Claire Cassidy Source Analysis

I struggled with finding a topic for awhile. I originally wanted to write a paper that connected with the musical arts, because that is something I’m very passionate about. I didn’t have any luck. So, next best thing to do… ask your mom what she thinks. We talked about the possibility about writing a paper about the fried foods/unhealthy foods at Disney World. After researching this thoroughly, I found out that Disney has already resolved that problem. After thinking and thinking for quite some time, I realized that I can still write a paper having to do with health. Nutrition is another passion of mine. I have decided on writing a paper about the unhealthy school lunches and how Michelle Obama strives to change school lunches, but isn’t succeeding and why.

• Source 1: (reputable source) This website is all about making school lunches healthier. It contains fact sheets and expectations schools need to uphold in order to be following the “lunch code”. I chose this website because it for sure taps into the idea of ethos. It will present several facts that I can use to back up my thesis. No challenges seem to come up in this source.
• Source 2: (picture) This picture represents the obesity rates in children all across the different states of America. I see this helping my thesis in the sense that it shows how much healthy lunches are truly needed in our schools all across America, not in just one state. It presents some challenges with it being outdated information (2011) and that it doesn’t affect school lunches directly.
• Source 3: (reputable source) This CNN source explains some of the tweets that kids tweet at Michelle Obama for the school lunches they are being provided. These kids do not like the school lunches and do not think they are healthy at all. I like this source due to the fact that I have direct quotes from kids who experience school lunches themselves to back up my thesis. I will have some challenges in the fact that this source is mostly opinion based.
• Source 4: (graph) This graph is based off of a survey from kids asking of what they think their school dinners are, tasty, poor quality, etc. I liked this source due to the fact that it comes directly from kids but also has ethos. It is weak in the sense that it is biased to that particular school and doesn’t come from a very professional website.
• Source 5: (database) This journal is a research project on body weight in children linked to school lunches. I found this perfect in the fact that it explains exactly why school lunches need to be changed. It is very factual. I will have trouble, however, because it is specific to one school.
• Source 6: (database) This journal is the study of the health in children that participate in school lunches. It is a public health report from 1950. I liked that it was older because it can show how the school lunches have not gotten any better since that time. It will also present challenges because it IS from 1950 and I’m not writing my paper about the problems they had then, I’m talking about now.
• Source 7: (database) This source explains the lunch program as a whole. I would use this to introduce my topic. It isn’t very factual. It will be hard to use too much of it because it explains mostly the system of which is used to pay, not much about the nutritional factor. It also is from 1970 which will present problems because it is explaining about the past. Not now.
• Source 8: (database) This source will be very helpful. It is from the present times, it explains proportions and what they should look like, it presents facts about the school lunches, and compares what the proportions should be and what they actually are and how that connects to weight in children. I can quote this source throughout my essay. It hits ethos and logos. I don’t think that this source will present many problems.

The only thing I am currently having trouble with is how I’m going to tie Michelle Obama into this essay and how that won’t take over the entire essay. It is a lot of information to put into 5 paragraphs. I feel like I won’t be able to say everything I’d like to get my point across. I will stay with the idea, but a change in thesis may seem necessary. But, I am very excited to see how this paper will grow over the next couple weeks.