Do You Want Lies with That?

               Morgan Spurlock, the author of “Do You Want Lies with That?” presents a decent argument to prove that overconsumption is a major issue in the world today.  While Spurlock is somewhat successful in her overall goal, she seems to wander quite a bit throughout the article.  The only real and detailed mentions of overeating come at the beginning of the article and in the very last paragraph.  The rest of the article (the middle or body) mentions some specific examples or numbers which prove that overconsumption is a real problem.  Unfortunately, Spurlock includes too much information which is not related to the main theme or subject.  For example, she writes a large amount of her paper on tobacco and cigarette use.  Spurlock discusses how cigarette use has decreased and the specific effects of the warnings on the products.  She also mentions these warnings on countless other products.  While this is interesting for the reader, it does not contribute to her overall message, therefore decreasing the effectiveness of the article.

               Several parts of the body of the article could be seen as an expansion from the main subject of overeating, but this information is not very closely related.  For example, knowing that the auto industry has been booming as of late and that there are more drugs and cars today than ever before is helpful for the reader.  That being said, the reader does not need to read that the rates of smoking decreased from 42 percent in 1965 to 23 percent in 2000.  This does everything except support Spurlock’s argument.  The general conclusion which can be drawn is that expansion is beneficial, but only if it is closely related to the main purpose or theme of the article.  Otherwise, the information can harm the argument or distract the reader. 

               Personally, I thought the article was quite interesting because of the personal insight from the reader.  Although the personal input was nice, it would have been more beneficial if the author included a few more facts or pieces of research to prove her point.  Nonetheless, she was still able to form a solid (although a bit vague and disconnected) argument in the end.