Does the introduction funnel from a general topic to a controversy to the research question to the thesis? Does the thesis contain an interpretive claim? Does this first part of the thesis answer the question clearly? Does the thesis contain a statement of significance? Does your thesis evolve throughout the paper? Do the body paragraphs contain strong topic sentences that offer a claim?

Advantages/Disadvantages of A Type of Technology

Essay Explanation
This essay is an argumentative paper to be supported by your research. Once you have chosen your topic, it will be up to you to narrow down the scope of the research, to choose a
representative example and to develop a thesis statement. Remember, the following question is a prompt. It is up to you to choose a specific focus or representative example. Do not be vague.

Essay Prompt
In “Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change,” Postman observes, “the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are never distributed evenly among the population.” He asks, “Which groups, what type of person, what kind of industry will be favoured…which groups of people will thereby be harmed?” Write an essay that discusses a
dis/advantage of some form of technology/media on humankind.
Media is any tool/technology that extends the human body or senses. Think beyond digital media, though. The alphabet (McLuhan), a pen, written documents, theories, clothes, utensils of any kind, all qualify as media or tech because they are all tools that extend our capacities in some way.

Representative Example
The representative example needs to be specific, so if the advantages/disadvantages of a type of media you’re talking about are to do with social media, the representative example that shows the argument being made needs to be like a specific interaction not all social media or even a
whole account. If its book related, it needs to be specific book, if TV, a specific episode, etc.

Thesis Statement
The thesis statement needs to be a three-storey thesis where the first storey is the topic, the second the argument and the third points out the significance of the argument. I’ve included an example of a three-storey thesis in a different context.

Example:
In “Women of Harry Potter: Hermione Granger is More Than a Sidekick by Sarah Gailey,” Gailey compares Harry Potter and Hermione Granger (topic) and argues that Hermione, like Harry, is a hero and star of the series, even if she sometimes plays a supportive role because her actions, equal to Harry’s, greatly alter events in the plot (argument). Gailey,
therefore, suggests that women are too often overlooked as supportive caregivers and their contributions downplayed, when in fact they are essential characters, just like Hermione
(significance)

Sources:
Two of the sources need to be peer-reviewed sources.
One source needs to be this:  https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/materials/postman.pdf

The fourth source can be peer-reviewed or not.
What is being looked for:
• Comprehension of the assignment instructions and question
• Comprehension of key concepts, texts, and theorists
• Scope and originality of research and/or creative work
• Integration of secondary research
• Analysis (e.g., avoidance of fallacies, such as hasty generalizations)
• Presentation and structure of argument, including:
• Does the introduction funnel from a general topic to a controversy to the research question to the thesis?
• Does the thesis contain an interpretive claim?
• Does this first part of the thesis answer the question clearly?
• Does the thesis contain a statement of significance?
• Does your thesis evolve throughout the paper?
• Do the body paragraphs contain strong topic sentences that offer a claim?
• Do the body paragraphs contain a clear transition that shows its relationship to the paragraph that comes before it?
• Do the body paragraphs provide textual support (evidence) for the claim?
• Does the author explain the quotations, telling the reader not only what is said in the quotes, but also showing how the quotation works to support the claim of the paragraph?
• Does the author provide interesting, engaging readings of the text?
• Does the conclusion include the final version of the evolved thesis?
• Does the conclusion do more than summarize what the paper has already done?
• Does the conclusion return to the controversy defined in the introduction in order to develop the implications of the essay?
• Quality of writing (spelling, grammar, diction, style, etc.)
• Referencing (consistent and proper use of parenthetical citations and reference notes in either APA or MLA style)
• Formatting (page numbering, spacing, use of italics, etc.)