Labels and Illusions

Which line best supports the inference that marketers have a negative impact on Americans’ weight?

• To make the problem worse, marketers working in the clothing industry have created strategies for making us think that we are thinner than we actually are.

• Marketers have developed some fanciful food labeling strategies to make us think we are consuming less food, when in fact we are not.

• Remember, the marketers who devise these labels are people who want you to buy their company’s products.

• The research showed that our eyes can deceive us about the amount of food we’re actually eating.

Which sentence least supports the author’s claim in this essay?

• Marketers have developed some fanciful food labeling strategies to make us think we are consuming less food, when in fact we are not.

• People served on smaller plates thought that they had been served a large portion.

• The labeling of these food and drink items seems whimsical, if not completely inaccurate.

• …”vanity sizing”, the practice of labeling clothes as smaller sizes than they really are…a dress that is really a size 8 may be labeled a size 2.

What is the author’s purpose in the essay

• to persuade the reader to consider marketing occupations

• to give facts and details about marketing

• to suggest that people should be careful when reading labels and choosing portions

• to complain that marketing is all a scheme

If you wanted to conduct Internet research on the topic the author of this essay addresses, what would you enter into a search box to get the most relevant information?

• effects of marketing on American weight

• marketing strategies in America

• how to stay trim in America today

• clothing sizes based on marketing

Which line from the essay best provides evidence that “vanity sizing” is harmful?

• In other words, a dress that is really a size 8 may be labeled a size 2.

• By using vanity sizing, clothing manufactures flatter people into thinking they are not as large as they may actually be.

• …the practice of labeling clothes as smaller sizes than they really are

• Apparently, this encourages people to purchase the items of clothing.

The author includes information on the Delboeuf effect in the essay _______.

• to explain how marketers can easily influence Americans

• to show how circles and dots are effective marketing tools

• to show how even dots are confusing to today’s Americans

• to explain how marketers are taught to deceive Americans

Which of the following is the central idea of the essay?

• Americans can not trust the commercials they see nor hear because marketers are trying to promote bad health.

• Labels on food and clothes are harmful to Americans who over rely on them for their portion sizes and as an indicator of their waist sizes.

• Marketers have many ways to slyly trick Americans which results in an increase in the number of obese Americans.

• Americans must use sound judgement when reading labels on food and clothes to make sure they stay healthy and avoid obesity.

Which of the following is the best objective summary of this essay? (Note: An objective summary is a summary that does not include any opinions or judgments about what is written in the text.) *

• In the essay “Labels and Illusions”, Lourdes Barranco explains how marketers contribute to the rising obesity rate in America. Barranco used examples and scientific explanations to show how marketers have changed labels on food and clothing to negatively impact the weight of Americans. They should be ashamed for making money at the expense of American’s weight gain and poor health!

• In the essay “Labels and Illusions”, Lourdes Barranco explains how marketers contribute to the rising obesity rate in America. I agree with his thinking. Marketing has used too many tricks on us in America. We must take a stand to stop the growing problem of obesity.

• In the essay “Labels and Illusions”, Lourdes Barranco explains how marketers contribute to the rising obesity rate in America. Marketers have done this in two main ways. The first is by changing food labels so that consumers order one size and then receive a size larger. The second is using “vanity labels” in clothing. So a shirt may be marked as a size two when it is really a size eight. Americans must use common sense to avoid allowing these marketing strategies increase their waistlines.

• In the essay “Labels and Illusions”, Lourdes Barranco explains how marketers contribute to the rising obesity rate in America. “Marketers have developed some fanciful food labeling strategies to make us think we are consuming less food, when in fact we re not.” And, “marketers in the clothing industry have created strategies for making us think we are thinner than we actually are.” These things have helped cause Americans to gain weight and become obese

What can consumers do? First, we should ignore the labels

“small,” “medium,” and “large” as they apply to food and drink. We’re

probably buying a lot more than we need. We should also be skeptical of clothing labels. We may not be as trim and physically fit as the label would lead us to believe. To stay healthy and avoid obesity, we must rely on our own good sense and on our knowledge of what characterizes a healthy person.

What text structure is most evident in this paragraph?

• chronological

• compare/contrast

• description

• problem/solution

What can consumers do? First, we should ignore the labels “small,” “medium,” and “large” as they apply to food and drink. We’re probably buying a lot more than we need. We should also be skeptical of clothing labels. We may not be as trim and physically fit as the label would lead us to believe. To stay healthy and avoid obesity, we must rely on our own good sense and on our knowledge of what characterizes a healthy person.

What is the tone of this paragraph?

• harsh

• serious

• informative

• skeptical