit
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Task Cycle 1
Step 3: Listen to your groupmates. Were you convinced?
Why or why not? Give your groupmates some
feedback.
Academic Literacy Focus
Putting forward and developing a position in speaking: The essential steps in
presenting and supporting a position are:

I believe that ...

I think that ...

From what I understand ...

As I understand it ...

This is due to ...

Because ...

What I mean by this is ...
Step 2
Give evidence to support the position
 relevant and up-to-date examples
 statistics
 explanations
 expert opinions

This can be seen by ...

For instance ...

For example ...

An example can be seen in ...

(Author's name) states that ...

(Author's name) suggests...

Statistics from (give a source) indicate ...
Step 3
Comment on the support

This means, of course, that…

This shows that…

In other words…
Step 1
Put forward a position
Give a (brief) reason to explain your
position
What other evidence could you give to support the position you put forward in the
task? Could you use some of the statistics or references on the next page?
How will you acknowledge the source of your support? We acknowledge the source
of information rather differently in speaking and writing. In speaking, it is important to
make it clear why the evidence is relevant, by showing who or what you are citing;
why this person is an authority; and possibly whether the information is recent. e.g.,
“The findings of Hamermesh, who is an economist working for the National Bureau
of Economic Research in the US, show that…”
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Task Cycle 1
Unit
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We measure the impact of individuals' looks on life satisfaction/happiness. Using five data sets, from
the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Germany, we construct beauty measures in different ways that allow
placing lower bounds on the effects of beauty. Beauty raises happiness: A one standard-deviation
change in beauty generates about 0.10 standard deviations of additional satisfaction/happiness
among men, 0.12 among women. Accounting for a wide variety of covariates, particularly effects in
the labor and marriage markets, including those that might be affected by differences in beauty, the
impact among men is more than halved, among women slightly less than halved.
Hamermesh, D. & Abrevaya, J. (2011). Beauty is the promise of happiness? (NBER Working Paper No.17327). Cambridge,
MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
What’s special is that these economists have been analyzing years of surveys to determine
correlations between appearance, income, and happiness. In early studies, Hamermesh and his team
have pointed out that more attractive people tend to make more money and pair off with more
attractive spouses.
Tuttle, B. (2011, March 30). Why are beautiful people happier? Mainly because good looks help them get rich. TIME. Retrieved
from http://business.time.com/2011/03/30/why-are-beautiful-people-happier-mainly-because-good-lucks-help-them-get-rich/
The Fibonacci Sequence is a sequence of numbers where each number is the sum of the previous
two—i.e., 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34…and so on to infinity. The ratio of one number to the next is
approximately 1.61803, which is called “phi”, or the Golden Ratio. It’s not a magical mathematical
equation of the universe, but it definitely reflects natural, aesthetically beautiful patterns. The ratio has
been used as the ideal proportion standard by artists and architects throughout history.
Bourne, M. (n.d.). The math behind the beauty. Retrieved from http://www.intmath.com/numbers/math-of-beauty.php
It’s also worth noting the effect of conformity: study after study has found that if you hear or see that
someone else is attracted to someone, you are more likely to fancy them yourself. In this way, tastes
for certain types of people could spread throughout a population, shaping our norms for what we
consider beautiful. “The benefit of this is that you don't have to learn everything for yourself and can
benefit from the experience of others,” Little says. “What is interesting in modern society is that social
media can mean this learning could be on a worldwide scale.”
Robson, D. (2015, June 23). The myth of universal beauty. BBC Future. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150622-the-myth-of-universal-beauty
Happiness is most easily attained by living in an aesthetically beautiful city. The things people were
constantly surrounded by—lovely architecture, history, green spaces, cobblestone streets—had the
greatest effect on their happiness. The cumulative positive effects of daily beauty worked subtly but
strongly.
Delistraty, C. (2014, August 15). The beauty-happiness connection. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/the-beautyhappiness-connection/375678/
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Unit
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Task Cycle 1
Language Focus
Avoiding unsupported assertions: In addition to giving
evidence to support your position, you can use hedging to avoid
being ‘attacked’ for putting forward unsupported assertions.
In LANG 1002 you learned about hedging. Hedging is important
in academic writing and speaking.
Why might you be extremely cautious about using the following
expressions in putting forward a position?
 There is no doubt that …;
 Everybody knows that … / As everybody knows, …; and
 It’s absolutely sure that …
Follow-up Task
Sit with a group. Put forward your position again. Use
evidence to support your position. Use hedging to avoid
unsupported assertions.
Academic Literacy Focus
Writing a structured paragraph: In LANG 1002 you learned
about writing structured paragraphs. You learned that:
 A structured paragraph begins with a topic sentence,
which states the focus of the paragraph. The focus
consists of the topic, and the controlling idea.
 There are common ways of organising a paragraph, and
the structure is set up in the topic sentence.
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Task Cycle 1
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 The paragraph then develops the controlling idea
with details, definitions, examples and so on.
 Ideas which directly support the controlling idea are called
primary support. Additional information that indirectly
supports the controlling idea can be called secondary
support. It is important that a paragraph is unified. This
means that all sentences must support the controlling
idea.
 A paragraph may be focused and have a clear
organisational pattern, but still not be easy to follow. A
good paragraph is also coherent and cohesive.
Coherent means logically ordered, and cohesive means
holding or sticking together. There are different ways to
achieve coherence and cohesion.
Go back to your LANG 1002 textbook if you do not
remember how to write this kind of paragraph. If you need it,
ask your instructor or an iLANG advisor for more help.
Follow-up Task
Write a paragraph on the topic that you chose for the task.
Check that your paragraph has all the features outlined
above.
Academic Literacy Focus
Ways of reading: You have probably been told before that you
should read critically, but do you know what this really means?
There are three ways of reading. You can:



read what a text says;
describe what a text does; and
analyse what a text means.
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Unit
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Task Cycle 1
When you read what a text says, you are concerned with basic
comprehension. You move from sentence to sentence and
paragraph to paragraph and simply try to understand and follow
the links between ideas. You accept what the text states. You are
not interested in the nature of the discussion or the overall
purpose or intent of the writer.
There is nothing wrong with reading in this way. Tell the person
next to you when it might be best to read in this way.
When you describe what a text does, you are very interested in
the structure of the text. Rather than simply moving from sentence
to sentence, you are concerned with how the writer uses
examples and evidence, and in what order, to build up to a
conclusion or final point.
Imagine that you were reading an essay about use of social
media. You could ask the following questions. What other
questions could you ask?
Does the text describe use of social media and/or give statistics?
Is use of social media presented as a widespread problem or just the
writer’s personal experience?
When you analyse what a text means, you look at how patterns
of content and language in the text shape the way the topic is
handled and convey underlying meaning. Lots of students find it
difficult to move to reading in this way. Perhaps one way of
thinking about reading in this way is comparing it to looking at a
painting. Imagine that you were looking at the famous painting of
the Mona Lisa. What kinds of questions would you ask?
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Task Cycle 1
Unit
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Is she smiling? Is she embarrassed? Why did the painter
choose to not make her feelings more obvious? Why does the
background look like a dream-like landscape? …
We ask these questions when we look at a painting because a
painting does not come out and tell us its meaning.
If we read a text in a similar way, we are interested in the
choices that the writer made in handling a topic. What kinds of
choices can a writer make?
Choice of…
Choice of…
Choice of…
All three of these ways of reading are appropriate at different times. One way is not
better than another; it is just different.
Critical reading does, however, involve all three ways.
Preparation for the Assessed Task
Today your instructor will direct you to the readings for the
assessed essay on the topic of beauty. They are on Canvas.
- Download a reading and print it.
- Read the article and answer the set of questions on it on
Canvas.
- Be prepared to discuss answers to the questions and report on
your reading in class next week.
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Task Cycle 2
The objective of this task cycle is to
help you to develop a position and
to put it forward in writing.
Pre-Task Activities
1. Do a Google image search. Type in something like ‘Beauties of the past’.
What do the images suggest about how concepts of female beauty have
changed over time?
2. What about today? Is there a universal concept of female beauty?
Your instructor will show you a video. Discuss the video with a partner.
What does this video suggest about the question of whether the concept of
female beauty is universal?
3. In Task Cycle 1, reference was made to the American Vogue article in
which it was stated that eight Asian models were ‘redefining traditional
concepts of beauty’.
How do you think the writers of this article would respond to the question:
Is there a universal concept of female beauty?
Photographed by Steven
Meisel for Vogue.
This picture appeared
with the article “Asia
Major”, written by
Samantha V. Chang.
12
Task Cycle 2
Unit
1
The Task
At the end of this task, which has a number of parts, you are
going to put forward a position on this question:
Is there a universal concept of female beauty?
First, you will watch a report about Mauritania, a place where,
traditionally, being fat was revered. Before watching, look at
the questions below. Discuss your answers with the person
next to you.
In Mauritania it has traditionally been considered desirable
for women to be fat. Why do you think this might have
been?
What consequences have possibly resulted from this way of
thinking?
Do you think this concept of beauty might be changing?
Why? / Why not?
Step 1:
Watch an extract from a video about Mauritania.
Check whether your ‘possible answers’ to the
questions about Mauritania were correct.
Step 2: Your instructor will ask you to read Part A or Part B
of an article about Mauritania in the Appendix:
‘Mauritania’s wife-fattening farm’. Analyse the
situation in Mauritania by writing notes in the first
two columns of the table on the next page.
Tell your partner what you have learned about
concepts of beauty in Mauritania in the past or the
present in order to answer the questions in column
3 of the table.
Step 3:
Discuss the following with your partner:
If you met Fatematou, the woman who runs a ‘fat
farm’ in Mauritania, what would you say to her?
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Unit
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Task Cycle 2
The past:
The present:
Attitudes to beauty
and force-feeding
in Mauritania
Attitudes to beauty and
force-feeding in
Mauritania
You and your partner’s answers to these
questions:
 Is the situation in Mauritania changing?
 Is this change a good thing? Why/why not?
An article published in the newspaper USA Today entitled
‘Extreme dieting spreads in Asia’ states that “Many women
in Asian countries are endangering their health to meet the
standard of beauty in their societies”.
Step 4:
Read the article, ‘Extreme dieting spreads in Asia’. The link
to the article, and some True / False statements to guide
your reading, are on Canvas. They are also in the Appendix.

What does the article suggest about concepts of
beauty in Asia?

What are the consequences of these concepts?
Be prepared to put forward a position on the ideas raised in
the article.
Step 5:
The article on the next page was written in reaction to
‘Extreme dieting spreads in Asia’. Read the article.

What does it suggest about concepts of beauty in
Colorado (in the USA)?

What are the consequences of these concepts?
Be prepared to put forward a position on the ideas raised in
the article.
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Task Cycle 2
Unit
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Extreme diets reign in Asia -- but muscles are still sexy
in Colorado
USA Today online posted an article by Kathy Chu titled
"Extreme dieting spreads in Asia." The article tells of
women in Hong Kong, Seoul, and other Asian cities who
struggle to stay skinny, skinny, and more skinny.
In the article, Chu quotes Phillipa Yu, a clinical psychologist
in Hong Kong, who says, "The magic number is to be below
100 pounds, no matter your height...." To achieve this goal,
the women resort to diet pills and severely restricted
diets. Chu writes that one woman "loses weight the
inexpensive way...via portion control. For dinner
sometimes, she'll have two spoonfuls of rice with
vegetables and soup." Many women try expensive
ultrasound or body wrap treatments.
What most of these women aren't doing is exercising! And
why? Chu writes, "In Asia, women want to stay skinny
without exercising because muscles aren't considered a
feminine feature."
Thankfully, we live in Denver…
Let's celebrate our muscles, enjoy a full meal, and go to bed
knowing that true beauty emerges through the confidence
we have when we take care of our bodies, and develop the
ability to rise to the physical challenges we present to
ourselves in the group fitness classroom and on the
mountain trails.
Adapted from http://www.examiner.com/group-exercise-in-denver/extreme-diets-reign-asiabut-muscles-still-sexy-colorado
Women in Colorado
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Task Cycle 2
Step 6: Considering all that you have read and heard in the
last two lessons, write a paragraph and put forward
your position on the following question:
Is there a universal concept of female beauty?
Your instructor might then ask some students to
share their paragraphs with the class.
Academic Literacy Focus
Expository and argumentative writing
For LANG 1002, you wrote an expository essay about a past game
changer. Tell your partner what you wrote about. What does the word
‘expository’ mean?
This semester, you are required to write an argument essay. What do you
think might be the main difference between expository and argumentative
writing?
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Task Cycle 2
Unit
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The main difference between an argument essay and an expository essay is that
an argument essay attempts to convince the reader to accept the writer’s
position, while an expository essay provides information and explanations in a
straightforward manner to the readers.
An argument essay contains a combination of facts and the writer’s personal
ideas. A writer preparing to start an argument essay has to do a lot of reading
and gather evidence to prove as well as to defend his/her position. An argument
essay is subjective, but the writer has to be aware of the opposing views on the
subject in order to not appear biased.
These ideas will be explained further in the coming lessons.
Argument essays: Introductions
You learned on LANG 1002 that an introduction often has three parts.
Two of them are essential:


General statements – these introduce the topic of the text and give
background information on the topic. They usually come before the
thesis statement.
A thesis statement – In an argument essay, this is the writer’s
statement of what he/she believes and hopes to convince the reader
to accept.
Identify these two essential parts in this introduction from a
journalistic essay which you will read in the next task cycle:
Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body
parts—sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television
actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Women’s
magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those
last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving
children, great sex, and a rewarding career. Because there is no
doubt that women of all ages feel the pressure, and the
consequences can be tragic, many would argue that not enough is
being done to avert these consequences.
A good thesis statement
There are two main requirements of a good thesis statement:
1. It must be debatable.
This means that your reader could take a different position to you. If your
thesis is a statement of fact or is purely descriptive, there is no point to
your essay. There is nothing to convince your reader of.
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Task Cycle 2
Here is an example of a non-debatable thesis statement:
The number of young women who are clinically underweight in Hong
Kong has risen significantly in the last decade.
Here is an example of a debatable thesis statement:
In the last decade, the number of young women in Hong Kong who are
clinically underweight has risen significantly, and the media could be
blamed for this worrying phenomenon.
2. It must not be too broad.
You need to narrow your thesis to make your argument more effective.
Your thesis will need to be supported by evidence. If your thesis is very
broad, you will need a lot of evidence to convince readers that your
position is right.
Here is an example of a thesis statement that is too broad:
Plastic surgery is a societal problem.
- All kinds of plastic surgery?
- A problem in what way?
- In what society? Worldwide?
Here is an example of a thesis statement that is not too broad:
The number of teenagers having cosmetic surgery, such as getting breast
implants, may be considered a problem in some societies because it
reflects low levels of self-esteem amongst this age group.
Exercise A: Are these good thesis statements? If not, why not?
1. Social media is a waste of time.
2. There is a large gap between the rich and poor in Hong Kong.
3. Developed countries have a responsibility to aid less developed countries,
especially those in their own region.
4. Reading is food for the brain.
5. There is often a gap between the older and younger generations and this can
cause communication problems in a family.
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Task Cycle 2
Unit
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As well as being debatable and not too broad, a good thesis statement
makes a claim. Thinking about the claim you want to make will help you
think about how you want to approach your topic. Often a thesis
statement will make more than one claim.
In good academic style, we use hedging in our claims to make them more
defensible.
Types of claims:
1. Claims of fact or definition – whether something is an accepted fact or
could be defined in different ways by different people.
For example: What some people refer to as the ‘fat obsession’ in Hong
Kong could be seen as nothing more than society being aware of good
health and fitness.
2. Claims of cause and effect – whether something influences or leads to
something else
For example: The focus on physical beauty perpetuated by the popularity
of social media platforms like Instagram seems to have resulted in a rise
in the number of teenagers having cosmetic surgery.
3. Claims about value or significance – how important something is, and
whether we should value it or worry about it, etc.
For example: The number of young women in Hong Kong who are
clinically underweight could be seen as one of the most significant
problems in our society; the government must do something to address
this and other mental health issues.
4. Claims about policy or solutions – the thesis above actually makes two
claims. The second is a claim about policy or solution – that it is the
government’s responsibility to address this serious problem.
Exercise B: What kind of claim?
1. Poverty is a world problem and one that requires our direct and immediate
attention.
2. A complete overhaul of the sex-education syllabus may be needed to reduce the
number of teenage pregnancies in our society.
3. ‘Traditional Chinese values’ and the fact that parents do not talk to their children
about sex could be blamed for the number of teenage pregnancies in our society.
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Task Cycle 2
4. While some people believe that practices like observing ‘guanxi’ are a form of
corruption, other people believe that these are simply the way that business is done
in China.
Exercise C: Rewrite the statements that are not good in Exercise A. Think
about what kind of claim you want to make. You might make more than one
claim.
An introduction often also has one other part. This part introduces the steps in the
argument that the essay will develop, or the method of organisation of the essay. In
other words, how the writer will proceed to prove his/her position.
This suggestion of the organisation of the essay can form part of the thesis
statement.
1. Look at the two thesis statements below. Which method of organisation does each
one suggest? (use any one of it)
* chronological order (時間順序);
* problem-solution;
* comparison and contrast; or
* listing reasons (Stronger Reasons to convince reader).
#1 Female models face serious health risks, such as being expected to work and then
socialise for excessively long hours; some of these carry over into the realm of male
modelling, but there are also some significant differences between the two industries.
(comparison and contrast)
#2 Men's fashion is greatly influenced by women’s fashion and has been born, changed, and
reborn time and time again. (chronological order)
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Task Cycle 2
Unit
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2. The thesis statement below covers:
* the method of organisation; and
* the major subdivisions of the topic.
If each subdivision becomes the topic of a separate paragraph in the body of the
essay, how many paragraphs will the body of the essay contain?
#3 You may have to face a lot of problems initially, but if you have the looks, real talent and
you work hard, you can overcome the difficulties and become a successful male model.
3. Read the following introduction. Reorder the sentences so that the general
statements come before the thesis. Can you see how the most general
statements should come first, and how the statements become increasingly more
specific as they build up to the thesis?
Adonis, God of Beauty
(1) Psychologists believe there are two main reasons why
modern women are attracted to average-looking men with
feminine traits. (2) However, he does have large expressive
eyes set in a smooth-skinned symmetrical face, a straight
nose and rounded hair and jaw line. (3) Interestingly, he is
no Adonis; he is actually somewhat average-looking. (4)
Scientists believe they have created a male face that any
woman would pick out in a crowd. (5) Our perfect male is in
fact a composite computer-generated photograph of twelve
moderately attractive, or ‘average’, slightly feminine-looking
young men. (6) His creators admit that these features make
him look slightly ‘girly’.
4. The thesis statement for this introduction indicates:
 the method of organisation; and
 the major subdivisions of the topic.
If each subdivision becomes the topic of a separate paragraph in the body of the
essay, how many paragraphs will the body of the essay contain?
The thesis statement is usually restated in the conclusion of the essay. In the next
task cycle you will see how to do this.
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Task Cycle 2
Follow-up Task
Look at what you wrote for the Task on page 16, when you
put forward your position on this question:
Is there a universal concept of female beauty?
Imagine that you were going to write a whole essay to
convince readers of your position on this question.
Write an introduction for your essay. Follow the pattern:
general statements – thesis statement. Can you suggest the
organisation of your essay in your thesis statement?
Academic Literacy Focus
Reading critically: Fact or opinion?
A first step in reading critically is to determine whether what you are reading is fact,
or largely factual, or whether it is an opinion piece.
The following paragraphs are taken from Reading #9 on Canvas. What kind of text is
it? How do you know?
Hong Kong has a fat obsession. Or rather, it has a skinny obsession. Take a look
around. If you're reading this somewhere in the city, chances are you can see an
advertisement for a slimming product. Every other ad on the MTR, buses, television,
and magazines seem to be for products that promise to make you skinny with little or
no effort on your behalf. In a recent copy of the city's biggest-selling news weekly
"Next" magazine, for example, 110 of the 150 ads were for beauty and slimming
products. And most of them feature a smiling, super-slim model-slash-actress, often
airbrushed to unachievable perfection. Our city is literally plastered with images of
“perfect” people - billboards of models to emulate, body shapes to envy. It's like
living in a teenager's bedroom.
According to local advertising monitoring company AdmanGo, in 2004 the beauty
industry (beauty, slimming, fitness, cosmetics and skincare) spent more on
advertising than any other sector, including the behemoth banking and property
22
Task Cycle 2
Unit
1
industries, for the third year in a row. Last year, it spent a staggering HK$5.1 billion
on ads. That's $1.4 billion more than in 2003 and $3.2 billion more than in 2001.
Su, H. (2005, June 2). The fat offensive. South China Morning Post, HK Magazine. Retrieved from http://hkmagazine.com/health/article/fat-offensive
It is not always this easy to identify an opinion piece because writers don’t often
make an open statement of their opinions. Instead they imply their attitude or opinion
through the use of:
Emotive words
Rhetorical questions
Irony
Sarcasm
Juxtaposition of ideas that do not really fit together
Omission of ideas
Can you identify use of these in the text above?
Once you have determined that what you are reading is an opinion piece, it’s
important to break down the writer’s argument. It might help to first make notes of the
writer’s main points.
You need to then ask yourself these questions:
a) Are all the points supported (or are some just assertions)?
b) Are unsupported points either known facts or generally accepted opinions?
c) If a point is supported by examples or data, are they well chosen?
d) Does the conclusion follow logically from the points?
Your answers to these questions might in fact determine whether what you are
reading is a usable, reliable source.
Look again at the text on the previous page and consider these questions. You
would of course need to read the whole article to answer question d). Do you think
this would be a usable, reliable source, despite obviously being an opinion piece?
We will return to discussion of Hong Kong’s ‘fat obsession’ in Task Cycle 4.
23
Unit
1
Task Cycle 2
Preparation for the Assessed Task
1. Today your instructor will direct you again to the readings for the assessed essay
on the topic of beauty. They are on Canvas.
-
Download a reading and print it.
Read the article and answer the set of questions on it on Canvas.
Be prepared to discuss answers to the questions and report on your reading
in class next week.
2. Your instructor might also ask you to complete an essay ‘topic proposal’ before
the next lesson. He/she will expect you to have drafted a thesis statement for your
essay. In other words, you should know what point you want to convince your
reader of in your essay. Knowing this will guide your further reading on the topic.
24
Task Cycle 3
The objective of this task cycle is to
help you to evaluate arguments,
and to write a conclusion to an
argument essay.
Pre-Task Activities
1. Sit with a partner. One person
should sit with his/her back to the
screen. Your instructor will show an
advertisement. As the
advertisement is being shown on
screen, tell your partner what you
see.
Swap places and repeat. Your
instructor will show a different
advertisement this time.
Together watch both advertisements
again. Tell your partner what you
think the main message of each
advertisement is.
2. Guessing meanings from context is an important reading skill. Four items from
the vocabulary list are shown here in context—but not the same contexts as in the
essay you will look at for this task. Using clues from the surrounding
words/sentences, guess the meaning of the words.
(a)
Voter turnout has been declining in Canada since the 1984 federal
election, but some districts in the Hamilton area have bucked the trend
over the last decade. It seems more young voters are turning out,
wanting to have their voices heard in the Hamilton area.
25
Unit
1
Task Cycle 3
To ‘buck the trend’ seems to mean:
Clues in this context:
(b) It has been a very difficult week for the President. He has
faced a barrage of criticism over his handling of the
situation.
A ‘barrage’ would seem to be:
Clues in this context:
(c) Sub-Saharan Africa carries a disproportionately high share
of the global malaria burden. In 2015, the region was home
to 90% of malaria cases and 92% of malaria deaths.
Children under five are particularly vulnerable, accounting
for an estimated 70% of all malaria deaths.
If someone or something is ‘vulnerable’, they would seem
to be:
Clues in this context:
(d) He is trying to shed his reputation as a pushy boss. He is
much less demanding nowadays, especially with new staff.
If you ‘shed’ something, you:
Clues in this context:
The Task
1. The following words and phrases have been taken from the
journalistic essay to be discussed in the task. Write the
number of the definition in column B next to the word in
column A.
26
Unit
1
Task Cycle 3
A
epidemic
tragic
insecure
unattainable
criterion
adolescent
avert
associated with
Barbie doll
irreversible
B
1. Connected because they happen together or one thing causes
the other.
2. A standard by which you judge, decide about or deal with
something.
3. Not confident about yourself or your relationships
with other people.
4. Impossible to reach or achieve.
10.
5. To prevent something bad from happening.
6. Very sad, often involving death and suffering.
7. Not possible to return to a previous condition.
8. Happening a lot and affecting many people.
9. A young person who is developing from a child to an adult.
2. These statements concern the journalistic essay to be
discussed in the task. Do you think they are true (T) or
false (F)?
T/F






The cosmetics and diet industries are anxious
about their futures.
Ageing is considered a natural, irreversible
process by the cosmetics industry.
Eating disorders are a problem amongst young
girls in North America.
Many women and girls want to look like Barbie
dolls.
Magazines have successfully reversed the trend
of showing only thin women on their fashion
pages.
Thin models increase the sale of beauty products.
Step 1: Read the following essay from the Media Awareness
Network website. This is a journalistic style essay. You
will note that the style of writing is not academic. With
your partner, insert words from the vocabulary
exercises on the previous pages in the gaps in the
essay; then underline the key points.
Step 2: Work with a partner to complete the activities that follow
the essay.
Step 3: Are you convinced by the arguments in the essay?
Does it set out a well-reasoned argument? Why / Why
not? Reach a joint decision with your partner.
Step 4: Report to the class whether you and your partner are
convinced by the writer. Give reasons to explain why or
why not it puts forward a strong position. Can you
persuade the class to agree with you?
27
Unit
1
Task Cycle 3
Beauty and Body Image in the Media
Images of female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts—
sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming
younger, taller and thinner. Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they
can just lose those last twenty pounds, they will have it all—the perfect marriage,
loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. Because there is no doubt that
women of all ages feel the pressure, and the consequences can be ____________,
many would argue that not enough is being done to ____________ these
consequences.
The reasons these standards of beauty and the subsequent pressures are
being imposed on women, the majority of whom are naturally larger and more mature
than any of the models, are economic. Analysts say that by presenting an ideal that is
difficult to achieve and maintain, the cosmetics and diet product industries are
assured of growth and profits. It’s no accident that youth is increasingly promoted,
along with thinness, as an essential ____________ of beauty. If not all women need
to lose weight, they are certainly all aging, says the Quebec Action Network for
Women’s Health in its 2001 report.
The consequences of this are significant but also worrying. On the one
hand, women who are ____________ about their bodies are more likely to buy beauty
products, new clothes, and diet aids. It is estimated that the diet industry alone is
worth anywhere between USD 40 to 100 billion a year, from selling temporary weight
loss (90 to 95% of dieters regain the lost weight). On the other hand, research
indicates that exposure to images of thin, young, air-brushed female bodies is linked
to depression, loss of self-esteem and the development of unhealthy eating habits in
women and girls.
Pressure to be thin is affecting women and girls of all ages. The Canadian
Women's Health Network warns that weight control measures are now being taken by
girls as young as 5 and 6. Several studies, such as one conducted by Marika
Tiggemann and Levina Clark in 2006, indicate that nearly half of all pre____________
girls wish to be thinner, and as a result have engaged in a diet or are aware of the
concept of dieting. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating
Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy
methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise,
28
Task Cycle 3
Unit
1
laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. In 2006 it was estimated that up to 450,000
Canadian women were affected by an eating disorder.
Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that media images of female beauty are
____________ for all but a very small number of women. Researchers generating a
computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions found that her back would
be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too
narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimetres of bowel. A real woman
built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition.
Still, the pursuit of a similarly underweight body among real life women and girls has
reached ____________ proportions, and they could suffer equally devastating health
consequences.
There have been some efforts to ____________; unfortunately, these
efforts have generally been unsuccessful. For several years the Quebec magazine
Coup de Pouce has consistently included full-sized women in their fashion pages, and
another Canadian magazine Châtelaine has pledged not to touch up photos and not
to include models less than 25 years of age. However, advertising rules the
marketplace and in advertising thin is ‘in’. Advertisers believe that thin models sell
products. When the Australian magazine New Woman recently included a picture of a
heavy-set model on its cover, it received a truckload of letters from grateful readers
praising the move, but its advertisers complained. Next issue, the magazine returned
to featuring bone-thin models. Advertising Age International concluded that the
incident ‘made clear the influence wielded by advertisers who remain convinced that
only thin models spur the sales of beauty products.’
Media activist Jean Kilbourne argues that real women’s bodies have
become invisible in the mass media. The ____________ of messages about thinness,
dieting and beauty tells ‘ordinary’ women that they are always in need of adjustment,
and this is where the real tragedy lies. Many would suggest that the media should be
held accountable. At the very least, more action is needed to change the climate and
this focus on beauty being ___ass___ desirability.
Adapted from the MediaSmarts website: http://www.mediasmarts.ca/body-image/body-image-girls
In 2008 France passed
strict laws to deter the
promotion of ultrathinness or excessive
dieting.
29
Unit
1
Task Cycle 3
1. Check again: Are these statements concerning the essay
true (T) or false (F), or is the information not given (NG)?
T / F / NG




A spoof advertisement by the
Adbusters Media Foundation.
www.adbusters.org


The cosmetics and diet industries are
anxious about their futures.
Ageing is considered a natural, irreversible
process by the cosmetics industry.
Eating disorders are a problem amongst
young girls in North America.
Many women and girls want to look like
Barbie dolls.
Magazines have successfully reversed the
trend of showing only thin women on their
fashion pages.
Thin models increase the sale of beauty
products.
2. Complete the outline of the essay below, by identifying key information. As you
do, paraphrase the argument and the support.
What is the thesis statement (what does the writer believe and hope to
convince the reader of?)
Supporting Argument 1
Supporting Argument 2
Supporting Argument 3
Supporting Argument 4
Supporting Argument 5
What is the writer’s final comment?
30
Task Cycle 3
Unit
1
Academic Literacy Focus
Argument essays: Conclusions
You learned on LANG 1002 that a conclusion usually consists of:
 A restatement of the thesis in different words;
 A summary of the main points used to support your thesis; and
 Your final comments on the topic, or a strong, effective message that your reader
will remember.
In a good conclusion, links back to the introduction and the rest of the essay are
clear.
1. In the conclusion to our essay on how women are portrayed in the media:
 identify the links back to the introduction; and
 identify the final message the writer wants to leave the reader with.
Media activist Jean Kilbourne argues that real women’s bodies have
become invisible in the mass media. The barrage of messages about
thinness, dieting and beauty tells ‘ordinary’ women that they are always in
need of adjustment, and this is where the real tragedy lies. Many would
suggest that the media should be held accountable. At the very least,
more action is needed to change the climate and this focus on beauty
being associated with desirability.
2. In the Academic Literacy Focus of the last task cycle, you re-ordered the
sentences of an introduction. Here is that introduction. What final message could
you include in a conclusion for an essay which used this introduction?
Scientists believe they have created a male face that any woman would
pick out in a crowd. Interestingly, he is no Adonis; he is actually somewhat
average-looking. However, he does have large expressive eyes set in a
smooth-skinned symmetrical face, a straight nose and rounded hair and
jaw line. His creators admit that these features make him look slightly
‘girly’. Our perfect male is in fact a composite computer-generated
photograph of twelve moderately attractive, or ‘average’, slightly femininelooking young men. Psychologists believe there are two main reasons
why modern women are attracted to average-looking men with feminine
traits.
31
Unit
1
Task Cycle 3
Argument essays: Coherence and cohesion
As you discussed last semester, when writing is coherent and
cohesive (i.e. when it is logically ordered and sticks together), a
reader can follow the ideas easily. Here is the introduction (a
two-paragraph introduction) to a text about cosmetic surgery. It
is from one of the readings available on Canvas (Reading #14).
Some of the words and phrases which make that introduction
cohesive have been removed. For each gap, choose the best
option from the choices on the next page.
Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery
In 2003, more than 223,000 cosmetic procedures were
performed on patients 18 years of age or younger, and
almost 39,000 were surgical procedures such as nose
reshaping, breast lifts, breast augmentation, liposuction, and
tummy tucks. As we consider under what circumstances
plastic surgery is appropriate for teens, it is important to
recognize that (1) studies have been conducted to examine
the risks for teens of these increasingly common procedures.
Research is especially needed for the more (2)
procedures such as breast implants, liposuction, and genital
plastic surgery.
(3) reconstructive surgeries can benefit children and
youth. Surgical procedures to correct cleft lips and palates,
for example, are not controversial. Plastic surgery to correct
unattractive facial features that can attract ridicule from other
children, such as prominent noses and ears, are generally
accepted in the United States. Cultural phenomena such as
surgical makeovers on numerous television programs (4)
make it increasingly difficult to agree on what constitutes a
“normal” appearance and when the desire to improve one’s
appearance is (5) or even crosses the line to psychopathology. In this commentary, I will focus on elective,
cosmetic procedures on an otherwise healthy adolescent
with no illness or defect.
Zuckerman, D. (2005). Teenagers and cosmetic surgery. Virtual Monitor 7(3). Retrieved from
http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2005/03/oped1-0503.html
32
Task Cycle 3
1.
quite a lot of / very few / too many / some
2.
widespread / expensive / controversial / interesting
3.
It is unlikely that / No one believes that /
Unit
1
There is no question that / There is some doubt whether
4.
,nevertheless, / ,therefore, / ,however, / ,moreover,
5.
admirable / understandable / reasonable / questionable
Follow-up Task
Step 1: Your instructor will show a news report on cosmetic
surgery in Iran. Make notes and answer the
questions below as you listen.
Step 2: Work with a partner to complete the table of pros
and cons of cosmetic surgery which follows the
questions.
Step 3: In a group, discuss the pros and cons of cosmetic
surgery, using Iran as a case study. Can you
persuade the group to agree with you?
1. What is the most common procedure/form of cosmetic
surgery in Iran?
2. Why do people have this procedure done? List the different
reasons given.
3. Which of these reasons support the idea that cosmetic
surgery can be of value, to help people who have it?
33
Unit
1
Task Cycle 3
4. What problems have arisen as a result of this trend in Iran?
5. Complete the following table:
The ‘pro’s of cosmetic
surgery
(using Iran as a case study)
The ‘con’s of cosmetic
surgery
(using Iran as a case study)
Academic Literacy Focus
Reading Critically: Comparing points of view/positions
In Task Cycle 2 you learned about breaking down a writer’s argument into points.
When comparing different writers’ points of view on a topic, you can do the same
thing; then compare the arguments point by point.
You will need to have done a reasonable amount of reading on your topic before you
can start comparing points of view. You obviously have to have read at least two
articles!
Before you start comparing other writers’ points of view, it’s useful to review your
own position on the topic (check your thesis statement). This will mean that you don’t
just absorb what you read. Instead, you can engage with the articles and react to the
different writers’ views. You can decide whether to accept or reject ideas or to wait
for further evidence before deciding.
34
Task Cycle 3
Unit
1
The article Selfie Trend Increases Demand for Facial Plastic Surgery (Reading #6 on
Canvas) was written by a representative of the American Academy of Facial Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery. At first glance this article might seem quite factual. It
certainly does contain facts. But is it purely factual?
Look back at page 23. Does this writer use any of the strategies
listed to imply an opinion?
Can you break down the writer’s argument?
Now look again at Reading #14 on Canvas. You saw the introduction to this article
on page 32. This article is also about plastic surgery. It is from the American Medical
Association’s Journal of Ethics. It is an OP-ED (‘opposite the editorial page’) or
commentary. Can you break down the writer’s argument?
How does this writer’s point of view compare to that of the writer of Reading #6
Which argument do you find most convincing?
Would you accept or reject either writer’s point of view?
Do you need further evidence before deciding?
Preparation for the Assessed Task
Today your instructor will direct you again to the readings for the
assessed essay on the topic of beauty. They are on Canvas.
- Download a reading and print it.
- Read the article and answer the set of questions on it on
Canvas.
- Be prepared to discuss answers to the questions and report on
your reading in class next week.
35
Task Cycle 4
The objective of this task cycle is to
help you to refute other points of
view, and use information from
sources to support your own position
in an argument essay.
Pre-Task Activities
1. How often do you see advertisements like the ones above?
How much notice do you take of them?
How do you feel about them?
2. Complete both parts of the survey on the next page. Then,
in groups, compare your answers.
36
Task Cycle 4
Unit
1
Survey: Part A
Would you encourage someone you love to do the following in order
to lose weight:
Yes / No / Maybe







Join a gym or private health club?
Take diet pills?
Do lots of vigorous exercise?
Spend a lot of money on treatments (such as infrared,
electrical stimulation) at a slimming centre?
Swallow parasitic worms?
Eat low-fat food?
Eat very small or half portions at mealtimes?
Survey: Part B
To what extent do you agree with the statements below?
Strongly
Agree
1 2




Strongly
Disagree
3 4 5
Most Hong Kong girls should not weigh more than 100 lbs.
If you are overweight, people will think you don’t care about
yourself.
If you are in shape, people will think you are successful in life.
Dieting is a life-long career for women.
3. The following words and phrases occur in the texts that you
are about to read. You should know some of them. With
your group, match the words to their definitions.
fatal
1. Able to be easily hurt, influenced or attacked
remedies
2. A young person who is developing into an adult
adolescent
3. Something or someone that you think about all the
time
associated with
4. Thought not completely true or able to be trusted
vulnerable
5. Getting rid of something you do not need or want
obsession
6. Ways of curing an illness or dealing with a problem
dubious
7. Causing death
shedding
8. Connected with someone or something else
37
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
The Task (Part 1)
In this task, you are going to work in a group to discuss and
write a plan for an essay that is a response to the question:
Are Hong Kong people too concerned about how much they
weigh?
Before writing a plan for an essay, some reading on the topic is
needed. A strong thesis statement should then set up the plan for
the rest of the essay.
Step 1: Your instructor will ask each group to read one of three
texts which are in the Appendix, and to answer these
questions about it together:


What type of text is this? (A government document?
A newspaper report? Something else?) Is a point of
view put forward in it? If so, whose point of view is it?
What are the writer’s main ideas? Write a summary
of them.
Step 2: Move to a new group, where each person has read a
different text. Tell your group about your text and your
answers to the two questions.
Step 3: Based on your sharing of the three texts and some
discussion, write a thesis statement for a group response
to the question:
Are Hong Kong people too concerned about how much
they weigh?
Can you suggest the organisation of your essay in your
thesis statement?
Write your group’s thesis statement for a response to the question.
38
Task Cycle 4
Unit
1
Academic Literacy Focus
Argument essays: Introducing and refuting other points of
view/positions (acknowledging counter-arguments)
When we argue in academic writing, we need to show that we
are aware of other points of view. We often look at what other
people have said on a subject; we may look at both the
disadvantages and the advantages of an idea; or we may
consider the arguments for as well as those against an idea. If
we do not do this, readers may think that we have not explored
the issue thoroughly (i.e. we are lazy), or that we are
deliberately avoiding other points of view (and in this way are
trying to trick the reader).
Introduce other points of view with an appropriate transition phrase such as:
 Opponents of this point of view argue that…
 One argument against X is that…
 Certain objections must, of course, be considered. These might include…
 It may be argued that…
After introducing an alternative point of view, you must refute it; that is, prove
that it is incorrect or inappropriate. The refutation usually begins with a transition
such as:
however, in contrast, although, even though, while, despite, or in spite of
(a)
Is dieting always a bad thing? The following rather
negative statements come from the article, Extreme
dieting spreads in Asia, from Task Cycle 2. Match the
statement to a possible alternative point of view.
Statement
1. In most developed parts of the world,
women feel pressure to be thin.
2. Dieting in Asia tends to be more
extreme than in the West. The newest
dieting fad in Hong Kong is swallowing
parasites.
3. As extreme weight-loss methods take
hold in Asia, eating disorders are also
increasing.
A possible alternative point of view
(A counter-argument)
(a) As Asian societies become wealthier —
and people have more options about
what to eat — it's only natural that some
will struggle with their weight.
(b) Women have always been concerned
about their looks. This is why women
stay looking better and younger than
men for longer.
(c) Asian people have always found radical
new ways of dealing with problems.
39
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
Discuss ways in which you could refute the alternative
point of view.
Statement
An alternative point of view
(A counter-argument)
In most developed parts of
the world, women feel
pressure to be thin.
Women have always been concerned about
their looks. This is why women stay looking
better and younger than men for longer.
Dieting in Asia tends to be
more extreme than in the
West. The newest dieting fad
in Hong Kong is swallowing
parasites.
Asian people have always found radical new
ways of dealing with problems.
As extreme weight-loss
methods take hold in Asia,
eating disorders are also
increasing.
As Asian societies become wealthier — and
people have more options about what to eat
— it's only natural that some will struggle
with their weight.
Refutation
(b) Now choose one of the refutations below to weaken or
disprove each of the counter- arguments.
Refutations for the counter-arguments above
While it is true that many Asian inventions have indeed changed the world, this by no means
justifies practices as ridiculous as eating parasitic worms. This practice…
A
Although in many places prosperity does seem to increase the odds that people will struggle
with their weight, this does not lessen the significance of the dramatic increase in the number of
young women suffering from eating disorders in places like Hong Kong. As explained above,
last year this figure jumped by…
B
However, the argument that women are more concerned about their looks than men is no
longer correct. Recent research in Hong Kong shows that adolescent boys are just as
concerned about their appearance as their female classmates…
C
How does each refutation above (A, B, and C) weaken or
disprove one of the alternative points of view (counterarguments)? Does it show that the counter-argument is…
incorrect? irrelevant? insufficient?
Write your answers beside the refutation in the table
above.
Of the three types of refutation, the third seems to be
most widely used. That is, the writer acknowledges that
counter-arguments exist, but provides evidence that the
strength of those opposing arguments is not adequate,
and that his/her own arguments are stronger.
40
Task Cycle 4
Unit
1
Argument essays: Structuring an argument essay
Here are two ways to structure an argument essay.
There are, of course, other ways. Can you suggest what they are?
Structure 1
Structure 2
Introduction
Supporting argument Evidence (include
1
where this evidence
comes from)
Counterargument 1
Supporting argument
2
Evidence (include
where this evidence
comes from)
Counterargument 2
Refutation
Supporting
argument 2
Refutation (leading to/
suggesting Supporting
argument 3)
Counterargument 3
Refutation
Supporting
argument 3
Counter-argument
Conclusion
Introduction
Refutation
Supporting
argument 1
Conclusion
1. You are going to read a student’s argument essay about
fashion advertising.

How do you think fashion advertising influences people
to buy the clothes worn by the models?

Does fashion advertising have any other effects? Are
the effects harmful or harmless?
41
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
2. Read the argument essay below. The topic sentences of
the body paragraphs are missing.
With a partner, discuss what the topic sentences are
likely to be.
You will find the topic sentences in the Appendix.
Identify the paragraph they belong to. Are they similar to
the topic sentences which you thought of?
Is fashion advertising harmful?
Intro
Para
2
42
The fashion industry must face its responsibility for influencing the way people
think about others through the way it advertises clothing. Clothes are considered to
reflect the inner person, and people often make judgments about others based on the
clothes they wear. Unfortunately, these judgments may be influenced by the
advertising material produced by the fashion industry. There have been a number of
investigations into the impact of fashion on people’s perceptions which show how
people are influenced by the way clothing is advertised in the print media and on
television. This essay will consider these factors, and argue that fashion advertising
is harmful because it deliberately creates false impressions of individuals based on
the clothes they wear, and because it encourages emotional dependency.
_____________________________________________________________
__Advertisement and creating false ________________________
The way specific types of clothing are advertised in the media could create an
impression of the level of intelligence, personality, or character of the wearer of the
clothes. One research study, for example, found that teachers judged the level of
intelligence of the pupils in their classroom by the clothes they wore (Behling &
Williams, 1991). Another study of adults showed that when people were exposed to
images of a person wearing conservative or casual clothing styles, they saw the
person as self-controlled and reliable, while people dressed in a daring style were
found to be attractive and individualistic (Paek, 1986). Advertisements of the different
clothing styles had apparently created impressions of intelligent and cool people as
opposed to unintelligent and unfashionable people. The researchers therefore
contend that the way advertisers portray clothes in the media has an effect on the
way people perceive others, and may create false impressions or judgments based
only on the clothing.
Task Cycle 4
Unit
1
_____________________________________________________________
Para
3
___________________________________________________________________
People may choose to wear clothes which they see on models in the media who
project certain desirable character traits, which they consider important for their
success. They may believe the clothes will convey the idea that they are responsible,
honest, reliable or efficient. One study notes that fashion affects both inner feelings
about oneself and about the emotional image projected, because people feel the need
to use fashion to satisfy internal emotional needs and to convince others that they
possess emotional stability (Tombs, 2006). This finding suggests that fashion
advertising has created an emotional dependency, because people feel the need to
follow fashion rather than express their own unique personality. Advertising of fashion
has created an emotional need that inhibits people from being true to themselves.
Para
4
_Some studies that it is cultural and ethic factors which determine _______
__clothing choices and that advertising usually will not influence these choices_
Some researchers have found that strong ethnic identification leads to particular
choices of apparel and that these choices are caused by strong feelings of cultural
identity rather than images from advertisements (Chattaraman & Lennon, 2008).
These findings suggest that people are not influenced by the images portrayed in
advertisements but make choices based on their feelings. This may be the case
outside the media-heavy cultures like the USA, Europe, East Asia or Australia;
however, within these countries where advertising is prevalent the opposite is true.
Studies have found that immigrants begin to adopt the fashion and clothing of the
dominant culture after being influenced by what they see in the media (Potts, 2009).
One case involved Muslim women who were looking for more modest clothing
choices than are generally found in North American fashion outlets, because while
they wanted to choose clothes that were acceptable in their culture, they felt they had
to conform to the images of what they believed was normal in North America (Omair,
2009). This indicates that although ethnicity and culture may have an influence on
clothing choices, it is fashion advertising which shapes the clothing choices of people
in general, because they want to be perceived as normal by the society they live in.
Conc
In conclusion, fashion advertising is creating false images which may be
damaging to the psychology of children and adults. Although it has long been
understood that a person’s fashion choices affect how others see them, it has become
increasingly clear that clothing choices also contribute to self-image and emotional
43
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
perceptions. Cultural factors may play a role in how people perceive themselves, but
overall it is still fashion advertising which shapes perceptions. The fashion industry
deliberately tries to create these perceptions and, in the process, may have a
destructive impact on people’s personalities and emotional well-being. It is time to
acknowledge the potential damage caused by fashion advertising and to consider
how it might be addressed by the education and health professions.
809 words
References
Behling, D. U., & Williams, E. A. (1991). Influence of dress on perception of intelligence and
expectations of scholastic achievement. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 9(4),
1-7.
Chattaraman, V., & Lennon, S. J. (2008). Ethnic identity, consumption of cultural apparel, and
self-perceptions of ethnic consumers. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management,
12(4), 518-531.
Omair, K. (2009). Arab women managers and identity formation through clothing. Gender in
Management: An International Journal, 24(6), 412-431.
Paek, S. L. (1986). Effect of garment style on the perception of personal traits. Clothing and
Textiles Research Journal, 5(1), 10-15.
Potts, J. (2009). Lifting the veil on fashion: Filling the gaps between modesty and fashion
apparel. (Honors Thesis). The Ohio State University, Ohio, The United States of
America.
Tombs, A. G. (2006). Do our feelings leak through the clothes we wear? In Y. Ali, & M. van
Dessel (Eds.), Australian & New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference: Advancing Theory,
Maintaining Relevance. Brisbane, Australia: Queensland University of Technology.
This is a modified essay. The original essay is from http://www.gdotmoda.com/en/blog/what-cognitive-psychology-studiesreveal-about-fashion-140
3.
Participant in a male beauty
contest in Niger
44
What structure does the essay follow? Write it here:
Task Cycle 4
Unit
1
Language Focus
Argument essays: Language in arguments
“Academic writing is not about me or you but is about the issue.”
Certain expressions are commonly used in argumentative
writing, and in academic writing in general. Skim the essay in
the Academic Literacy Focus and identify expressions which
you think are typical of the language of academic arguments.
With a group, then add similar ones which you know.
Expressions from the essay
There have been a number of
investigations into…
Other similar expressions
A number of studies show…
One research study found…
Another study suggests…
The researchers therefore
contend that….
This indicates that…
This may be the case ……;
however, ……
45
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
The Task (Part 2)
In this task, you are going to work in a group to discuss and
write a plan for an essay that is a response to a question.
Step 1: Work with your group to plan a written response to
the question:
Are Hong Kong people too concerned about how
much they weigh?
You should have already written your thesis on page 38.
Discuss which of the outlines below best suits your purposes.
You should be able to explain why it does.
Consider how you would incorporate evidence from the texts
that you read on the topic, and perhaps other sources.
Structure 1
Introduction
Supporting
Evidence
argument 1
(include where
this evidence
comes from)
Supporting
argument 2
Counter-argument
Counterargument
1
Introduction
Refutation Supporting
argument 1
Evidence
(include where
this evidence
comes from)
Counterargument
2
Refutation
Supporting
argument 2
Refutation
(leading to/
suggesting
Supporting
argument 3)
Counterargument
3
Refutation
Supporting
argument 3
Conclusion
46
Structure 2
Conclusion
Task Cycle 4
Unit
1
Step 2: Present your plan to another group.
Give your thesis statement.
Explain why you have chosen a particular structure
for your essay.
Explain what evidence you would use to develop
your supporting arguments.
Step 3: Comment on another group’s plan.
Do you think the essay would convince you?
Why/why not?
Academic Literacy Focus
Argument essays: Using information from sources to
support your position
When you are writing an argument essay, you will want to refer
to information or ideas from various sources to support your
arguments and convince others of your position.
1. Tell your partner:
 How you can avoid plagiarism when you use
information from sources; and
 The recommended way to use information from
sources in your writing.
Three ways to avoid plagiarism
1. Paraphrase the source (i.e. rewrite small parts in your own
words).
2. Summarise the source (i.e. reduce larger parts and use your
own words).
3. Use a direct quotation (i.e. copy the source’s words exactly
but use quotation marks to indicate this). Note: You may
not use direct quotation in your assessed writing task this
semester.
and then
in all cases, you must identify the source.
47
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
2.
With your partner, review what is considered good
paraphrasing. Complete the table below:
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves two strategies:
 Changing the _________.
 Changing the _________.
In both cases, the idea should remain the same, but the specific
details might be different.
3. Can you identify what is and is not acceptable paraphrasing?
First, read this paragraph from one of the texts used in Part 1 of
the task cycle:
Body consciousness is an obsession in Asia, and Asians are overgrazing the
smorgasbord of weight-loss products and ‘miracle’ diet aids available. Nobody knows
how many are buying untested products of dubious efficacy. At their most harmless,
the products are a waste of time, money and good intentions. Some, however, are
proving to be deadly. Over the past two years, seven women in Japan, Singapore and
China have died due to the toxicity of the substances they swallowed in the hope of
shedding kilograms... (Takeuchi-Cullen, 2002).
Now study the excerpts below from three students’ essays.
With a partner, discuss whether the way the information
from Takeuchi-Cullen’s work has been used would be
considered plagiarism or acceptable paraphrase.
Excerpts from three students’ essays
1.
According to Takeuchi-Cullen (2002), people in Asia are obsessed with
their bodies, and Asians are taking too many of the weight-loss products
and ‘miracle’ diet aids available. Nobody knows how many people are
buying the untested and doubtful products. Some of these products are a
waste of time, money and good intentions. Others are deadly. In the last
two years, seven women in Asia have died due to the poisons in the
substances that they took in the hope of losing weight.
48
Acceptable?
Task Cycle 4
2.
Takeuchi-Cullen (2002) suggests that body consciousness is an obsession
in Asia, and this has resulted in Asians overgrazing the smorgasbord of
weight-loss products and ‘miracle’ diet aids available. Therefore, nobody
knows how many are buying untested products of dubious efficacy.
Alarmingly, at their most harmless, the products are a waste of time,
money and good intentions. Some, however, are proving to be deadly.
Tragically, over the past two years, seven women in Japan, Singapore and
China have died due to the toxicity of the substances they swallowed in the
hope of shedding kilograms.
3.
The tragic deaths of seven women in Asia over the past two years would
seem to point to a preoccupation with weight loss in the region. There are
no statistics available to tell us exactly how many people are buying and
consuming potentially lethal weight loss products (Takeuchi-Cullen, 2002).
Unit
1
4. On LANG 1002 you were advised to use the following
pattern when using a source to support your ideas:
The recommended three-step method for using a source
to support your ideas (not to replace your ideas) is:
1. give your own opinion

2. support it with a citation

3. explain / interpret the citation
Look at this extract from a student’s writing and identify the
recommended pattern:
Consumption of untested weight-loss products in Asia is on the
increase, and is worrying. In the past two years seven women in Asia
have died attempting to lose weight. According to Takeuchi-Cullen
(2002), Time’s Tokyo correspondent, they were poisoned by the
weight-loss product they took. It appears that an ingredient in diet
drugs such as Slim 10 can have dramatic effects on the functioning of
the liver. Given that there are no statistics available to tell us how
many people are buying and consuming potentially lethal weight-loss
products, it would seem that more investigation into this worrisome
problem is needed.
Follow this pattern in your own writing.
49
Unit
1
Task Cycle 4
Preparation for the Assessed Task
By now you should have received feedback from your instructor on your ‘topic
proposal’ and whether your thesis statement is a good one. You should now be able
to plan your essay.
You might be still reading on your topic – from the readings on Canvas and/or other
sources. You should be comparing the viewpoints of different writers alongside your
own.
You will submit your essay to Canvas at the end of Week 8. Plan to have a friend
give you feedback on your essay before then. Your instructor might allow time for
this in class.
4/3/2021
ESSAY must not have quotation but summarizing, rephasing information gathered
from internet.
50