Luxi Liu

Composition & Rhetoric 1301

12/07/2011

Diet and Health

The food choices we make can have an important impact on our health. However, expert opinions continue to change about which and how much of these foods is optimal. In order to get more from their daily nutritional diet, or solve their health problems, people begin to demand more and more healthy food. A wrong step or choice will directly affect on people’s health.

Eating foods higher in healthy fats and lower in unhealthy fats can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. The type of fat consumed appears to be more important than the amount of total fat. Saturated fats and trans fats should be avoided in favor of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (eg, in fish, olive oil, peanut oil, nuts). Trans fats are those that are solid at room temperature, and are found in many

margarines and in other fats labeled "partially hydrogenated." Another major source is oils that are maintained at high temperature for a long period, such as in fast food restaurants.Saturated fats come mainly from animal products, such as cheese, butter, and red meat.

It is important not to replace fat with refined carbohydrates (eg, white bread, white rice, most sweets). Increases in refined carbohydrate intake may lower levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (good cholesterol), which actually increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

Adequate calcium and vitamin D intake are important, particularly in women, to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. A healthcare provider can help to decide if supplements are needed, depending upon a person's dietary intake of calcium and

vitamin D. Although the optimal level has not been clearly established, experts recommend that premenopausal women and men consume at least 1000 mg per day and postmenopausal women should consume 1200 mg per day. No more than 2000 mg of calcium should be consumed per day.

The current recommendation is that postmenopausal women with or at risk for osteoporosis consume at least 800 International Units of vitamin D per day. Lower levels of vitamin D are not as effective while high doses can be toxic, especially if taken for long periods of time. Although the optimal intake has not been clearly established in premenopausal women or in men with osteoporosis, 400 to 600 International units of vitamin D daily is generally suggested.

Moderate alcohol intake may reduce the risk of heart disease. However, it is not clear what amount of alcohol is best. There are some risks associated with alcohol use, including breast cancer in women; cancers of the mouth, esophagus, throat, larynx, and liver; other illnesses such as cirrhosis and alcoholism; and injuries and other trauma-related problems, particularly in men.

Based on the trade-off between these risks and benefits, the United States Dietary Guidelines recommend alcohol intake in moderation, if at all. This means no more than one drink per day for women, and up to 2 drinks per day for men. Those who do not drink alcohol do not need to start.

Drinking is discouraged for those under 40 years who are at low risk of

cardiovascular disease because the risks are likely to outweigh the benefits in this group.

Fears of high cholesterol were frequently voiced up until the mid-1990s.

However, more recent research has shown that the distinction between high- and low-density lipoprotein ('good' and 'bad' cholesterol, respectively) must be addressed when speaking of the potential ill effects of cholesterol. Different types of dietary fat have different effects on blood levels of cholesterol. For example, polyunsaturated fats tend to decrease both types of cholesterol; monounsaturated fats tend to lower LDL and raise HDL; saturated fats tend to either raise HDL, or raise both HDL and LDL; and trans fat tend to raise LDL and lower HDL. Dietary cholesterol itself is only found in animal products such as meat, eggs, and dairy, but studies have shown that even large amounts of dietary cholesterol only have negligible effects on blood cholesterol.

Particularly within the last five years government agencies have attempted to combat the amount and method of media coverage lavished upon "junk" foods. Governments also put pressure on businesses to promote healthful food options, consider limiting the availability of junk food in state-run schools, and tax foods that are high in fat. Vending machines in particular have come under fire as being avenues of entry into schools for junk food promoters. However, there is little in the way of regulation and it is difficult for most people to properly analyze the real merits of a company referring to itself as "healthy." Recently, the United Kingdom removed the rights for McDonald's to advertise its products, as the majority of the foods that were seen have low nutrient values and high fat counts were aimed at children under the guise of the "Happy Meal”. The British Heart Foundation released its own

government-funded advertisements, labeled "Food4Thought", which were targeted at children and adults displaying the gory nature of how fast food is generally constituted.

第二篇：BSW_Research_Paper

Writing a Research Paper

HOW TO WRITE A

Research

Paper

SO, YOU HAVE TO WRITE A research (or term) paper, but you aren’t exactly sure where tobegin. Research papers can be exciting and interesting to write, but they can also be

intimidating and daunting, especially if it is your first one.

Let’s start at the beginning. You need to select a subject area and define your topic. If you thentake each step in turn, the process will be much more manageable. There will also be times whenyou will miss or need to repeat a step, but we will talk more about that later.

The method discussed in this guide will work best if you have given yourself plenty of time. Ifyou have waited until the last minute, your options will be more limited, but you may still benefitfrom using this guide.

The research paper, also called a term paper, should contain a thesis statement, or hypothesis,which explains to the reader the overall position or point of your argument, and the ways in whichyou plan to advance your argument and persuade the reader.

Follow these steps to complete your paper:

Select a Topic

You will most likely be given a broad subject by your instructor. This subject will typically havesomething to do with the course material you are studying. A topic is derived from the subject butdiffers from it in specific ways.

Narrow the Topic

While this may seem obvious, it is a very important step. You need to make sure that the topic isnot so narrow that you only have a few words to say about it. You also do not want it to be sobroad that you attempt to write a multivolume encyclopaedia.

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Writing a Research Paper

Develop a Thesis Statement

The thesis statement is what makes the research paper a research paper. This one statement is acrucial element in the success or failure of your project. It serves as a preview for the paper andalso communicates to the reader what will be proved or disproved.

Gather Resources

This is the “research” part of your paper. You want to allow plenty of time to gather resourcessince this is a process that may take you in many directions. Think of this step as a process andnot an event. You will probably not find everything you need in just one trip to the library, norwill you find everything on the Internet. As you conduct your research, you will learn more aboutyour topic and be directed toward even more resources.

Read, Analyze, Record

Not only do you have to gather the resources; you will also have to read them, analyze them, andtake notes on points that you may want to use to support your thesis. This is the information thatyou will use to build your outline and write the draft and final paper.

Create an Outline

After gathering resources and drafting a working thesis, it is time to create an outline of yourpaper. This will help you refine the thesis and your arguments. An outline is essentially a roadmap from which you write your paper.

Write a First Draft

This is a crucial step. As with the outline, a draft will give you an idea of the materials you lackand how much additional information you need. After writing your draft, you may find that yourtopic is too broad. For example, you may write ten pages and only cover your first two points.Don’t worry if your writing isn’t perfect yet. Remember, this is only a draft.

Gather Additional Information

While not always necessary, this is the point in your paper where you look for very specificinformation to make some of your arguments stronger. For example, you may find that adding astatistic, map, picture, or graph will support your argument. You may also find that you cannotfind specific information to support one of your arguments, and might discard it in favor of onefor which you have ample supporting material.

Revise the Draft

At this point, you will make editorial changes and insert new material that you have gathered.You may also find that you need to eliminate items for which you have not found supporting

documentation. It is often a good idea to let your draft “sit” for a few days between readings. Thisallows you to have some perspective on what you have written. What seemed like a brilliantconcept at midnight on Monday may seem shallow and silly in the clear light of day onWednesday. You should always review your work before handing it in.

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Writing a Research Paper

Cite Your Sources

Give credit where credit is due. This means that if you have quoted directly from a book orparaphrased an idea you must give the original author credit. Not doing so is called plagiarism.You will also want to make sure that your citations conform to the standards required by yourinstructor.

Proofread, Edit, and Revise

This is the final stage of the process. Before turning in your paper, make sure that you have“dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s.”

Although we have described these steps in a linear fashion, you may not always follow them thatway. It is possible that you will gather some sources before you choose the topic, or that you willwrite an outline and then go back and revise the thesis. Just remember that writing is a processand that these are only guidelines.

Websites of Interest

We have identified Web sites that provide additional information about writing research papers.ReferencesSELECTING A TOPIC: HOW TO CHOOSE WISELY

Choosing your topic is a very important step in the research process. Without a well-definedtopic,it will be difficult to construct a thesis statement, gather sources, write an outline, orcomplete a draft.

In most cases you will be given a subject, but this is not a topic. What’s the difference? Subjectsare typically broad and general. Some examples of subjects are recycling, immigrant history,Shakespeare’s plays, or modern art. It would be rather hard to write papers (of reasonablelength) on such broad subjects.

A topic is related to the subject but is quite specific. Topics will ask a question, show a cause andeffect, or make a comparison (Rozakis, 1999). The following are some examples of topics:Recycling—What impact do recycling programs have in urban environments?

Immigrant History—How does the immigrant experience in 2000 differ from the immigrantexperience in 1900?

Shakespeare—How do the women characters in Shakespeare’s plays reflect the culture ofthe time period?

Modern Art—Is the quality of a work of modern art, as judged by art critics, related to thedegree of life-adjustment difficulties of the artist?

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Writing a Research Paper

As you can see in the above examples, the topics ask specific questions. Such questions—andtheir answers—form the basis of the thesis statement.

Sometimes you will be given a specific topic by your instructor. In such cases, you would not usethis method to narrow down your topic from a broader subject.

So how does one make the leap from a broad subject to a specific topic? There are many differentways to make such a transition, and no single best approach. Perhaps most important is to select atopic that’s interesting or meaningful to you. Over the course of the semester or term, you willspend a lot of time gathering and reading materials and writing your paper. The entire processwill be more enjoyable and productive if you actually like and value your topic.

Here are some specific ideas for selecting topics:

Look at course notes

Read back over your notes and texts from class. Was there something mentioned in class or yourreadings that you found really interesting?

Use a General Encyclopaedia

Use an encyclopaedia like Encyclopaedia Britannica to look up the general subject. Read theentry for the subject and explore some of the related entries. Not only will this give you a betterunderstanding of the subject, but it also might spark some thoughts about possible topics. Use thesuggested readings and bibliographies at the end of the encyclopaedia articles to find additionalsources of information. These resources can be the beginning of the resource gathering process.Use a Specialized Encyclopaedia

There are encyclopaedias on many specialized subjects. A librarian can help you locate one inyour subject area. Thumbing through the entries may help you identify some areas of interest.Again, follow the references to related articles, and use the suggested readings and bibliographiesto help you locate additional resources.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a great way to discover a topic. At the top of the paper write down the generalsubject. Then spend a few minutes writing down ideas about the subject. Think about the types ofquestions the subject brings to mind. You should have a good start on a list of topics by the end ofthe time period.

Rely on a Friend

Sometimes it is difficult to think of a topic by yourself. Even when you do identify a topic, youmay feel that although it is personally interesting, you cannot imagine that others would find it so.Friends can help you. Ask a friend to listen to your ideas and provide you with constructivecriticism. Conversely, you could ask your friend to look at what you may consider to be a

“boring” topic and tell you what they would write about instead. Sometimes a fresh perspective isall it takes to help you decide; you might even find that your topic isn’t that boring!

Explore Any Special Resources Held by Your Library

Libraries often maintain special collections on topics of interest (special collections can be basedon the preferences of previous librarians, or individuals who made donations to the library).

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Writing a Research Paper

Often, such resources are grouped together. You may be able to browse through such specialcollections for interesting ideas or questions to help you with your topic. An advantage of thisapproach is that many of the resources that you might gather to complete the paper may alreadybe part of the special collection.

Participate in Online Discussion Groups

Online discussion groups on subjects may provide participants the opportunity to “propose”various topics of special interest. Other participants in the group can then provide instantfeedback. There are also a number of library resources that you can use. You can find theseresources in most public, college, and university libraries; ask a reference librarian for helplocating them. Some suggested resources follow:

10,000 Ideas for Term Papers, Projects, Reports and Speeches:

Intriguing, Original Research Topics for Every Student’s Needs—If you have absolutely noidea where to start or are having trouble narrowing down your topic, this book can bequite helpful.

CQ Researcher—This title (formerly called Editorial Research Reports) provides an

extensive overview of a topic in each of its weekly issues. There is also a cumulative index tothe entire series. Topics found in this source typically include current “hot topics” that mayhave legislation pending such as gun control, the death penalty, gambling, and children’srights.

Editorials on File—A great place to check to see if your topic might be arguable. Thissource reproduces editorials from over 150 newspapers from North America (United Statesand Canada).

Issues and Controversies on File—Each weekly magazine covers several contemporaryissues. Again, these are “hot topics” or things you may hear about in the news. Another greatsource to use if your topic is arguable (controversies almost always have two sides to them).When choosing your topic, you will also want to make sure that it fits into the scope of your

assignment. If in doubt, always check with your instructor. He or she can provide you with advicethroughout the research process.

Finally, make certain that your topic is “arguable.” Remember that your ability to argue for yourthesis is what makes your research paper a research paper. You might consider the way yourreader (in most cases, your instructor) is likely to look at and react to things. Of course, it alldepends on your goal for the paper.

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Writing a Research Paperthat the topic must be narrower than the subject. However, it must not become too narrow. Ifyour topic becomes too restricted, you might end up with a simple—and unarguable—statementof fact, such as “Albert Einstein invented the theory of relativity.” This will not satisfy therequirements of a research paper, in which you must argue your thesis.

Here are some additional questions to think about when you are narrowing yourtopic:

How much time do you have?YOU HAVE ALREADY begun to sculpt a research topic from a broader subject, and will recall

The more time you have, the more sophisticated your research topic can be. If you are pressed fortime and the paper you want to write on is a topic not often written about, or if your library’scollection does not include resources in this area, you may have problems. In such situations, youwould be wise to choose a simpler topic given the nature of your resources.

How long is your paper?

Longer papers support broader topics. Make the breadth of the topic appropriate to its length. Youwill have problems writing a ten-page paper if your topic is too narrowly focused. Conversely,you will have problems adequately addressing all the points of a broader topic if your paper is tooshort.

Often, your instructor will require a specific length for the paper. If so, you should narrow orbroaden your topic accordingly.

What types of resources do you need to use?

The types of resources you are required to use for the assignment may help you choose yourtopic. If you must use published journal articles in your final paper, you probably don’t want towrite about a person who has only recently risen to public prominence, such as the major leaguepitcher who pitched his first game last night. Such a topic would not be well-documented by olderjournal articles, and it would be difficult for you to find enough material to support your thesisstatement. However, if you are asked to include newspaper stories or recent news archives foryour project, you would find plenty of material to support this choice of topic.

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Writing a Research PaperTHE THESIS STATEMENT: DEVELOPING THE “BACKBONE” OF THE RESEARCH PAPERAS DEFINED IN THE introduction, the thesis statement is what makes a research paper a

research paper. A thesis is defined by Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as “aproposition to be proved.” It is important that this statement accurately reflects both the purposeand direction of the paper. A paper without a fully developed thesis statement, or one that is toonarrow or broad in scope, will not be as successful as one with a strong and well-thought-outstatement.

How do you write a thesis statement? Consider these guidelines:

! A thesis is usually one sentence.

! The thesis makes a claim about your topic. Remember that you must be able to support

this claim. A thesis statement is where you take a position regarding your topic; it is not amere statement of fact.

! A well developed thesis statement “asks to have more said about it. It demands some

proof ” [Paradigm, 2000].

The following are some examples of topics turned into thesis statements:

Urban recycling programs have a positive effect on a community by reducing the costsassociated with waste management.

Children who watch too much television are less likely to have well-developed socialskills.

You should know that the first statement that you write will not necessarily be the one that youuse in your final paper. As you gather resources you may find that your statement is too narrow ortoo broad. You may also find that the question you want to answer is unanswerable. This does notnecessarily mean that you can’t write about it; it simply means that you need to be sure that youcan make a strong case for or against the statement before keeping it as a topic.

The thesis statement you create is a unique topic and as such there may not be a single source todefinitively support or dispute your statement. As you begin crafting your outline, you willdiscover other places in your paper where you will insert evidence to support your thesis.

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Writing a Research PaperGATHER RESOURCES

THIS IS THE “research” part of your paper. You should allow plenty of time to gather

resources, as this exercise will take you in many directions. Think of resource gathering as aprocess and not a single event. You will probably not find everything you need in one trip to thelibrary, nor are you likely to find everything in a single session on the Internet. As you conductyour research, you will learn more about your topic and discover even more resources you canuse. Your teacher might ask that you use both primary and secondary sources.

Primary sources are firsthand materials, such as interviews, diaries, maps, graphs, statistics,charts, and other original documents. The important thing to remember about primary sources isthat they are not interpretations or analyses of a subject; rather, they are raw data, direct personalobservations, experiments, or transcripts.

Secondary sources are writings about primary sources, or about information extracted from them.They may take the form of opinions or summaries.

For example, the Constitution is a primary source.

An Encyclop?dia Britannica article about the Constitution is a secondary source.

The use of both primary and secondary sources will make your research paper a well-rounded andcomplete investigation of the topic. However, use caution when choosing your sources. Don’tbelieve everything you read, especially if it’s on the Web. Remember that almost anyone can putup a Web site. It is important to evaluate the source of your information. If you’re not sure of howreputable your source is, look elsewhere for more information, or verify it through more reputablesources.

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Writing a Research PaperCREATING AN OUTLINE

need to organize—or outline—your thoughts clearly so that the rest of your paper clearlyrepresents the main point(s) of your argument. An outline is the framework for your paper. Youwill use it—and the sources you have gathered—to construct a persuasive argument.

There are lots of ways to create outlines. The easiest way is to begin by writing your thesis

statement at the top of a page and to focus your outline around this statement. Here’s an example:

Thesis: Children who watch too much television are less able to interact with others in asocially acceptable manner.

In order to prove the statement true or false, you will need to break it apart into smaller

arguments, which we shall call the major topics of the paper. To help determine the major topics,write down at least three to four reasons you believe your thesis statement to be true or false(Rozakis, 1999). You may use the notes you have taken during the resource gathering phase, aswell as supporting items you know to be true. If you have taken notes on cards, it is usuallyhelpful to sort the notes into groups.

Example: Children who watch violent cartoons are more likely to try to solve problemswith violence. Because these children don’t interact with others, they are less likely tounderstand the concept of sharing.

For each of your major topics, think of two to three supporting statements. These statements willcome from your research notes and will become the major focus of each paragraph. Thesesupporting statements are designated with capital letters in the outline.

Example: Children who watch violent cartoons are more likely to try to solve problemsthrough violence.

A. Can’t distinguish between reality and fiction

B. Don’t learn other ways of dealing with conflictUPON CRAFTING your thesis statement, you have defined the focus of your report. You also

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Writing a Research Paper

Finally, you will want to learn from your research what ideas support each of these supportingstatements. These documentary points are indicated by numbers followed by a period. Even morespecific points under these are indicated with lower case letters followed by a period.

Example: Children who watch violent cartoons are more likely to try to solve

problemswith violence.

A. Can’t distinguish between reality and fiction

B. Believe that the characters are real

Like everything else in this process, the outline is not written in stone. You may find that youneed to rearrange some of the points to make a stronger case, or add new ones. The outline willalso graphically illustrate where you need more supporting evidence, which will help focus theresource gathering process.

Note: Some excellent writers claim not to need the outlining step, preferring instead to launchright into drafting the paper. Although this may well be true for some writers, most writers benefitfrom the creation of the outline. Even if you feel very qualified to write your paper, you willbenefit from jotting down a structure and your major points.YOU HAVE MADE IT to the final step: congratulations! While you may be ready to finish this

project, this stage is just as important as the previous steps.

While you need to provide good ideas and a thorough analysis in your research report, it isequally important that you present yourself well on paper. You should check your paper for

mistakes in spelling and grammar, and to ensure that your ideas flow well and can be understood.The following are a few “tricks of the trade” that you may want to try:

Gather Additional Information

While this step is not always necessary, this is the stage when you can look for very specificinformation to make some of your report’s arguments stronger. For example, you may find thatadding a statistic, map, picture, or graph will make your argument stronger. You may also findthat you have failed to find information to support one of your arguments.

Distance Yourself from the Product

If you can, put your draft away for a couple of days before beginning the final edit. The distancewill allow you to be more objective for your final read.

Ask Someone Impartial to Read Your Report

Have someone else read your paper for clarity and to proof it for grammatical/spelling errors. Anauthor is often not the best person to edit his or her own work, and some people are simply lessskilled in catching such errors. You can ask a friend to help you, and your school may offer

services along these lines (e.g., a writing center). These services are staffed with people trained tohelp edit research papers.

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Writing a Research Paper

Read Out Loud

Even if you are not doing an oral report, it is a good idea to read the final paper aloud. This willhelp you catch any problems with the flow of the final product. Reading aloud makes theseproblems more obvious, as you will stumble over awkward sentences, or realize whereinformation is unclear.

Use Spell Check and Grammar Check

These tools are part of most word processing programs; use them. There are essentially no goodexcuses for spelling errors in papers. Remember, however, that these programs will not catch theuse of incorrect words (like an instead of and, or their instead of there), so don’t rely solely onmechanical spell and grammar checks.

Writing Up Research: An Online Resource, from the Center for Language and

Educational Technology, at the Asian Institute of Technology. This is an excellentresource for writing research papers.

http://www.clet.ait.ac.th/el21open.htm

Writing a Research Paper, from the Counseling Center at George Mason Universityhttp://www.gmu.edu/departments/csdc/paper.html

Writing a Research Paper, from the University of Alberta Libraries

http://www.library.ualberta.ca/library_html/help/pathfinders/respaper.html

Your Research Paper, from the University Library, University of California, SantaCruz.

http://scilibx.ucsc.edu/library/ref/instruction/refguides/research.html

A Student’s Guide to Research with the WWW

http://www.slu.edu/departments/english/research/

A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on MLA Documentation

http://webster.commnet.edu/mla.htm

Merriam Webster Online

http://merriam-webster.com/

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant/thesfrms.htm

Buffa, L. 1997

Research Paper Smart: Where to Find It, How to Write It, How to Cite It.

New York, NY: Random House.

The CQ Researcher. 1991-present

Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc.

Editorials on File. 1970-present

New York, NY: Facts on File Inc.

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Writing a Research Paper

Issues and Controversies on File. 1995-present

New York, NY: Facts on File Inc.

Lamm, K. 1998

10,000 Ideas for Term Papers, Projects, Reports and Speeches: Intriguing, OriginalResearch Topics for Every Student’s Need (5th ed.)

New York, NY: Macmillan.

Rozakis, L. 1999

Schaum’s Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

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