English Homework Help

From The Norton Reader or the Reading Bank:

Nicholas Carr, “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” p. 572-581, or: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/ 

Bill McKibben, “The Case for Single-Child Families,” p. 223-231, or https://www.religion-online.org/article/the-case-for-single-child-families/ 

Look more closely at the assigned readings from The Norton Reader or reading bank.  Both readings could be considered examples of writing that answers questions with the help of research. 

Write out answers to TWO of the following questions (your choice).  Make sure in your post to be clear about which questions you’re answering.

1. What is the question raised in the “Google” reading?  Does the author answer the question?  If so, what is the answer?

2. What is the question raised in the “Single-Child” reading? Does the author answer the question?  If so, what is the answer?

3. Name one source used in the “Google” reading.  How does the source help the author answer the question?

4. Name one source used in the “Single-Child” reading.  How does the source help the author answer the question?

5. What’s your own overall response to the question posed in the “Google” reading?

6. What’s your own overall response to the question posed in the “Single-Child” reading?

For your second post, due by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, please write in response to the following:After completing the topic-generation activities for the week (Task 9.3), post a couple of the questions you came up with — preferably ones that you’re really considering pursuing for your project.  Explain why you’re interested in those questions.

Then, read through your classmates’ posts, and write responses to at least two of them. Explain which questions you think are most promising — and why.Also, as you read your peers’ research questions, consider whether the questions meet the following guidelines:

• Is the question of interest to the student?
• Is the question focused–but not too narrowly? (There shouldn’t be one definite answer to the question.)
• Does the question have some personal connection to the student’s life?
• Is the question answer-able with the help of secondary sources (articles from print or online newspapers, magazines, or journals)?
• Is the question something the student hasn’t already answered or made up their mind about?

Let’s begin by brainstorming some research questions.   

Remember that the question you choose

should be of interest to you right now

should be focused — but not too narrowly (there shouldn’t be one definitive answer to the question) 

should have some personal connection to your life

should be answer-able with the help of outside sources

should be something you haven’t already answered or made up your mind about–you should have a genuine interest in inquiry and exploration!

With these guidelines in mind, use the options below to work toward generating an appropriate question for Project #3.  Be sure to label all your work clearly so that your teacher (and peers, if you choose to share your prewriting with them) can follow your ideas. Please type your work and save your file as a docx file. Or handwrite and then scan or take a picture of your work to upload at the end of the week. 

NOTE: you’re not committing to any one question yet – you’re just trying to generate lots of possibilities here. So write down everything and anything that comes to mind!

OPTION 1

     Responding to specific prompts.

     Try the activities below to start thinking of vignettes to include in your paper:

Turn to pages 172-173 (blue book) or 171-172 (yellow book) your Norton Field Guide.  Read the sections called Start with roles in your life, Identify issues that interest you, and Frame your topic as a problem. Write out responses to EACH of those sections.  Make sure each section is clearly labeled in your Word document.

Think about questions related to your work in our course:  Maybe you’ve developed an interest in gender and advertising based on our Project #2 work.  A question you might pursue could be something like:  What kinds of action are consumer and other groups taking to try to change the direction of contemporary advertising? Or maybe something you wrote about in your narrative collage for Project #1 got you thinking about areas of concern for you.  Here’s an example of one student’s question, based on her narrative collage about her difficult experiences in public schools: Should I home-school my own children?  Now look back over your own work in the course, and brainstorm a list of questions that might interest you for this assignment.

Think about questions related to current events:  You could choose to research something related to current news events, but you must be able show how the question is personally relevant to you.  For instance, maybe you’re curious about standardized testing.  A question could be something like: How have AIR tests affected students in Ohio so far?  Now write out some questions related to current events that you might be able to pursue.

Think about questions related to a problem or issue you’re experiencing in your personal life:  You could choose to research a problem or issue in your life, as long as it’s something that could be answered with the help of outside sources.  Maybe you’re a procrastinator, and the habit is starting to interfere with your school work. Your question could be something like: what research-backed methods can help someone reverse a habit like procrastination? Now write out some questions related to personal problems or issues that you might be able to pursue.

Think about questions related to your own general interests or hobbies. Again, you could choose to research something related to your own general interests or hobbies, as long as your question could be answered with the help of outside sources. Maybe you’re interested in the sport of slacklining.  Your question could be something like: How did slacklining begin as a sport? Now write out some questions related to your own general interests or hobbies that you might be able to pursue.

Think about all the questions you generated above.  Which one or two interest you most?  Why? (By the beginning of next week, you’ll need to decide on ONE question to pursue for Project #3.)

OPTION 2

Using strategies from The Norton Field Guide chapter on Generating Ideas and Text.

Read the chapter (blue book: chapter 29; yellow book: chapter 27), and try several of the strategies described in the chapter to generate ideas for your research question. The strategies include:

freewriting

looping

listing

clustering or mapping

cubing

questioning

using genre features

outlining

letter writing

journaling

discovery drafting

SAMPLE attached