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Thesis Challenge Results
Sample Position Prompt |
Complete Argument Exercise |
Position Practice
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=163098594&m=163179068
On young children using digital devices
"Children are getting these phones earlier and earlier. These are years when children need to develop this capacity for solitude, this capacity to feel complete playing alone. If you don't have a capacity for solitude, you will always be lonely, and my concern is that the tethered child never really feels that sense that they are sort of OK unto themselves; and I talk to college students who've grown up with the habit of being in touch with their parents five, 10, 15 times a day. And it's no longer Huckleberry Finn as a model of adolescence, you know, sailing down the Mississippi alone — we've developed a model of adolescence and childhood where we sail down the Mississippi together with our families in tow."
Sample Position Prompt:
In Alone Together (2012), Sherry Turkle suggests that cell phones are inhibiting children's personal and social development. She argues that because children are always "connected" to their parents via cell phones, many children do not learn how to be competent, independent, or alone. In a well-developed 2-page essay, present and support your position on this issue of children, digital devices, and separation identity.
Complete Argument Exercise for this prompt
Step One:
Brainstorming: What DO YOU THINK?
Is this a valid argument?
What do I agree with?
What do I disagree with?
I agree with (what aspect of the argument), but I cannot agree with (what?).
Related issues to consider:
Cell phones at a young age: Pros and Cons
Why is it important for children to develop healthy separation identities? Is it important? What are the results?
Are there other causes to this problem?
Step Two: Compose a thesis statement
(3 ways to respond)
Step Three: Outline and Composition
I. Introduction: Joining the conversation/ Cultural Landscape
Thesis (a clear statement of where you stand on the issue and why) ROAD MAP
II. Topic sentence directly linked to thesis
Support
III. Topic sentence directly linked to thesis
Support
IV. Topic sentence directly linked to thesis
Support
V. Conclusion