Reading Questions
Q1: As we noted earlier, Nicholas Carr doesn’t really put an actual naysayer to
use in his article. Using the research tools of your educational institution (your
college or university library—in person or online), do some research of your
own and find a source that could be used as a naysayer in Carr’s article. Is that
source credible and scholarly? Because Carr is arguing that smartphone use
distracts people and weakens their cognitive powers, you will need to find a
source that calls that conclusion into question in some way. In the box below,
cite the source you’ve found, summarize their point of view in one to two
sentences, and indicate whether you think the source is scholarly and
credible.
Q2: A useful research tool taught in chapter fifteen of They Say / I Say is
“citation chaining.” It involves following the trail of a conversation or debate
from one source to another and noting which sources are cited by other
writers. Using the research tools of your educational institution (your college
or university library—in person or online), do some research of your own and
find a scholarly, credible source that cites Nicholas Carr’s article (“How
Smartphones Hijack Our Minds”) as a source. In the window below, cite the
source you found and, in one to two sentences, explain how you found it.
Q3: What are the authors urging you to do when you do research for an essay?
What does it mean to say that a research essay is always about entering into
conversation with others? How can you apply what you’ve learned in your own
writing?
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