Write an argumentative essay in which you state and defend a claim about whether it is ethical to target uninformed consumers.

I wrote a brief essay about it, but feel free to add or change anything:

As consumers, we wouldn't like to be deceived into buying something and then end up with a pickle in our hands. What we fail to understand, however, is that we are not merely a victim when that happens, especially nowadays.

Information is available everywhere. We are a very spoiled generation when it comes to that. We have the internet as this magical place where we can find information about anything and even ask for people's opinions. Let's say I would like to buy a new phone of a brand I have never owned before. There are thousands of blogs and forums where people share their experiences and complaints. I could very well look into those things before making my decision.

You see, even though the sentence "target uninformed consumers" sounds like a piece of news about an unethical company, in reality it is precisely what every business is doing. It is not their obligation to display every single piece of information about their products' manufacturing process and ingredients, or even about how well their employees are paid, unless there is some law forcing them to do so. Companies invest a great deal in propaganda to do the opposite of that: to sell an illusion. They want to convince the consumer that, by purchasing their product, they will be healthier, smarter, more attractive.

Whether we like it or not, it is our responsibility as consumers to either look for the information companies would never offer us or demand more strict laws to force them to do so. Knowledgeable consumers, as a Harvard study shows, tend to not only save money, but also make healthier choice. That is not what businesses want us to do. So, it is up to us to become less uninformed.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)