Although the topic of Love was not scheduled to be the main discussion topic of this particular class, as usual, I got so interested in your responses that it did take up more time than I had planned. For anyone who is interested, you can view the discussion that I was involved in on this topic at: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=2660#59781 The discussion is called Crazy Little Thing Called Love and I am the poster Romany.
Consequently we didn't spend as much time as I had planned on the topic of Advertising. I was somewhat shocked to find that so many of you actually admitted to believing advertising hype [short form of the word Hyperbole, which means completely exaggerated speech. We call advertising copy Hype because most of it is exaggerated and untruthful]. I think that here we have encountered yet another of the very large differences between East and West.
Of course there are people outside of China who believe in advertisements too. If there weren't advertising wouldn't be one of the biggest industries in the world. But one of the huge differences is that it is very rare to find a tertiary educated person who believes ad.copy( We refer to advertisements as "ads" because, remember, we are very lazy when it comes to spoken language. "Copy" is a term used in the print and advertisement industries which refers to the actual words that are written about the product.) In fact, tertiary institutions are constantly involved in running surveys, experiments, inquiries etc. into the world of advertising and the effects it has on the population.
I asked you to do a little research. Just a very casual and quick flip through some magazines or Internet sources at advertisements should reveal a world very different from the world around us. Especially if you are looking at magazines.
The reason for this is that a huge part of any advertising budget is devoted to children and adolescents. This is one of the reasons people are constantly calling for changes in advertising regulations: this section of the market is where the most action takes place. Also, this section of the market often does not have so much disposable income {money to spend] as, say the 20 - 30 year old demographic, but it is the one that influences all the higher income sections.
You may have noticed that a tiny dress for a little baby - one that they will outgrow in a very short time - will often cost as much...and more...than an adult item of clothing. This is because parents use their children to compete with each other. Hmmm. Wondering about that sentence? Think about it a little and we will talk about it in class.
Adolescents are usually very self-conscious and advertisers play upon this shamelessly. Although the major cause of pimples are hormonal and dietary, millions is spent convincing teenagers that, if they only use this cream...and face wash...and toner...and...and...and......their pimples will disappear miraculously. An unhappy teenager can develop into a very troubled teenager and so it easy for the kid to put pressure on parents to buy these products for him/her. Some poor parents are forced to go without high quality products themselves simply in order to buy such useless items for their children. Hmmmn again. "Useless" products? We'll talk about that in class, too.
By now you may be getting some idea of why advertising is such a huge industry. And why it is such a huge, gigantic scam.
I'm hoping that some of you by now will be starting to get interested in this topic and start looking up some information for yourselves. But even if you don't want to go any further, think hard about the pictures and images you have been asked to find. Draw some conclusions from them. You'll find out why I want you to learn about the Advertising Industry in class.
O.k., now, I also said in class that I will give you a topic for an essay this week. I will. but this will NOT be the Term Assignment. This will actually be a much shorter project and is designed as a sort of practise run for your Term Assignment.
All the classes who had a term assignment last semester were given 5 weeks to research, re-write, polish and ask for assistance. I offered to read peoples First Drafts as well, which is something many University teachers refuse to do. Not one person contacted me or showed me a First Draft. So, this semester I am giving this first topic so we can discuss problems with setting out essays, punctuation, research, drafts. etc.
Any piece of Academic writing usually goes through several drafts. This is because it is almost impossible to produce a piece of work that is acceptable the first time it is written. Authors, writers, playwrights...even Shakespeare ...use the first piece they write merely as a starting point for the final piece of work. After reading the article How to Write an Essay you will all know how many different things there are to remember and get right. This is another reason students are given plenty of time.
The other reason is because of research. Research is what any academic essay depends upon. Of course we want to hear your original ideas - but those ideas must develop from facts. And the only way to find facts is to search for them. In books, on the Internet, through discussion, in newspapers, from people who are experts.
The vast majority of assignments last semester were based not on fact but on incorrect personal assumptions. For example: one student wrote an essay comparing "Western" food to Chinese food. The statement was made that " Western food is either fried or boiled." Without any research I was able immediately to scribble in eight more different ways of food preparation. With less than ten minutes research I finally arrived at a list of more than 20 different ways that food is prepared in all the many different countries from The Continent to Europe etc. that make up "Western" countries. (I also discovered some pretty yummy recipes, too!)
Had this student done research, enough information to base an entire essay on food would have been easily done and would have been interesting and educational. Instead it contained barely half of the minimum number of words required, was full of inaccuracies and showed that the student had done no preparation but written "off the top of their head" [without thought, preparation, or factual basis]. The essay, of course, did not receive even a pass mark.
So, we'll talk in class about this first essay. But chill. Don't get all anxious about it. It's purpose is only to give you some practise and to help you get a good mark on your final assignment, ok?
Seeyalada guys.
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