Lay Off McDonald’s – Writing
Advanced 2 W3
Reading a newspaper article on the general public‟s
obsession with fast food, and analysing examples of critical
writing based on the article
To improve reading for main ideas and for detail
To fine tune your analytical skills of tone and register in an
authentic newspaper article
To build on skills of reading samples of critical writing in
preparation for your own critical analysis writing
Package developed by Kelly Skinner. Additional work and editing by Alyson
Tipping. Based on: Katz, D, “Lay off McDonald‟s”, The Age, April 13 2006
Instructions
Introduction
Worksheets
Exercises
Answer Key
STUDENTS PLEASE NOTE:
This package forms part of a collection of three packages of the same name, all based on the
same text – one package practises listening skills; another, writing skills; and another builds on
reading skills. The packages do not form part of a sequential series, so you do not need to have
completed one package before you start another.
Instructions:
1). Consider the question in Section 1 whilst reading the article in Section 2
2). Check your answer for Section 1 before continuing
3). Complete the tables in Section 3
4). Complete the short answer questions in Section 4
5). Analyse the example paragraphs in Section 5
6). Check your answers in the Answer Key
Introduction
In an age where the „epidemic‟ of obesity increasingly plagues the Western world, the question
of how the general public should be taking more responsibility for themselves, and for the
consequences of their McDonald‟s food obsession - or any fast food obsession for that matter -
has inevitably been raised.
In this writing package of the „Lay Off McDonald’s‟ collection, you will study the more intricate
aspects of the writer‟s tone in the article, and analyse the important elements of writing a
critique.
The DVD documentary “Super Size Me” (Morgan Spurlock) is available at the RMIT Swanston Library,
and ties in with the themes of this package. It may be worth viewing this film after the completion of this
ILC package.
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Section 1: Purpose
Task 1
As you read the text below, think about the main purpose of the text. Is it:
a) entertainment
b) persuasion
c) discussion
d) information
Check your answer before continuing onto Section 3.
Section 2: Reading
Task 2
Read the following article:
Lay off McDonald’s – It’s Made in Your Image
By Danny Katz
April 13, 2006
The Age
1 Now, I'm not normally the type of person who would support a big, multinational corporation;
I've always been opposed to greedy, exploitative business practices. For instance, I never buy
running shoes from a particular shoe company that uses child labour in Pakistan, and also I
find that the insoles really seem to aggravate my bunions.
2 And I never buy products from cosmetics companies that still do animal testing - I find it
extremely disturbing to think about little bunny rabbits being forced to endure eye creams and
skin lotions, and the Bikini Waxing Hot Microwave Crotch Kit.
3 And I spent much of the 1980s boycotting the Nestlé company, because it was selling breast-
milk substitutes to African mothers - although I did have one weak moment with a peppermint
Aero bar, when the wellbeing of millions of Third World children just didn't weigh up against
light and yet satisfying bubbles of air that really melt in your mouth.
4 But right here, right now, I'm about to offer my support to one of the biggest, greediest
multinational corporations of them all, and I'm not talking about my local milk bar, which just
charged me $3.50 for a couple of bananas, and they turned out to be cooking plantains, so it
was like biting into a wad of wet starch. No, I'm talking about a global food business that goes
by the name of...McDonald's.
5 Now, for anyone who doesn't know, McDonald's is the world's biggest hamburger-selling chain
- it's a bit like Hungry Jack's, only more successful, and without the raw-onion breath.
6 And I've never really been a big McDonald's fan. After eating their hamburgers, I just want to
get in the shower and scrub out my throat with a loofah. And after sucking on their
thickshakes, I just need to lie down for a bit, because it feels like I've popped a capillary in my
brain.
7 And I've never liked their cutesy TV characters, that creepy Ronald McDonald clown, and that
psychotic, grinning Hamburglar, and that big, fat, purple Grimace thing - I have no idea what it
is, but it looks like some of the people who eat there.
8 But now, now I want to scream out to the world, BACK OFF AND LEAVE POOR
McDONALD'S ALONE.
9 They've been having a hell of a time lately. First it was that Morgan Spurlock guy with his
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Supersize Me movie - my kids watched that film and decided they never wanted to eat
McDonald's again for the rest of their lives, or at least until there were some new toys in the
Happy Meals.
10 And then there were all those nutritionists laying into the new McDonald's Deli Choices range,
saying that the Chicken Caesar Roll had the same kilojoule count as a 300-kilogram croissant.
11 And now it's the customer lawsuits. Every time I open the newspaper, there seems to be
someone, somewhere in the world, suing McDonald's for the food they serve: fat people
saying the hamburgers made them fat, and vegan people saying the French fries are
contaminated with meat, and people with food allergies saying the meals contain undeclared
dairy and eggs and glutens.
12 I just say, FOR GOD'S SAKE, IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE OBESE OR VEGAN OR ALLERGIC
TO FOOD, THEN DON'T EAT AT A GREASY BURGER JOINT WHERE PRETTY MUCH
EVERY FOOD PRODUCT, AND WALL SURFACE, AND MOLECULE OF AIR, IS GOING TO
BE SATURATED IN FAT AND DAIRY AND GLUTENS, MUCH OF IT OOZING FROM THE
PORES OF A PIMPLY 14-YEAR-OLD CREW MEMBER, LEANING OVER THE DEEP
FRYER, SCOOPING OUT THE NUGGETS.
13 I'm sick of it. I'm sick of people blaming others for their own lack of self-control - it's like
cigarette smokers blaming the cigarette companies, and alcoholics blaming the beverage
manufacturers, and junkies blaming the poor, defenceless little heroin cartels who are just
trying to run a small business.
14 We live in a world where no one wants to take responsibility for themselves any more, and I
wonder how far it's going to go.
15 Can I sue the Google corporation for slowing down my work efficiency because I'm wasting
too much time on the computer, Googling the words "Jessica" and "Alba" and "cowgirl bra-
top"?
16 Come on world; let's start blaming ourselves for our weaknesses. Next time you drive past a
McDonald's, pull into the drive-thru, stop at the ordering window and say to the girl there, "I'm
with you, I support you, I hope you survive this cruel and unjust persecution," and if she says,
"Do you want fries with that?" just say, "No thanks" and get right out of there - I've heard
they're cooked in rendered mutton suet.
Section 3: Tone and Register
WORKSHEET
Task 3
The tone of an article refers to the atmosphere or attitude which the writer conveys to the
reader. The tone is the general character and attitude of something such as a piece of writing,
or the atmosphere of an event:
The article was moderate in tone and presented both sides of the case.
The newspaper said voters had been turned off by the negative tone of the campaign.
Although this article has a serious message, the tone is humorous.
One way the writer achieves this is by making a serious statement followed by a comment
which is not relevant to the facts. The writer uses this comment to personalise the serious
statement. The writer also makes fun of himself in the comment he makes.
Example:
bunion
In the first paragraph the author writes,
“I never buy running shoes from a particular shoe company that
uses child labour in Pakistan, and also I find that the insoles really
seem to aggravate my bunions.”
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Child labour being used by multinational companies is a serious political issue about which
there are many protests held every year. In contrast, the state of Katz‟s feet is a completely
unrelated issue which is personal to him and not a topic which people usually discuss openly.
Complete the table below by matching the serious statements and personal comments from the
article:
Paragraph Serious statement Comment
I find it extremely disturbing to think
about little bunny rabbits being forced to
endure eye creams and skin lotions, and
2 the Bikini Waxing Hot Microwave Crotch
Kit.
I spent much of the 1980s boycotting the
Nestle company, because it was selling
breast-milk substitutes to African
3 mothers
and I'm not talking about my local milk
bar, which just charged me $3.50 for a
couple of bananas, and they turned out to
4 be cooking plantains, so it was like biting
into a wad of wet starch.
my kids watched that film and decided
they never wanted to eat McDonald's
again for the rest of their lives,.
9
saying that the Chicken Caesar Roll had
the same kilojoule count as a 300-
kilogram croissant
10
Task 4
The article is written in an informal, conversational register.
As well as the humorous tone of the article, the use of informal, non-academic language
indicates the informal register which the author uses.
1. Read the following table which lists some features of informal, conversational, non-
academic language and gives an explanation of each feature and examples from the
text.
FEATURES OF INFORMAL, NON-ACADEMIC LANGUAGE.
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Feature Explanation / Description Example from article
personal The first person personal pronoun, I, gives “Now, I'm not normally the type …”
pronouns the text an informal feeling. The entire article is written in the first
(In academic writing, use of the first person personal person.
pronoun is usually not appropriate)
idioms Idioms are used in informal situations and “I did have one weak moment with a
in conversations. peppermint Aero bar …“
(Idioms are not usually appropriate in formal or
academic language)
informal Slang or non-standard forms of words and “little bunny rabbits”
words the use of contractions make the text feel “And I've never really been …”
like a conversation.
format Non-standard use of uppercase (capital) or PARAGRAPH 12 IS WRITTEN IN
lowercase letters makes the text look CAPITAL LETTERS
informal.
use of The use of incomplete sentences and And I never buy products from
grammar beginning sentences with „and‟ are also companies that still do animal
non- academic. testing
nonsense Making comparisons or statements that are “… I just want
clearly ridiculous is a very informal way of to get in the
writing. shower and
scrub my
throat with a
loofah.”
2. The informal phrases in the table below have been taken from the article. Write down the
feature of each phrase which makes it informal. A phrase may have more than one
feature.
Informal phrase Feature(s)
really seem to aggravate my bunions
But right here, right now
their cutesy TV characters
big, fat, purple Grimace thing
And then there were all those nutritionists
a 300-kilogram croissant
BACK OFF AND LEAVE POOR McDONALD'S
ALONE
I‟m sick of it
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IMPORTANT
Recognising the tone and register that the author has used helps to understand the
author‟s ideas, however saying that an author‟s argument is not strong due to an
informal style is a weak argument in itself!
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Section 4: Content Analysis
WORKSHEET
Task 5
Find the answers to the following questions in the text.
1. What is the writer‟s usual position on big, multinational corporations?
____________________________________________________________________
2. Identify three examples the writer gives to illustrate his position on big, multinational
corporations.
(a) _________________________________________________________________
(b) _________________________________________________________________
(c) _________________________________________________________________
3. Does the writer like McDonald‟s? Yes No
Find examples to support this.
(a) _________________________________________________________________
(b) _________________________________________________________________
(c) _________________________________________________________________
4. What examples does the writer give of how McDonald‟s has been blamed or criticised for
its products.
(a) _________________________________________________________________
(b) _________________________________________________________________
(c) _________________________________________________________________
5. Katz talks about blame and responsibility.
Who does he think should take responsibility for an individual‟s actions?
(a) _________________________________________________________________
Who does he think we should blame?
(b) _________________________________________________________________
Section 5: Writing a Critique WORKSHEET
Task 6
It is important to understand that a critique is different from an opinion. A critique is an
evaluation of the author’s arguments; it is not simply a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with
what the author has said. When we write a critical response to an article, we can agree,
disagree, or partially agree with the strength and validity of an author‟s argument.
The most important aspects of a critique are:
a) that you identify the strengths or weaknesses in the author‟s position
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b) that you support your position with evidence
1. Read the following three critiques and decide which:
agrees __________
disagrees __________
partially agrees __________
with Katz‟s argument.
Critique A
In the article “Lay off McDonalds – It‟s Made in Your Image”, Katz asserts that “people should
stop blaming others for their own lack of self control”. He sees it as an individual‟s choice to eat
the food produced by this multinational corporation, and states that people who are overweight,
vegans or people who have food allergies should choose not to eat McDonald‟s foods.
Although it is true that individual responsibility is often neglected in the rush to attribute
corporate blame, what Katz fails to mention is that McDonalds spends billions of dollars every
year in an effort to convince us that we should eat their food. McDonalds‟ advertising is often
focused on the one group in society who are unable to understand the subtleties of their
advertising campaigns; that is children. They do this knowing that children will exert a lot of
pressure on their parents to purchase McDonald‟s foods, and this has nothing to do with a lack
of self control. (160 words)
Critique B
In the article “Lay off McDonalds – It‟s Made in Your Image”, Katz asserts that “people should
stop blaming others for their own lack of self control”. He sees it as an individual‟s choice to eat
the food produced by this multinational corporation, and states that people who are overweight,
vegans or people who have food allergies should choose not to eat McDonald‟s foods.
Although his style is informal, Katz is right when he argues for individual responsibility.
McDonald‟s food has long been referred to as „junk food‟ – a title which clearly indicates that
most people realise the food produced by this company is not healthy. Furthermore, in this age
of technology there is a wealth of information available to consumers who are interested in
finding out the facts about the nutritional value of certain foods. This corporation cannot be
blamed for consumers making the choice to eat the food it produces.
(150 words)
Critique C
In his humorous article “Lay off McDonalds – It‟s Made in Your Image”, Katz asserts that
“people should stop blaming others for their own lack of self control”. He sees it as an
individual‟s choice to eat the food produced by this multinational corporation, and states that
people who are overweight, vegans or people who have food allergies should choose not to eat
McDonald‟s foods. There are several problems with Katz‟s argument that these are purely
individual choices. Firstly, McDonald‟s advertises itself as being a „family restaurant‟ a claim
which would make consumers think that the food was healthy and nutritious. Very little
information is provided to the consumers about the nutritional value of the foods they sell.
Furthermore because McDonalds promotes itself in this way, surely the company has a
corporate responsibility to produce foods which are not harmful to the health of consumers.
(140 words)
2. Underline the signal language in each critique which indicated agreement,
disagreement or partial agreement.
3. What strengths or weaknesses in Katz‟s argument are highlighted in the critiques?
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Critique A:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
Critique B:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
Critique C:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
4. What evidence did the author use to support the critiques of Katz‟s ideas?
Critique A:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
Critique B:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
Critique C:
___________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
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ANSWER KEY
Task 1
The main purpose of the text is (a) entertainment.
The text puts forward an argument, giving supporting statements and examples, in an attempt to
persuade the readers to share the writer‟s opinion. It contains some information and may
provoke discussion, but those are not its main purpose.
The language is informal and has some elements of humour. The tone is not serious. It also
contains material which would not be relevant in an academic context. (see Tasks 3 & 4)
Task 3
Serious statement Comment
I never buy products from cosmetics
companies that still do animal testing
although I did have one weak moment with a
peppermint Aero bar, when the wellbeing of
millions of Third World children just didn't
weigh up against light and yet satisfying
bubbles of air that really melt in your mouth.
I'm about to offer my support to one of the
biggest, greediest multinational corporations of
them all
or at least until there were some new toys in
the Happy Meals
And then there were all those nutritionists
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Task 4
Informal phrase Feature
really seem to aggravate my bunions personal pronoun
like biting into a wad of wet starch idiom
their cutesy TV character informal word (cutesy)
A 300-kilogram croissant exaggeration
BACK OFF AND LEAVE POOR McDONALD'S use of all capital letters
ALONE
I‟m sick of it idiom; personal pronoun
big, fat, purple Grimace thing informal words (big, fat; thing)
And then there were all those nutritionists grammar (sentence begins with a conjunction)
But right here, right now grammar (sentence begins with a conjunction)
Task 5
1. He doesn‟t normally support them.
2.
(a)I never buy running shoes from a particular shoe company that uses child labour in
Pakistan
(b) I never buy products from cosmetics companies that still do animal testing
(c) I spent much of the 1980‟s boycotting the Nestle company, because it was selling breast-
milk substitutes to African mothers
3. No
(a)The writer refers to it as one of the biggest, greediest multinational corporations of them
all
(b) I've never really been a big McDonald's fan.
(c) I've never liked their cutesy TV characters
4.
(a) Morgan Spurlock guy with his Super Size Me movie
(b) nutritionists laying into the new McDonald's Deli Choices range
(c) customer lawsuits
5.
(a)people should take responsibility for themselves
(b) people should blame themselves
Task 6
1. agrees B
disagrees C
partially agrees A
2. Critique A: Although it is true that …, what (author) fails to mention is
that …
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Critique B: (Author) is right when he argues for …
Critique C: There are several problems with (author‟s) argument that
…
3. Critique A: Strength: individual responsibility is often neglected in the rush to
attribute corporate blame,
Weakness: McDonalds spends billions of dollars every year in an effort
to convince us that we should eat their food
Critique B: Strength: Katz is right when he argues for individual responsibility
Critique C: Weakness: several problems with Katz‟s argument that these are
purely individual choices
4. Critique A: spends billions of dollars every year in an effort to convince us ;
focussed on children,
Critique B: long been referred to as „junk food‟, wealth of information available
Critique C: family restaurant‟ , Very little information is provided, corporate
responsibility
REFERENCE:
Katz, D, 2006, Lay off McDonald’s – It’s Made in Your Image. The Age. April 13.
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