College students frequently engage in “multitasking”—that is, near-simultaneous work on a variety of activities. For this paper, you are to become acquainted with some of the literature regarding multitasking (a.k.a. switch tasking) andargue for or against its practice as an effective strategy for task completion(e.g., finishing work, learning something new). Note that the term “multitasking,” as used here, refers not to performing multiple mundane (or relatively mindless) background tasks (eating while watching TV, say, or texting while listening to music) but generally to challenging, concomitantmental labor(writing a history paper and doing a math assignment, for example) or, at minimum, to a mix of challenging mental labor and less challenging non-mental labor that, together, produces something of value (in school, passing grades; in a work environment, money; and so forth).
Your paper must offer a fair, balanced treatment (it should assert, butalsoanticipate and rebut serious objections—that is, opposing points of view) and have a clear, manageable thesis. Important: you must cite, in MLA style, all ideas and information that is not your own and/or is not very commonly known. This is required whether you paraphrase or quote, and even if a source is a person you know. (You may use personal interviews as additional sources only, and they, too, must be cited; all other sources must be electronically derived.) Youmustmake use of quotations, but no more than ten percent (10%) of your paper’s text may consist of direct quotations; paraphrases must be complete: do not change merely a few words in a source text but the entire text (if necessary, change the order of the ideas, the structure of the sentences, and all of the important words). Your paper must include in-text citations and a Works Cited page listing the sources of all cited material. If you have any doubts about proper documentation, it is your responsibility to consult your instructor. (Write me at [email protected]; my usual mail is not working at present.)When in doubt, cite.
Sources: four, minimum. Of those four, two must be from academic journals this college subscribes to [CHC passwords are crafton (username) and crafton (password)], one must be from newspapers or news magazines (the New YorkTimes,the WashingtonPost, Time,Newsweek, and so forth), and one must be the first “story”/segment of theFrontlineepisode entitled “Digital Nation” (google “digital nation pbs” to find the video). Any additional sources may be selected by you, but do bear in mind your obligation to use high-quality sources (again, all sourcesmustbe electronic; you may use no hard-copy sources whatsoever).
Final drafts must be delivered online through the Canvas platform. Papers that are one or two days late will lose one or two letter grades (see syllabus for specifics). Papers that are more than two days late will not be accepted.
Minimum length: 3 (max: 4) typed, double-spaced pages in 12-pt Times New Roman only.
No rough drafts are required for this assignment. Final drafts are due Wednesday, April 15th. Again, papers later than Friday, April 17thwill not be accepted.