Academic Essay

Please choose ONE of the ideas at the bottom of this page and explore it by writing an essay. Requirements: Your essay should be at least two to three full pages typed and double-spaced in MLA format. Essays of less than two full pages will not earn more than 60%. Please use the template for introductions or a variation of that template to provide an overview of the issue. For this essay, you must use at least three sources, and these should be chosen from these articles in They Say/I Say: • “I Had a Nice Time with You Tonight. On the App.” (page 393) • “Smarter than You Think” (page 340) • “No Need to Call” (page 373) • “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” (page 313) • “Better than Human” (page 299) Prompts: • What if Romeo and Juliet had to communicate using only an app? What about Samson and Delilah? Or Roosevelt and Churchill? How would the technology have affected their conversations? Write an essay developing your own argument about the larger effects of digital media, citing your own experiences as well as using ideas from the readings assigned. • Sherry Turkle says she sees “a vulnerability” in those who prefer social media to phone calls or face-to-face communication: “I see a vulnerability in this generation, so quick to say ‘Please don’t call’” (paragraph 30). Write an essay about your own views on communicating with social media, drawing upon this and other readings from the week of September 28 for ideas to consider, to question, and to support your view. • Write an essay reflecting on the ways digital technologies have influenced your own intellectual development, drawing from Clive Thompson’s text and other readings assigned last week. You can also use your own experience as support for your argument. Be sure to acknowledge views other than your own. • Kevin Kelly concludes his article by saying that robots will help us find “new work that matters.” Does that outcome seem likely? Write an essay responding to that assertion, perhaps focusing on one profession that interests you.