Carr “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and Shirky “Does the Internet Make you Smarter?”

Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to help students practice the analytic skills necessary to develop an argument that synthesizes multiple ideas. These skills include (1) Forging connections between two or more ideas/texts, and (2) Developing a sustained argument supported with evidence from multiple sources.Task: In 4-6 pages, I would like you to develop an argument paper that emerges from a synthesis of two or more texts that discuss a similar issue or idea. You will need to choose two or three different readings that discuss a similar topic, interpret the authors’ arguments about that topic, and then make an assertion about what new insights you’ve gained about the topic by examining the texts together. In support of your argument, you must use specific examples from the texts and/or from your own knowledge or experience. You may use any readings from our Technology: A Reader for Writers textbook; no other sources may be used in this paperAs an example, you might explore the idea of technology’s impact on reading and writing. You might consider using Litt’s “The Reader and Technology” and Le Guin’s “The Death of the Book,” both of which examine the ways that our devices might distract us from sitting down to read or write. You would then analyze what each text seems to say about reading and technology, and develop your own argument that emerges from the conversation you’ve established between those two authors. This requires more than a simple summary of what each text ‘says’ – you will need to consider how looking at these two positions together deepens your understanding of the topic as a whole.Here are a few texts from our Technology reader that might make for a good synthesis, as they explore similar topics (but keep in mind, there are many more combinations than just these!):Carr “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and Shirky “Does the Internet Make you Smarter?”Cronon “Scholarly Authority in a Wikified World” and Carr “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”Fukuyama “Our Posthuman Future” and Topol “How Technology is Transforming Healthcare”Turkle “Alone Together” and Maushart “When My Kid Unplugged”Postman “Five Things You Need to Know about Technological Change” and Turkle “Alone Together”Cramer “On Science and Science Fiction” and Sawyer “The Purpose of Science Fiction”Ravitch “Promise and Peril” and Watkins “Mobile Phones, Digital media, and America’s Learning Divide”Please note: You may not use the same readings for the Synthesis Paper as you did for the Claim Paper. If you use the same text(s) in the Synthesis Paper that you used in the Claim Paper, your Synthesis Paper will automatically score in the “Needs Work” category for the claim. The reason for this is that I want students to engage with new texts, new ideas, and new arguments, rather than cycling through previous ones. Summary of Requirements:Your paper will need a clear claim (thesis statement) that makes an arguable assertion that emerges from a synthesis of two or more texts from our course textbook. You may either develop your claim in response to the texts or in response to a larger issue that that the texts address. The claim should be consistent throughout the entire paper and be complex, personal, and persuasive.To support your assertion, the paper must synthesize information from two course texts and include at least three substantial, meaningful quotes from the chosen texts. Since this is a synthesis paper, there should be an equal balance of evidence between the two chosen texts. As well, when using evidence from another source in your writing, you must be accurate and fair to the author’s actual point of view. Finally, evidence provided in support of the argument must be persuasive and thoughtful.As this assignment asks you to forge connections between two or more texts, your essay will need to demonstrate a variety of organizational strategies, including using transitions, repeating key terms, using pointing words effectively, and repeating key ideas throughout the paper.