Xuandan Zhang
Callie Ding
WR100 N2
4 September 2014
Essay #1
Americans are known to only eat “hamburgers, french fries, and Mac n’ Cheese.” Having grown up in California, I fully consider myself as “American”; I grew up here, went to school here, and eat 99% of my meals here. Yet, my dietary intake would contradict the previous statement. My food practices are almost identical to Yaofeng’s. My mother brought me to the local Asian supermarket every Sunday morning and cooked Chinese dishes for every meal.[炫丹1] [炫丹2] What, then, does it mean to eat “American” food? On a larger scale, without an identity in foods, does that mean that Americans lack a historical and cultural identity[炫丹3] ? American cuisine is linked to its culture and history; the influx of different immigrants and their food practices mesh together to create a blend of habits and ideas, with a foundation in the country of origin.[炫丹4]
Word Count: 140
[炫丹1]A little redundant
[炫丹2]Culture background
[炫丹3]problem/ question
[炫丹4]Thesis
Comment: The content of the introduction is clear. I can find the background, question and thesis easily. However, I feel the background of the author herself is a little redundant and is not really related enough to the thesis of the whole essay. Maybe she can list some food names, which shows the combinations of other countries’ cuisine and American food, and then argue that American food does have its own culture and history, not mixed and influenced by other countries.