Chp. 1-3 Test; Twine/Interactive Fiction Project: Day 2

Please use the first 15 minutes of class today to study and prepare for your test on chapters 1-3. See the test review list in the post below.

After taking the test, please use your time in class to continue working on your text-based adventure with Twine.

TWINE: When you have an specific idea as to WHO your protagonist is (Character), and you have index cards/flow charts and notes from last class to keep track of your various LOCATIONS (Settings), you should learn a little about how to use TWINE (the program we will be using for this project). You can get help at this link: Twine - Help (or check your handout).

The hardest part (apart from organizing, planning, and writing your story) is learning the software. You can choose either twine or quest software. Both are linked below. Instructions are found online or as copied handouts given to you in class.

Click on the link to get started using the program:

• Twine 

Use the ONLINE option.

Once you're ready start writing your beginning. It's a good idea to make sure your reader has enough information about their character, setting, and situation before introducing your first choice.

WRITING: work on writing your text-based adventure game. Remember that you are writing in 2nd Person POV (so use the pronoun 'you') for full effect.

Remember to hit the ARCHIVE button when using Twine so you don't lose your writing progress!

HOMEWORK: None. Happy Halloween. Just a reminder that the end of the marking period is Friday. All missing work/projects/posts must be in by the end of class on Friday for partial credit.

If you are all caught up, your test score is the last assignment that will be entered into the gradebook for this marking period.

Review for Upcoming Test: MP1 (Chapters 1-3)

Please study the following items for your upcoming MP test.

• communication & mass communication
• mass media
• convergence
• cross platform
• technological determinism & social determinism
• narrative
• print revolution
• high/low culture
• The history of technology (printing through the digital age)
• The critical process: description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, engagement
• The transition between print/electronic & digital eras
• Linear model of communication
• Cultural model of communication
• Skyscraper model/map model of culture
• Media literacy
• Career opportunities in mass media
• The internet (definition)
• The origin and history of the internet
• Types of social media: blogs, collaborative projects, content communities, social networking, virtual game/social worlds
• Problems/issues in social media
• Role of mobile devices in mass media
• History and development of the internet and early computing
• Open/closed internet
• Data mining, Russian bots, & phishing
• Digital divide
• Net neutrality
• Internet security
• Internet memes
• Blogging
• Arcade/console/personal computer games
• MMORPGs
• Genres of digital gaming
• Collective intelligence
• Internet trolls
• Text-based games
• The history of video games
• RPG's
• CYOA books/games
• Zork

CYOA Design; Twine Project: Day 1

Period 7:

READING/MODELING: Read the handout example of how many of these CYOA books begin. As you read, consider your own story, setting, and character. Note how the authors use 2nd person POV to bring the reader into the story & setting.

Once you've settled on a genre, you should start your story by creating a setting and a starting situation.

BRAINSTORMING/PREPARATION: Now come up with your own idea for a story. See the basic story starter handout for help in fleshing out your idea. If you are creating a fantasy setting, check this link out for help and tips creating your own fantasy world.

Period 8:

Most CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) books take place in exotic locations, in fantasy worlds, outer space, or somewhere appropriate for the genre in question. Popular genres are usually fantasy, science fiction, horror, adventure, and similar styles, but any literary genre can be used. For a list of genre options, check here.

DESIGN: Use the index cards and/or flow chart graphic organizer to help you plan your LOCATIONS or settings.

• Use an index card for each LOCATION/SCENE/SETTING. Describe each setting on a card. You can use your description when your game moves to these different locations.
• You can also use index cards to keep track of the beginning, middle, complications/crisis, and various endings of your PLOT.
• Use the flow chart to keep track of where your settings are located (See the Zork Map as an example/model). You can add notes or label your locations on the flow chart.

TWINE: When you have an specific idea as to WHO your protagonist is (Character), and you have index cards/flow charts to keep track of your various LOCATIONS (Settings), you should learn a little about how to use TWINE (the program we will be using for this project). You can get help at this link: Twine - Help (or check your handout).

The hardest part (apart from organizing, planning, and writing your story) is learning the software. You can choose either twine or quest software. Both are linked below. Instructions are found online or as copied handouts given to you in class.

You will be using this program. Click on the link to get started using the program:

• Twine 

Use the ONLINE option.

Once you're ready start writing your beginning. It's a good idea to make sure your reader has enough information about their character, setting, and situation before introducing your first choice.

WRITING: work on writing your text-based adventure game. Remember that you are writing in 2nd Person POV (so use the pronoun 'you') for full effect.

Remember to hit the ARCHIVE button when using Twine so you don't lose your writing progress!

For additional help/inspiration:

• Storygames
• Game design (online game engines)
• 3 Tools to Create Your Own Text Based Games

HOMEWORK: Read the sample chapter from Ready Player One. Here's a link to the film trailer as well. Feel free to continue writing your CYOA story.

Text Based Games; CYOA & RPGs; Zork

Please turn in any homework you owe.

Please read the article: Text Based Games (a short history).

Add notes on your graphic organizer for this topic. You will turn in your notes today for participation credit. YOUR NOTES ARE DUE @ 12:30. I will NOT take your notes after 12:30. Complete your reading and notes by then if you did not complete this last class!

Also Read & Take Notes on:

Choose your own adventure books (CYOA) began to arrive in the late 1970's (particularly from Bantam Books) to entice younger readers. The role-playing industry was just getting started. For more history on fantasy role playing games, check here. More information about Choose Your Own Adventure books can be found here.

Complete your graphic organizer with notes from the role-playing link and the CYOA book link (see hyperlinks above). Turn in your graphic organizer notes by 12:30 today for credit.

Then, 

Ready, Player One?

Use one of the computers to play Zork. You may work with a partner if you want to. Take turns typing in commands. But first, let's get some context for this 1980's computer game hit: Tapping into the Origins of Zork. Here's a pop culture reference from the Big Bang Theory.

Use the handout tips to help you adventure. Play Zork.

When you are done with that, play an interactive fiction game to see how it works:

• Zork (text based game)
• Adventure (text based game)
• Jigsaw (text based game)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (text based game)
• Various Infocom online games

Go to our Google Classroom and see some student examples of text-based games. You will be creating your OWN text based game next class. 

BRAINSTORMING/PREPARATION: Come up with your own idea for a story. See the basic story starter handout for help in fleshing out your idea. If you are creating a fantasy setting, check this link out for help and tips creating your own fantasy world.

HOMEWORK: None. If you are missing any homework/projects, please complete these assignments before the end of the marking period, Nov. 2. No work will be accepted for a grade after Friday's class (Nov. 2). We will have a quarter quiz on Chapters 1-3 on Wednesday. More details to follow.

Short History of Video Games; Text Based Games; Zork

Please turn in your projects (memes) and any homework you completed. 

Then: On YOUR blog, please post an article answering this question:

• Write about your favorite game (this could be a board game, a sport, or a digital/electronic video game, etc.)
• What is it? What's the objective/goal of the game? How do you play? Etc.
• What do you like about the game? 
• What have you learned about yourself, others, or your world from playing the game? What benefit is there to playing? Etc.

After about 15-20 minutes writing your response, please read the article: Text Based Games (a short history). Add notes on your graphic organizer for this topic. You will turn in your notes today for participation credit.

Choose your own adventure books (CYOA) began to arrive in the late 1970's (particularly from Bantam Books) to entice younger readers. The role-playing industry was just getting started. For more history on fantasy role playing games, check here. More information about Choose Your Own Adventure books can be found here.

Complete your graphic organizer with notes from the role-playing link and the CYOA book link (see hyperlinks above).

Turn in your graphic organizer notes when you have completed the reading & research (due by end of class today).

Period 8:

We will go next door to watch a short video about games. Answer the following on the back of your graphic organizer:

• Crash Course Games (introduction)
• Crash Course Games: The Dawn of Video Games
• Early computer games: Pong & the song that the game inspired by Eisenfunk.

1. According to the video, what is the difference between a TOY and a GAME? (use the graphic organizer to answer this question)

2. What are some things you learned about games from this video? -- complete your notes on the graphic organizer.

3. How do we use games in our culture? -- Complete your notes on the graphic organizer.
4. How did video games get their start? Why did they become popular?
5. What were some of the earliest computer games?

Then, 

Ready, Player One?

Use one of the Chromebooks to play Zork. First, let's get some context for this 1980's computer game hit: Tapping into the Origins of Zork. Here's a pop culture reference from the Big Bang Theory.

 Use the handout tips to help you adventure. Play Zork.

HOMEWORK: None. Play an interactive fiction game to see how it works.

• Zork (text based game)
• Adventure (text based game)
• Jigsaw (text based game)
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (text based game)
• Various Infocom online games

The Good & Bad of It Blog Video Critique; Meme Projects

Period 7:

Please look at the following video projects. Leave a COMMENT about what you thought about the video in the COMMENT section of that peer's blog. You might comment on:

• The thoroughness (effectiveness) of the information...was the video informative?
• The creativity of the filming/design...was the video VISUALLY appealing? (Why or why not?)
• The development/length of the video...was the video too long, too short, too slow, too fast?
• Comments/advice about how to make the video more interesting to a viewer next time...What could your peer do differently in the future to improve their online videos?

For full credit, make sure you leave comments for at least 3 of the 4 bullet points.

Student Blogs:

1. Madison
2. Lesana
3. Makenna
4. Valerie
5. Wesley
6. Degraj

These students have not yet uploaded their projects/videos yet. Complete the required 6 video critiques above. Then, choose 4 more of the following when they have completed their videos before the end of class today and add comments for these 4 in the COMMENT section of their blog.

• Bisharo
• Keniah
• Farhan
• Tali
• Tia
• Liz
• Alaysia
• Emma
• A'layza
• Melinda
• Jonaya
• Zachariah

If you are done with your video critiques...

Take a look at the Meme projects:

Period 8:

Video Content for Entertainment Purposes: Memes!

A meme (coined by the social critic/author Richard Dawkins) is an idea, behavior, style, video, pop cultural something or other that spreads from person to person (usually through social media). To learn a little more about the evolutionary history of the meme, click on and watch the video below. Note the various types of memes you might create (because you will have to create one...):

The Evolutionary History of the Meme

A video blog is called a vlog. Some writers make a good living working as bloggers (writers for a blog--usually for a company) or create their own video channels with their vlogs.

Some early memes:

• Peanut Butter Jelly Time
• Dancing Baby 
• Llama Song
• Charlie Bit Me
• Leroy Jenkins
• Advice Animals
• I Can Haz Cat
• Dat Boi
• Honey Badger

Cat/Dog memes:

• Space Cats
• Cats vs. Children
• Cat video compilation
• Dogs compilation
• 2 Dogs Dining
• Farting Dog
• Fainting goats
• Horse & Reporter
• Best Kittycat Song
• Nyan Cat & the History of Nyan Cat
• Bongo Cat

Entertainment Memes/Vlogging:

• Slenderman: Know Your Meme
• Charlie the Unicorn
• The ice bucket challenge (with Kermit the frog)
• The Dab (The history and origin of the meme)
• Harambe Rap
• Pepe the Frog (Who is Pepe the frog?)
• The Origin and history of LOL
• How to Get Started on Youtube (Pewdiepie)

Task #1: Play around with the meme generator. Or with this meme generator...or this one. Create a visual (not a video) meme and upload it to YOUR blog. [Some students have completed this assignment already...]

Task #2: Create an entertainment video of a pet, a family member, or something "funny" or entertaining. See examples from above. Entertainment memes are generally short. Learn more about them in the videos above.

Done with Tasks #1 & #2 today? Play some video games to introduce you to our next unit: Digital Gaming and the Media Playground.

• Online games
• More online games
• Even more online games

HOMEWORK: Complete tasks #1 & #2 above. Please read and annotate Chp. 3: Digital Gaming and the Media Playground. Answer the questions in your Google Classroom for Monday.

Editing your "The Good & Bad of It" Video Projects; Cat, Dog, & Animal Memes

Today, during your lab time, please edit and upload your video project to Youtube. Once you have uploaded to YouTube, insert your video by going to your blog and in a new post click on the slate-marker icon:

Once there, ADD a video by copying your URL into the search box. Since you should already be logged in, one shortcut is to choose "Upload My YouTube Videos" and select the video you uploaded. Upload the video to your blog page.

If you are using Windows Movie Maker, check out this tutorial. If you still need help editing in Windows Movie Maker, check out this video as well.

Directions for Submitting Video Files

So you created a video for your class and you want to submit it for a grade? Here are the steps you need to follow:

Record on your Smartphone

QuickTime Player can record a movie from your camera, or record the screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It can also record audio from a microphone or record the screen of your Mac or PC. 

You can find more information about this by reading this article on "How to Shoot Videos on your Android phone" or here: How to Edit Videos on your iPhone/iPad. and here's another one that's a good example of what you can do with this video project: How to Film & Edit Video Using your Smartphone.

Record a movie

Movie recording works with your built-in camera and many external cameras. If you're using OS X Yosemite or later, you can also record the screen of any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) with a Lightning port and iOS 8 or later. 

1. Choose File > New Movie Recording.
2. To change the recording settings, click the arrow next to the Record button. Then choose your camera or iOS device, microphone, and recording quality.
3. To monitor audio while it's being recorded, use the volume slider. 
4. Click the Record button  to start recording. Click it again to stop recording. 

Share

1. After saving your movie, you can share it by Mail, Messages, AirDrop, YouTube, and other methods:
   • Open the file in QuickTime Player, then choose File > Share.
   • Or open file in QuickTime Player, then click Share  in the playback controls.
   • Or Control-click the file in the Finder, then choose Share from the shortcut menu.

Video Content for Entertainment Purposes: Memes!

A meme (coined by the social critic/author Richard Dawkins) is an idea, behavior, style, video, pop cultural something or other that spreads from person to person (usually through social media). To learn a little more about the evolutionary history of the meme, click on and watch the video below. Note the various types of memes you might create (because you will have to create one...):

The Evolutionary History of the Meme

Some early memes:

• Peanut Butter Jelly Time
• Dancing Baby 
• Llama Song
• Charlie Bit Me
• Leroy Jenkins
• Advice Animals
• I Can Haz Cat
• Dat Boi
• Honey Badger

Cat/Dog memes:

• Space Cats
• Cats vs. Children
• Cat video compilation
• Dogs compilation
• 2 Dogs Dining
• Farting Dog
• Fainting goats
• Horse & Reporter

Play around with the meme generator. Or with this meme generator...or this one.

HOMEWORK: Complete your video if you didn't complete it during class today. Create a visual meme and place it (upload) on your BLOG. 

*If you have a pet, consider taking a video of your pet doing something clever. You may use this video for our next short video project.

The Good & the Bad of It - Video Project: Day 3

Once you have completed your article/script, record your script or use it to guide your slide/video information. See previous post for more details.

Create a short quicktime video or windows movie on your chosen topic. 

If you are using Windows Movie Maker, check out this tutorial. If you still need help editing in Windows Movie Maker, check out this video as well.

Directions for Submitting Video Files

So you created a video for your class and you want to submit it for a grade? Here are the steps you need to follow:

Record on your Smartphone

QuickTime Player can record a movie from your camera, or record the screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It can also record audio from a microphone or record the screen of your Mac or PC. 

You can find more information about this by reading this article on "How to Shoot Videos on your Android phone" or here: How to Edit Videos on your iPhone/iPad. and here's another one that's a good example of what you can do with this video project: How to Film & Edit Video Using your Smartphone.

Record a movie

Movie recording works with your built-in camera and many external cameras. If you're using OS X Yosemite or later, you can also record the screen of any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) with a Lightning port and iOS 8 or later. 

1. Choose File > New Movie Recording.
2. To change the recording settings, click the arrow next to the Record button. Then choose your camera or iOS device, microphone, and recording quality.
3. To monitor audio while it's being recorded, use the volume slider. 
4. Click the Record button  to start recording. Click it again to stop recording. 

Share

1. After saving your movie, you can share it by Mail, Messages, AirDrop, YouTube, and other methods:
   • Open the file in QuickTime Player, then choose File > Share.
   • Or open file in QuickTime Player, then click Share  in the playback controls.
   • Or Control-click the file in the Finder, then choose Share from the shortcut menu.

After sharing [I suggest uploading your file to Youtube so that you can embed it on your blog post], upload your film review as a blog post on your blog.

This project is due by Friday. We will not be spending as much time next class with this project. If you are behind (have not written or filmed your video), please catch up as homework!

If you have completed your work (completed your video filming, uploading to Youtube and embedding it on your blog...you can spend your remaining time in the lab watching the following memes:

• Best Kittycat Song
• Nyan Cat & the History of Nyan Cat
• Bongo Cat
• Slenderman: Know Your Meme
• Charlie the Unicorn
• The ice bucket challenge (with Kermit the frog)
• The Dab (The history and origin of the meme)
• Harambe Rap
• Pepe the Frog (Who is Pepe the frog?)
• The Origin and history of LOL
• How to Get Started on Youtube (Pewdiepie)

HOMEWORK: None. Make sure you have filmed your video by the beginning of next class!

The Good and the Bad of It - Video Project: Day 2

Please turn in the questions for pages 52-65 of Chapter 2 (The Internet & Digital Media)!

CLASSROOM TASK/PROJECT: Positive/Negative Video Project: 
Research your chosen subject. (A list of topics can be found in the blog post below this one.)

Look for both the positive aspect of the technology/Business (what is does for us that is beneficial) as well as the negative (such as how it negatively impacts our society or social lives or how it negatively affects our environment). Take notes!

You should also be able to explain:

• when was it created, 
• who created it or invented it, 
• how or why did it catch on and become popular--or when was it popular, 
• what its use is/was, and 
• the positive and negative effects of the technology.

Once you have done your research, write a 300-500 word article on your topic that you will use as a "script" for your video.

Once you have completed your article/script, record your script or use it to guide your slide/video information.

Create a short quicktime video or windows movie on your chosen topic. See previous videos we have watched in class as models. Note that some videos have a person talking/reading a script to the camera, others have written and delivered a speech, others have just the important information, but no vocals, others are animated, etc.

Directions for Submitting Video Files

So you created a video for your class and you want to submit it for a grade? Here are the steps you need to follow:

Record on your Smartphone

QuickTime Player can record a movie from your camera, or record the screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It can also record audio from a microphone or record the screen of your Mac or PC. 

You can find more information about this by reading this article on "How to Shoot Videos on your Android phone" or here: How to Edit Videos on your iPhone/iPad. and here's another one that's a good example of what you can do with this video project: How to Film & Edit Video Using your Smartphone.

Record a movie

Movie recording works with your built-in camera and many external cameras. If you're using OS X Yosemite or later, you can also record the screen of any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) with a Lightning port and iOS 8 or later. 

1. Choose File > New Movie Recording.
2. To change the recording settings, click the arrow next to the Record button. Then choose your camera or iOS device, microphone, and recording quality.
3. To monitor audio while it's being recorded, use the volume slider. 
4. Click the Record button  to start recording. Click it again to stop recording. 

Share

1. After saving your movie, you can share it by Mail, Messages, AirDrop, YouTube, and other methods:
   • Open the file in QuickTime Player, then choose File > Share.
   • Or open file in QuickTime Player, then click Share  in the playback controls.
   • Or Control-click the file in the Finder, then choose Share from the shortcut menu.

After sharing, upload your film review as a blog post on your blog.

This project is not due yet.

HOMEWORK: None.

Come join us for the opening night of the Creative Writing Department's production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore tonight, Thursday or Friday at 7:00 in the Ensemble Theater. Creative writing students attend free, but we'd like to challenge you to bring a friend or family member. Tickets are $5 and available at the door. This is a fundraiser for the department. Extra credit for those who attend.

Op Ed Article due! The Other Side of the Issue: The Positives of Social Media; Video Project

Period 7: Please complete your op-ed article on the problems with social media today in the lab. The article is due by the end of class.

The Positives of Social Media:

It is important to remember that every negative has a positive side. Technology can be used both positively as well as negatively. The popularity of social media is just one reason why, although there may be negative aspects of it, that it remains. It is important to consider both sides of an issue--not just the one that is your opinion. Journalists are supposed to be fair and neutral--writing about topics without a political or social bias.

Please watch the following short videos. Compare/contrast what you learn here with what you've learned about the negative aspects of the internet/social media:

CLASSROOM PROJECT TASK: The Good and The Bad of It - Video Project

You might have noticed in the videos above that a person can easily make a video and stick it up on the internet. Sometimes this is an animation or sometimes it's just a quicktime or Windows Movie Maker MP4. To make an animated film, try Powtoon. Either way, the internet has allowed anyone to be a creator. Let's try it!

Choose one of the following topics:

• The Automobile
• Alcohol
• The Gun
• Dynamite
• Cigarettes
• Cement
• Plastic
• Mass production
• The Microwave
• The I-Phone
• The Atomic Bomb
• Genetic Engineering
• Facebook
• Google + (or Google, Inc.)
• Russian Bots
• Snapchat
• Twitter
• Apple Inc.
• Microsoft Inc.
• Amazon Inc.
• Other: Your choice of a program, company, or invention not mentioned here, but that has a good/bad (positive/negative) side to it.

Research your chosen subject. Look for both the positive aspect of the technology/Business (what is does for us that is beneficial) as well as the negative (such as how it negatively impacts our society or social lives or how it negatively affects our environment). Take notes!

You should also be able to explain:

• when was it created, 
• who created it or invented it, 
• how or why did it catch on and become popular--or when was it popular, 
• what its use is/was, and 
• the positive and negative effects of the technology.

Once you have done your research, write a 300-500 word article on your topic that you will use as a "script" for your video.

Create a short quicktime video or windows movie on your chosen topic.

Directions for Submitting Video Files

So you created a video for your class and you want to submit it for a grade? Here are the steps you need to follow:

Record on your Smartphone

QuickTime Player can record a movie from your camera, or record the screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It can also record audio from a microphone or record the screen of your Mac or PC. 

You can find more information about this by reading this article on "How to Shoot Videos on your Android phone"

Record a movie

Movie recording works with your built-in camera and many external cameras. If you're using OS X Yosemite or later, you can also record the screen of any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) with a Lightning port and iOS 8 or later. 

1. Choose File > New Movie Recording.
2. To change the recording settings, click the arrow next to the Record button. Then choose your camera or iOS device, microphone, and recording quality.
3. To monitor audio while it's being recorded, use the volume slider. 
4. Click the Record button  to start recording. Click it again to stop recording. 

Share

1. After saving your movie, you can share it by Mail, Messages, AirDrop, YouTube, and other methods:
   • Open the file in QuickTime Player, then choose File > Share.
   • Or open file in QuickTime Player, then click Share  in the playback controls.
   • Or Control-click the file in the Finder, then choose Share from the shortcut menu.

After sharing, upload your film review as a blog post on your blog.

This project is not due yet.

HOMEWORK: Please read, annotate, and complete the questions for pages 52-65 of Chapter 2 (The Internet & Digital Media)--the questions can be found on our Google classroom site.

Student Blogs

Student Blogs:

• Bisharo
• Keniah
• Tia
• Wesley
• Tali
• Farhan
• Makenna
• Alaysia
• Emma
• Zachariah
• A'layza
• Madison
• Valerie
• Degraj
• Melinda
• Jonaya
• Liz
• Lesana

Research & Op Ed Article: The Problem With Social Media

TASK: Using your research (the 6 videos you watched and took notes on last class), use the notes you took to write an op ed article concerning the problem(s) with social media. You may add your own personal experience, but you must reference at least 3 of the 6 videos and their content to support or refute the position that social media is "bad" for our society.

Before you commit finger to keyboard, you want to look through your notes and the arguments made by the speaker of each video. You should be looking through 6 sources.

After gathering and reviewing your notes, consider your position on the matter:

1. Fact: Is it true or not? Do you agree with the source(s)? Why or why not? [Try to get at least 2-3 reasons--you may have more...]

2. Definition: What does "social media" really mean? Separate different types of media so that you are clear what you are defending or arguing. For example: while books are media, is a book club or book group blog social media that is a problem for the speakers in these videos? Is listening to music on the radio with friends social media that we should be concerned with? If you watch a film with friends and then discuss it at a coffee-shop social media--or is Skyping your grandmother who lives nine States away to wish her a happy birthday the kind of social media the naysayers are talking about? Or if your job has a video conference that you are required to attend online, is that social media?

3. Value: How important is it? On a scale of petty annoyance and Nuclear devastation of the planet, how serious is a person's problem with social media? Is this something we all should be worried about or something only adults with children have to be concerned with? What is your position on how much or how little you value the topic?

4. Cause and Effect: What is the cause? What are the effects? Be clear about what social media does to the brain, for example. What do the sources say about what or how that causes an effect on us?

5. Policy: What should we do about it? If it's a concern, what is to be done about social media? What may be some ways to address some of the problems the sources have with social media? If the issue is not a concern, how might we best manage the naysayers and problem makers rallying around the issue?

How to Write A Thesis & Build an Argument

Question/Answer format: To make your topic idea into a thesis you need to turn the topic idea into a question first. Examples:

• Does divorce cause serious problems for the children? (fact)
• What is "divorce?" (definition)
• What are the causes of divorce? (cause)
• How important is it for couples to avoid divorce? (value)
• What can you do to make your marriage divorce-proof? (policy/proposal)

Now you try it, but instead of divorce, use the topic we are expected to write about.

Answer: Your question often can be the title of your paper, or it can be the last line of the introduction. Your answer to this question is your essay.

Refute Objections: If there are opposing positions on the topic (Social media is good, for example) it is important to mention these objections briefly. It is a good idea to show that you are refuting other ideas about your answer or position in your argument.

Roadmap thesis: An additional way to make a strong thesis is to do a "roadmap" which covers specifically the main points you are attempting to cover build your case. [Usually this is limited to 3 main points that you will cover in the body of your essay/argument...but you can also do this with less than 3 or more than 3 main points. Usually, each main point is further developed in a body paragraph.]

Rules:

• Length: your article should fall between 500-1,000 words in length.
• Please use MLA format for your article. 
• Understanding MLA Style (video)
• How to format your essay/article in MLA Format (video)
• Make sure you have cited at least 3 of the 6 articles you took notes on. (You may cite more than 3!)
• Your citations can be direct quotes or parenthetical (indirect) statements drawn from your viewing of your source's arguments. Either way, you need to name (attribute) your sources.
• Make sure you provide a counter-example to your argument. You must bring up the other case or side of the issue, if only briefly.
• Use your main argument points as the topic sentence of each paragraph. Provide enough detail afterwards to support your topic sentence.
• Use transitions between points. 
• Title and proofread your work before submitting your draft.
• Complete your essay draft by the end of today's writing lab/class.*
• Penalties will be applied to any article missing these 'rules.'

*If you have finished and turned in your article, please surf the internet and relax--or complete missing or late assignments.

HOMEWORK: None.