This document is a sample student essay on the topic of advertising. It includes an introduction that provides background on advertising and its growth. The body discusses both positive and negative effects of advertising. It argues that while advertising can influence consumer choices, individuals are ultimately responsible for their own actions and health. The conclusion restates that consumers often blame advertising for problems but should instead take responsibility for their own decisions. The document contains 1514 words and provides references in APA style.

1. Running head: ADVERTISING: FRIEND OR FOE? 1
ADVERTISING: FRIEND OR FOE?
8
Advertising: Friend or Foe?
John Smith
Idaho State University
English 1102-18
Dr. Pfister
Advertising: Friend or Foe?
Advertising in the United States has become an enormous
and overwhelming multibillion dollar industry. No matter
where you go or what you do, you will be inundated with
advertisements. Advertising has been around for decades and

2. has grown exponentially as more and more modes of
advertisement have become available. Advertising reaches the
public by way of television, radio, newspapers, magazines, junk
mail, and internet, although more avenues are exploited, such
as buses, bathrooms, and shopping carts. Smart phone apps are
loaded with advertisements which you can avoid if you are
willing to pay an extra fee. Driving around town, you can
expect to see billboards, signs, benches, and posters all
advertising some service or product. Sunday newspapers have
entire sections dedicated to ads for various grocery and retail
stores. There is no escaping the omnipresent realm of
advertising and this issue has become quite controversial.
While there are numerous benefits to advertising, it seems that
most consumers acknowledge its negative effects. Consumers
are persuaded by the advertisements to buy products that may
have bad consequences. Instead of taking responsibility for
their actions, consumers blame the advertisements. Ultimately
the consumers, not the advertisements are to blame for any
adverse outcomes resulting from advertisements.
Advertising has become the scapegoat for nearly
everything wrong with this country. Instead of accepting the
blame for their choices, consumers have sought other ways to
shift the blame. Many studies have been done regarding the
effects of advertising and some determine that advertising
negatively affects children. These studies focus on how
advertising leads to obesity, diabetes, and even mental illnesses,
such as anxiety and depress. According to Gary Ruskin and
Juliet Schor (225), childhood obesity and diabetes are all results
of advertising because they target children with foods high in
sugar and fat content. According to a study done by Glassman,
Glassman, and Diehr (2013), obesity in children has been a
growing issue since the ‘70s and that more than 18% of U.S.
children are considered obese. Ruskin and Schor also argue that
Advertisements are to blame for mental illnesses like
depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Another common
complaint about advertising is that it is spiraling out of control,

3. leaving consumers feeling bombarded and overwhelmed.
However, as annoying and intrusive as it may be, advertising is
not to blame for these problems. Consumers can only blame
themselves. Advertising is the most successful way for
companies to inform consumers about their products. There are
many positive aspects to advertising that consumers fail to
consider because they are too busy complaining about it.
One of the most important aspects of advertising is that it
allows companies to get their products into public view and
inform people about them. Without advertising, consumers
would be less likely to know what products are available to
them, nor would they know about the benefits the products have
to offer. According to Richard Beltramini (2010), studies have
shown that advertising of pharmaceutical products has been
significantly beneficial. He explains that advertising has raised
the awareness of product benefits, as well as its side effects,
which gives the consumer a balanced view of the product, thus
empowering consumers to make informed decisions on the
medications they take. According to Berry and Howe (2005),
advertising has made significant improvements in consumer
health and appearance by promoting a healthy lifestyle. In an
attempt to convey to the public the idea that exercise prevents
diseases like diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease,
advertisers have focused on the importance on an active
lifestyle, fitness products, and products that enhance personal
appearance. The benefits do not exist solely between the maker
of the product and the consumer, but also between different
companies offering the same or similar products.
Advertising is also used as a catalyst to ignite competition
between companies offering the same or similar products. This
competition keeps prices low and contributes to new innovative
products. According to MacKenzie, Meyer, and Noble (2013),
companies that want to stay in business have to keep their
prices competitive because consumers will always compare
prices and go with the lower price. Dana Griffin (n.d.) offered
another option that retailers commonly use to keep their prices

4. competitive. Many retailers and companies use coupons and
sale which offer products at discounted prices. These
incentives and competitive prices help to stimulate the economy
because it motivates consumers to spend more money by buying
more products. This competition between companies
contributes to another important aspect of advertising. As
companies use competitive advertising to win favor with the
consumer, they also use it to compete with each other to see
who will come out with the newest and most improved products.
In order to stay current and competitive, companies have to look
constantly at how they can improve their products or develop
new products that are better than the previous products.
According to Henry Chesbrough and Jason Eichenholz (2013),
“new products design and development is crucial for the
survival of a company” (para. 1). Chesbrough and Eichenholz
explain that companies are forced to enhance or tweak their
products because of continuous technological advances and to
meet the ever changing needs and desires of consumers. This is
seen frequently in electronic devices, such as computers,
laptops, tablets, smart phones, televisions, DVD players, Blu-
Ray players, etc. According to Khin Cho (n.d.), competitive
advertising not only results in new and improved products, but
it also provides employment opportunities. Even in the midst of
all these benefits, consumers insist that advertising is the root
cause of all their problems.
I blame the consumer for any adverse reactions he or she
encounters after begin persuaded to buy a product by
advertisement. At no point are consumers forced to buy the
product nor are they forced to continue buying the product.
Each individual is responsible for his or her own actions
regardless if those actions were influenced by advertisements.
It is the parents’ responsibility to use sound judgment in what
their children eat and drink. Allowing children to eat high
calorie, fatty foods every day is bad for them. Of course it will
lead to health issues like obesity and diabetes, but that would be
the fault of the parent for not being more responsible and for

5. not limiting these kinds of foods. It isn’t the fault of the
company advertising the product. Consumers do not want to
accept the blame for their actions and so they seek out ways to
shift the blame on to someone else. McDonalds provides a good
example of the way that consumers shift the blame from
themselves to others. According to Erika Kendall (2014),
McDonalds’ advertising targets kids because the restaurant puts
toys in the Happy Meals. Because this leads to obesity in
children, the reasoning goes, McDonalds should stop
advertising toys in Happy Meals. This rationale, however, is
naïve and ridiculous. Advertising Happy Meal toys does not
cause children to become obsess. Parents allowing their
children to eat unhealthy foods all the time are causing their
children to become obese. Julie Gunlock (2011) accurately
writes that “Americans don’t need a nanny government . . .
monitoring salt intake, banning the toys in happy meals, trying
to do away with trans-fats, or hitting us over the head with
calorie information” (para. 12). Gunlock makes it very clear
that we are all responsible for our own choices and actions and
that it is up to each of us to make healthy, well-informed
decisions. If we make unhealthy and foolish choices, we will
suffer the consequences. Advertisements only suggest options
that consumers have. Consumers need to stop blaming
advertisements for their problems and recognize that they need
to hold themselves accountable for their decisions and accept
the consequences of their actions.
Companies invest billions of dollars every year into
advertising in order to get their products in front of consumers.
They help increase knowledge of the products, keep prices
competitive, and stimulate the economy. They cause the
development of new and better products. Sadly, a large portion
of this country sees advertising only as an aggravating and
deceitful way to coerce people into buying products that they do
not need or want. Countless studies have been done in an
attempt to blame advertising as the source of many of the
problems faced by the consumer. They blame advertising for

6. obesity, diabetes, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, etc. In
an attempt to grab the consumers’ attention, companies have
gotten very creative in their advertising. This makes the
products much more appealing and desirable. It doesn’t change
the fact that the product may not be good for the consumer.
However, it is ultimately the consumer’s decision to purchase
the product. No one is forcing consumers to purchase a
product. They do so of their own free will. Therefore, they
have no one to blame but themselves. It’s so much easier for
consumers to blame advertising than themselves when
something goes wrong. Until consumers recognize this
misplaced discontent and start taking responsibility for their
own actions, advertising will remain their scapegoat.
Word count: 1514
References
Beltramini, R. F. (2010). DTC advertising’s programmatic
research and its effect on health communication. Health
Communication, 25(6/7), 574-575. doi:
10.1080/10410236.2010.496770
Berry, T. R., & Howe, B. L. (2005). The effects of exercise
advertising on self-efficacy and decisional balance. American
Journal of Health Behavior, 29(2), 117-126.
Chesbrough, H., & Eichenholz, J. M. (2013, January). Open
innovation in photonics: The cause for sharing and harvesting
innovations in photonics. SPIE Professional. doi:
10.1117/2.4201301.15
Cho, K. A. (n.d.). Advertisements: The pros and cons.
Advertisements. Retrieved from
http://schoolnet.org.za/learningcircles.html
Glassman, T., Glassman, J., & Diehr, A. J. (2013). Obesity: A
public health failure? American Journal of Health Studies,
28(4), 8-11.
Griffin, D. (n.d.). The effects of competition on pricing
strategy. Small Business. Retrieved from http://small
business.chron.com

7. Gunlock, J. (2011, October 18). Food advertisers are not to
blame for childhood obesity. Townhall.com. Retrieved from
http://townhall.com/columnists
Kendall, E. N. (2014, March 28). Cleaning up the happy meal:
Do toys advertising unhealthy foods to kids? A Black Girl’s
Guide to Weight Loss. Retrieved from
http://blackgirlsguidetoweightloos.com
McKenzie, I., Meyer, C., & Noble, S. (2013, October). How
retailers can keep up with consumers. McKinsey & Company.
Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com
Ruskin, G., & Schor, J. (2005). Every nook and cranny: The
dangerous spread of commercial culture. In K. A. Ackley (Ed.),
Perspectives on contemporary issues (7th ed., pp. 487-491).
Stamford, CT: Cengage.
APA Documentation
Example of in-text citations: As in MLA, in APA you must cite
your sources when you paraphrase. However, unlike MLA,
APA does not require a page number for a paraphrase, only the
author and date. However, every quotation that you use does
need a page number in the citation.
According to John Smith and Bill McGuire (2010), 85% of
patients needing a kidney transplant will not receive an
organ. The authors suggest that the situation is “critical enough
to warrant legalizing the selling of kidneys” (p. 465).
If you quote a source that does not have page numbers – such as
an online source or an HTML source – you must instead provide
a paragraph number:
Johnson and Brown (2006) explain that “the myth of creativity
is that it stems from either madness or genius” (para. 6).
Provide the year of your source only once per paragraph.
Example of an entry in References for an academic source from
a database like Academic Search Complete:

8. Smith, J., & McGuire, B. (2010). Selling kidneys is now a
necessity. Journal of Medicine, 40(4), 460-475. doi:
4033300875811666x
Notice that APA does not require database information or
access date. If a doi number is provided, you must give it.
Example of an entry for a newspaper:
Johnson, S., Smith, G. A., & Summers, K. (2012, March 3).
The ethics of selling organs. New York Times, p. A2.
Example of an entry for a weekly periodical:
Gerard, O. (2011, December 8). Is America ready for an organ
market? Newsweek, 45(35), 34-39.
Example of an entry for an article in in our textbook or an
anthology of articles:
Jacobs, D. (2012). Creating reel change. In K. A. Ackley
(Ed.), Perspectives on contemporary issues (pp. 261-264).
Stamford, CT: Cengage.
Example of an entry for a book with a single author:
Light, I. (2008). Illegal immigration and its problems. New
York, NY: Viking Press.
Example of an online source:
Smith, J. (2001, April 30). Why selling kidneys is unethical.
New York Times. Retrieved from http://nwtimes.com
If you put the title of the essay in the body of your essay, it
requires a different format from that on the References page:
John Smith (2001) writes against the sale of human organs in
“Why Selling Kidneys Is Unethical.”
On the following pages is an example of an APA-style cover
page and the first page of text.
Running head: WHY SELLING KIDNEYS IS UNETHICAL

9. 1
Why Selling Kidneys Is Unethical
Joyce Johnson
Idaho State University
English 1102
Dr. Thomas Pfister
WHY SELLING KIDNEYS IS UNETHICAL
2
Why Selling Kidneys Is Unethical
The debate is fierce over the legality of selling kidneys.
Some claim that selling kidneys should be no different than
selling a woman’s eggs, a man’s sperm, or anyone’s blood.
Others argue that selling kidneys will lead to a black market
that will take advantage of the poor and misguided.
Argument Essay
Essay due: Thursday July 10 during class. Because this is the
last assignment, late essays will
not be accepted.
Length: 1700-1800 words. Provide an accurate word count at
the end of the essay (the word
count does not include the References page)

10. Documentation style: APA. Use a correct APA-style cover
sheet but do not give an abstract.
Sources: Find six sources from Academic Search Complete as
well as one source from the textbook. Use and cite all seven
sources in the body of your essay
Points: 30 points (out of 100 points for the semester)
Write an argumentative essay of 1700-1800 words (double-
spaced) based on one of the topics from the second set of
readings listed on the syllabus: Roberts and Engardio (528),
Powell (535), Whitty (459), Corwin (472), Schulman (446),
Gregory (451), Ruskin and Schor (487), Sandel (492),
Kilbourne (256), Johnson (423), Keen (425), Jarvis (430), and
Vargas (432). This essay is not a critique of the essay. Rather,
you will use one of the above articles simply as one of your
seven required sources for this assignment. How you use the
source is up to you: it may be in the section on opposing points
of view, or it may be used for one of your supporting
arguments.
Besides using the essay from the textbook you will need to find
six more sources from Academic Search Complete. You may
use more sources if necessary. You will have a minimum of
seven entries on the References page. You must use and cite all
seven sources in your essay. You are required to paraphrase
every source in your essay at least once. You may quote but do
so sparingly. Synthesize your sources – use at least two sources
for each support argument.
Use APA-style documentation throughout – be sure to use a
proper APA-style title page (you do not need an abstract). Do
not use subheadings.
Follow the guidelines provided in “Chapter 5: Writing an
Argument,” as well as the additional information given in
“Chapter 6: Writing a Synthesis” and “Chapter 7: Writing a
Research Paper.” Look at the “Structure of an Argument” at the
bottom of page 84 for an overview of the necessary parts of an
argument essay: 1. The introduction establishes the context or

11. background information of the problem and ends with your
thesis statement. 2. The second paragraph of the essay
examines opposing arguments, refutes them, and makes some
concessions. Be sure to provide sources here. 3. The next
paragraphs develop your thesis. Develop at least three
supporting arguments. Put the second most important argument
first, the weakest in the middle, and the strongest argument last.
Begin each support argument with a clear topic sentence that
expresses your opinion in your own words (do not start with a
quotation). Then use at least two sources as support for each of
your three supporting arguments. End each paragraph with your
final analysis of the topic – do not end a paragraph with a
quote. 4. Give an interesting conclusion that provides new
examples, statistics, or solutions to the problem.
Other considerations:
Do not use contractions (don’t, isn’t). Spell out all words (do
not, is not, would not, etc.)
Do not use slang expressions (I kind of liked it, it was sort of
interesting).
Put in the word “that” to denote a dependent clause: I believe
she understands the topic = I believe that she understands the
topic.
Use lead-in phrases that work grammatically with your quote:
B. Smith (2012) argues that “nothing is better than reality
television” (p. 23).
Watch out for comma splices, fragments, and awkward phrasing.
Be sure that you are not plagiarizing when you paraphrase
sources. Review pages 153-156 in your textbook. You will
receive no credit for an essay that has been heavily plagiarized.
Come to Conferences for extra help.
Go to the Writing Lab for extra help.