Assignment: Consumer-Classification Essay

ESSAY TWO: CONSUMER CLASSIFICATION

Assignment Objective:

Write an essay in which you analyze the types of people who use a certain pop-culture artifact.

Length: 1000+ Words

Student Writing Samples:

Click here for samples of consumer-classification essays. Scroll down to "Intermediate Writing," subcategory "Consumer Classification."

Instructions:

Select a type of product that interests you—preferably the same one from your artifact comparison essay—and write a short essay (at least 1000 words) in which you break down the types of people that use that product. Try to come up with at least three types of users. For example, if I were to write a paper about the types of people who watch Survivor, I might talk about the "ironic watcher," who thinks it's ridiculous but watches it anyway, the "sincere watcher," who loves everything about it and isn't ashamed to say so, and the "closet watcher," who watches it when no one is around, but who will never admit to it. There are, of course, a hundred other types I could come up with (the "constantly-Facebooks-about-it watcher," or the "I-keep-tabs-on-all-the-previous-contestants watcher," or the "someday-I'm-going-to-be-a-reality-star-so-I-better-take-notes watcher"). In breaking down the different types of consumers, what you’re really trying to accomplish is analyzing what the product means to different people.

Additional Advice to Help You Write Your Paper:

• Finding & Evaluating Sources

• Writing an Essay

• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

• Intros, Conclusions, & Titles

• Writing an Argument

• The Writing Process

• The Art of Classifying