Is Technology creating depression and mental illnesses?

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ESSAY #4: RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL OR CHOOSING A TOPIC FOR YOUR RESEARCH PAPER (DUE 11/5/20) What is a Research Paper as Opposed to a Research Paper Proposal?             A research paper is an essay that uses outside sources (i.e. books, magazine articles, Internet articles, etc.) as supporting evidence (which will be placed in the body of the paper) for the essay’s thesis.  Instead of analyzing a piece of writing, you will be analyzing a specific topic, and your outside sources will be used to support your thesis.             In short, your research paper will be an argumentative paper.  You will take a position on some sort of controversial topic, and your position will be the basis for your thesis.  Naturally, you will look for and research outside sources to build upon supporting body paragraphs to back up your thesis.             This assignment that is due Thursday, 11/5, is not a research paper.  The actual research paper will be due at the end of this winter session.  This assignment is only a four-paragraph paper that will explain the topic of your paper, the controversy surrounding this topic, and what your stance on this topic will be.  In other words, your stance will become the basis of your thesis statement in your research paper.  I will lay out what you will actually write in your proposal towards the end of this prompt. Choosing a Topic             You will be able to choose your topic from the list that I have provided.  choose from the list below. LIST OF TOPICS: Is Technology creating depression and mental illnesses? Participation Trophies Is the internet increasing racism and bullying? Should we ban Deep Fakes? Should we live to 200? Should we move toward becoming “post-human”?   Is technology and our increasingly complex relation to it creating mental illness? Should everyone who participates get a trophy? Is the internet deepening racism and bullying? How? Should Deep Fakes be banned? How can this not be violating free speech? Should we live to 200 for health and money saving on health issues or is it to create too many logical and ethical problems? Is it time to really begin looking into becoming more machine or code than human or is this too problematic and far off in terms of the technology?   What You Are Going to Write in Your Research Paper Topic Proposal             The good news is that you do not have to write a traditional essay with an introduction, a body, and so forth.  However, the main point of this assignment is show me that you have strong understanding of your chosen topic for your research paper.  Essentially, you will only have to write four paragraphs.              For the first paragraph, you must explain what the topic is.  For instance, if you are going to write about big game hunting, you need to explain what it is.  For example, hunting covers a lot of animals and practices.  There probably is a big difference between hunting bighorn sheep and rhinoceros and, say, duck hunting (yes, you can even provide specific examples).  You then must also briefly explain the controversy surrounding the topic (whether or not governments should encourage and regulate big game hunting).  Because you will be doing some preliminary research, you should quote from an outside source (an online article from the database CQ Researcher, for example).  Yes, you will be required to follow MLA citation rules.  I will go over MLA in class before you turn in your proposal.  The second paragraph should the “pro” side of the issue.  Let’s look at the trigger example.  This means that you need to explain how and why certain people believe that trigger warnings will be beneficial to students and faculty and respects those who have suffered from trauma.  Because the second paragraph is all about the “pro” side The third paragraph must explain the “con” side of the topic (e.g. how trigger/ warnings is censorship in disguise and hurts academic freedoms).   The fourth and final paragraph will have to explain your position on this topic (e.g. do you believe that trigger warnings are a necessary evil in order to protect those who are sensitive to any content that might traumatize them?).  What position are you going to argue for and why?  Yes, you can refer to yourself for this assignment. BASIC REQUIREMENTS Even though this is a proposal, your paper must be typed and double-spaced using a 12-point font. Remember: I prefer “Times New Roman”.  Your paper must be at least two pages.  If you decide to choose another topic after you have turned your proposal, you will notbe required to write another proposal. You just need to run your new topic (taken from the list) by me.  Unfortunately, you cannot choose a topic that is not on the list that I have provided on this prompt.  If you do write a research paper on a topic that is not on the list and turn it in, this will result in failing grade. Please type your name, the date, English 1A, and my name in the upper left-hand corner of the essay. Please title your proposal, and please be creative. “Essay #4” is not very interesting. The final (and only draft) of this assignment is due Thursday, 11/5/20.