As dietitians we will be doing quite a bit of writing, whether it be nutrition and health articles, columns in newspapers, or charting. It is important to start practicing consumer writing skills early in our education. As part of the 381 Dietetic Practice class we were introduced to the skills needed for writing consumer articles. In this assignment we chose a dietitian in the community and she gave us a topic to write about. My partner and I worked with Natasha Barber, a Registered Dietitian and Registered Clinical Counsellor, and our topic was coconut oil. In the article we discussed three health claims that have been made about coconut oil and we delved into the facts surrounding these claims. We also compared the cost of coconut oil and olive oil, to illustrate to consumers the large price difference between coconut oil and other vegetable oils. Finally, we tied everything together with some take home messages and key considerations to make when choosing a cooking oil. After writing the first draft of our paper, two classmates were assigned to give us feedback on our article. We did the same for their consumer article, and we spent some time in class discussing the papers. This was an extremely helpful exercise, and we took these edits and feedback into careful consideration when making our second draft. Upon completion, we sent our final draft to Natasha so that she could provide us with feedback for the future. Please find attached our first and final drafts of the article. We went through several edits, which was an excellent exercise for future writing.
Burton, Yelland Draft 1 article, Coconut Oil May 2015
Burton, Yelland Final Draft article, Coconut Oil May 2015