Digital Nation: Researching Technology & Media

Context: Since the beginning of this semester, we have been focusing on technology and media and, at this point, you should have some pretty established ideas about technology’s massive influence on society. In American society, we are blessed or some might say cursed with a never-ending supply of technology-related paraphernalia. Some critics believe that technology has vastly improved our lives in the realms of education, work, socializing, war, etc. “But is the technology moving faster than we can adapt to it? And is our 24/7 wired world causing us to lose as much as we’ve gained?” –From Frontline’s Digital Nation

Writing Task: For this assignment, you will write a six-eight page, argumentative essay (worth 125 pts.) in which you focus on a technological and/or media-related issue. Ultimately, the purpose of this essay is to choose a relevant topic, create a definitive thesis statement and support it with logical reasoning and evidence from at least six credible sources. You may also draw from your previous knowledge, personal experience and other observations (though you should only use personal examples if they are relevant to your claims)

Possible Topic Ideas, Threads, Questions (Keep in mind, some of these are broad, so try to narrow the topic down to a manageable concern). You may combine some of these or come up with your own topic, but it must be controversial. You may also expand on previous topics that we have covered this semester:

–How emailing/texting/blogs/ebooks has affected writing/reading/communication.

–Technology and Sexuality (Internet Pornography/Online dating/Virtual Relationships/Sexting/Sex-trafficking)

–Celebrity fascination and obsession through Twitter, Reality TV, and other social media

–New forms of journalism: blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.

–Technology Addiction (video games, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, etc.)

–The Fake News crisis (from a different perspective than our second essay)

–Overexposure to media (advertisements, news media)

–The “Darkside” of the Internet (Cyberbullying/DrugTrafficking/The “Deep” Internet/Hacking)

–Technology and the Environment (Alternative Power Sources, Transportation, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles)

–Multitasking (Positives and Negatives)

–Privacy Issues (Our financial information online/Spying/Government Surveillance/Online censorship, etc.)

–Social Networking Issues (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

–Online File Sharing, Piracy, SOPA

–Educational Issues (Online cheating/Online classes/Distance Learning)

–Technology and children (should it be used to teach children?)

–The Internet has created generational and cultural divides; some people lack access and are falling behind

–Globalization—has technology brought the world closer or driven us apart?

–How war/military has become digitalized

–Technology in the medical field (robotics, cloning, stem cell research, age defying drugs, plastic surgery)

–Artificial Intelligence

–Sports and technology/sports apps/technology in football/how social media affects sports and its fans

–Food and technology (GMOs, industrialization)

And, since this is an argumentative essay, you must take a position. For example, look at the following two thesis statements and decide which one works better:

There are many reasons why technology has made our lives more convenient.

Although there are drawbacks of the technological revolution, technology has dramatically improved our lives: communication is faster and more convenient, particularly in education and the workplace, and the Internet is bridging the generational gap through social media.

**Steps to Writing an Excellent Research Essay:

Choosing a Subject:

Some of the best research subjects stem from the writer’s lived experience. Select a subject that matters to you; one that you desire to explore in depth and detail.
Choose a subject you can explore fairly and thoughtfully. Do not research a subject you are not open-minded about. If your mind is already made up, why do the research?
Choose a subject you can explore in depth in the time we have for this project. If, after doing preliminary research, you discover that your subject is too difficult, or you cannot find credible source materials, choose another subject (All subjects, however, must be cleared with me before you can write on them).
Once you have chosen a subject, generate a list of questions worth exploring (your questions should be narrow, challenging, and grounded.)

For example, let’s say you are writing an essay on technology and children. You might develop the following questions:

-How is technology assisting children with disabilities? (This would be your main research question)

-What devices are especially helpful?

-What are the potential ethical and moral concerns about using technology in this way?

-How would children get access to this type of technology?

Begin Researching

Go online and type your subject into Google or another search engine and do some preliminary research to see what’s out there
Go to a library and research answers to your questions. Based on your research, formulate a working thesis
Devise a search strategy and gather sources. Gather more sources than you need; this way you can go through and evaluate them and see what’s the most useful for your project. Keep track of your sources!

Requirements for Sources:

Your essay must have at least six credible/reliable sources
You must include at least two articles from the electronic databases (they can be accessed through the library’s homepage)
You can use magazines (i.e. Time, Rolling Stone, GQ), newspapers (e.g. San Diego Union Tribune, New York Times) and books
Limit your use of general websites (Yahoo, CNN, etc.)
Do not use general encyclopedic works (e.g., the dictionary, the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia) in your essay
You may also conduct interviews and perform surveys
Start researching as soon as possible

**Remember that a well-researched paper will include a variety of sources. Also, for academic papers, books and scholarly journals tend to provide the most credible information.

Note on Plagiarism: Like all essays written for this class, your research essay must constitute original work. Furthermore, since this is a research essay, all sources must be cited accurately, using MLA format. Rule of Thumb: If you are ever unsure about whether to cite or not, cite it!

Guidelines for Sources

As information is to knowledge, so too is a “report” to a “research essay.” You are not writing an extended summary of sources; rather, you are writing a persuasive essay in which sources are used to support your claims. You must make an argument in this essay, not merely summarize facts.
Analyze your sources thoroughly from a persuasive standpoint to determine their usefulness and credibility. If you do not know the author or origin of a source, if you do not thoroughly understand a source, do not use it! Don’t jeopardize your credibility.
Remember, don’t let the sources overtake your paper.

Additional Assignments Related to the Research Essay

–Topic Proposal Workshop (Detailed Prompt on Canvas )

–Rough Draft Workshop

–Conferences

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Your essay should:

Address the assignment thoughtfully, analytically, and creatively
Contain a clear and concise thesis statement which states an arguable, definitive position
Contain cohesive, focused, body paragraphs that relate back to your thesis
Contain summaries, paraphrases, and direct quotations of your sources
Contain a logically progressive structure
Maintain audience awareness (appeal to and persuade your readers)
Include a counter-argument (the other side of the issue, so you are seen as credible)
Contain sentence variety and a calm and reasonable tone
Include in-text citations and a works cited page
Have few sentence level errors
Be 6-8 pages typed (Works Cited page does not count as one of your pages), double-spaced and formatted in MLA style

https://www.roanestate.edu/owl/MLA-In-Text-Citatio…

Answer preview:

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