Nutrition Class:
The purpose of this assignment is to evaluate an electronic advertisement in a way that the student becomes a more critical consumer. The advertisement will be evaluated by comparing the claims made in the ad to scientific evidence and research findings.
The ad: https://www.humnutrition.com/product/62/counter-cravings
Assignment Format
The following explains how to structure your paper.
- Page 1: Title page with the product name/advertisement
Pages 2 to 4 (or 5): Consumer Product Analysis
This section contains your analysis of both the ad itself and the product advertised. Evaluating the ad itself is very important however the primary purpose of this paper is evaluating the product and whether there is research to support its claims. The paper should be 3-4 pages. You should comment on the positive aspects (praise) and the negative aspects (criticism) of the ad. Your analysis should be in paragraph form, and critical comments should be well developed and substantiated (cited) by the research studies you use for this assignment. When discussing scientific articles to analyze the product, do NOT use direct quotes or copied material from the scientific articles. Instead, paraphrase the information in your own words and cite appropriately in APA format. In the text of your paper, the author & year of the scientific source should be indicated. When more than two authors are cited, et al., may be used as per APA format (however, remember to include all names on Reference Page.). See example below:
According to Maughan et al. (2013), creatine supplementation has been shown to significantly increase total body mass in subjects over a 4-week period.
When discussing the advertisement or product description, you may make limited use of short quotations (<40 words) from the ad or product description, but they should be in APA format and cited properly with page numbers, and author/year.
When critically evaluating the advertisement, comment on the text, and use of color and graphics. You need to include comments about all of the following questions:
- Who appears to be the intended consumer?
- What techniques are used to draw the attention of the reader? Are they successful or not? Again, consider wording, terminology, graphics and more.
- Is the ad straightforward and factual? Explain.
- Is any important information omitted that should be disclosed to the consumer?
- What gimmicks are used to sell the product? Were the gimmicks successful?
- When critically evaluating the product, incorporate responses to all of the following questions but do not limit your critique to the questions below. This product evaluation should make up the majority of the paper.
- Is the use of this product supported by scientific evidence? If so, are there any conflicting results among various studies? Do the subjects age, health condition, fitness level, etc. match those for whom the ad is directed? Were there limitations and/or flaws in these studies? Describe the studies, in your own words, to defend your statements and give evidence for or against the claims made in the ad.
- What, if any, contribution would the consumption or use of the product make to the nutrient intake, physique, or fitness level of the intended consumer?
- How much does the product cost? Could some less expensive product be used to obtain the same results? If so, what?
- What hazards/adverse effects might be associated with the use of this product? Are there any conditions (e.g., medical, age-related) that would contraindicate the use of the product?
The Consumer Product paper is aimed to analyze the product and provide research studies to demonstrate support, or lack thereof, of the products claims. This might necessitate a detailed discussion of the study if relevant to the product directly. You should avoid summarizing the studies independent from one another and the product.
Page 5 or 6: References
This is a separate page and should be headed References at the top center of the page.
List the source of the advertisement, and alphabetically list the references used to support your evaluation. Do not alphabetize within each reference by changing the original order of authors. However, alphabetize your order among the various references, using the last name of the 1st author of each reference.
You may use the course textbooks. However, in addition, you must use at least 3 other reliable (peer reviewed) journal references to support your analysis. References need to be current (published within the last 10 years) and must be cited in the evaluation. Give the full publication information of each reference used, including all author(s), title of article and journal or title of book, year of publication, volume or edition, and page number(s).
Indentation – Although the current Publication Manual advises standard (five spaces, first line) indentation for the reference list, this is primarily designed to make typesetting easier; the typeset version will have hanging indents (first line flush left, following lines five spaces indent). We recommend for this paper that you use hanging indents for enhanced readability. We have formatted our sample references list with hanging indents.
Capitalization – Capitalize only the first word of book titles and articles and the first word after a colon. However, for name of journals, capitalize first letter of all major words.
Punctuation – Use a comma to separate:
- Surnames from initials
- A journal title from volume number
- A volume number from page numbers
- When given, an issue number from page numbers
- (Ed.) from book title
- City of publication from state
Spacing – All entries (the entire page) should be double-spaced.
References should be completed in American Psychological Association (APA) format. See examples below.
Journal article:
Volek, J. S., Duncan, N. D., Mazetti, S. A., Putukian, M., Gomez, A. L., & Kraemer, W. J. (2000). No effect of heavy resistance training and creatine supplementation on blood lipids. International Journal of Sports Nutrition, 10, 144-156. doi:134-5678-321
Book (other than first edition):
Whitney, E., & Rolfes, S. (2005). Understanding nutrition (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
Article or chapter in edited book:
Eiser, S., Redpath, A., & Rogers, N. (1987). Outcomes of early parenting: Knowns and unknowns. In A. P. Kern & L. S. Maze (Eds.), Logical thinking in children (pp. 58-87). New York: Springer.
Electronic Reference (see note of caution below):
Mack, G. W., & Bergeron, M. F. (May 30, 1997). Hydration and physical activity: Scientific concepts and practical applications. Retrieved from: http://www.gssiweb.com/hydr.html
Quality of References: Acceptable references include any reliable, professional, nutrition, physical education, sports medicine, or scientific journal or book. Unacceptable references include popular magazines (e.g., Runners World, American Health, Prevention, Muscle and Fitness) or popular books (The Zone Diet, 50 Ways to Stay Fit on a Busy Schedule, Total-Life Exercise Book). If you are unsure of the reliability of a reference, check with your instructor! Refer to the syllabus for a partial list of acceptable periodicals and on-line resources.
You may contact our reference librarian to make an appointment at the library for help in using the databases and searching for appropriate references. See the course syllabus for contact information.
Use of WWW pages: The World Wide Web (The Internet) is an unmonitored, un-refereed source of information. Consequently, information may be accurate or inaccurate, and each page must be judged for accuracy and reliability. Authoritative web pages are written by individuals with appropriate credentials (e.g., Ph.D., R.D., M.D., etc.) and should cite references used to write the page. Pages that are sponsored or maintained by the seller of a product are most often biased toward the product and should be read with this in mind. We highly recommend that you only use journal articles (or articles coming from professional sources). Again, if you are unsure of the reliability of the source, check with your instructor.
General Paper Form and Style Guidelines:
Your paper must:
- Be written in narrative, paragraph format, typed and double spaced
- Be written in the 3rd person (do not use first or second person, such as we, I or you)
- Be written in the past tense when describing the research study
- Not use direct quotations or copied material from the scientific sources
- Be in a font size that is New York Times 12 point or similar size (easy to read)
- Be left justified (do not right justify/align, which centers the text)
- Have 1-inch margins all around
- Have numbered pages
- Be submitted in the manner requested by your instructor
Grading rubric:
Format/appearance/organization/complete information APA format
References (number and quality)
Use of references in paper (appropriate citations for all references)
Quality of writing (syntax, grammar, spelling)
Critical evaluation of advertisement (text, color, graphics)
Critical evaluation of product (how claims of ad relate to scientific evidence)
