English 1A Essay

· In a short paragraph, summarize the most important points about multi-tasking and learning from the assigned excerpt of Annie Murphy Paul’s Slate article, “You’ll Never Learn!”

· In a second paragraph, citing the research in Murphy Paul’s article and using examples from your own experience, discuss A) to what extent you see the frequent task-switching students often engage in as a problem for learning and B) what change(s) you would recommend, either on a personal or institutional level, to address any obstacles to learning that the frequent task-switching creates. Please explain your responses.

· Cite Murphy Paul’s article and any other outside sources you choose to include, in–text and on the References page using APA format. (Sources other than the assigned article are optional.)

English 1A: Expository Writing // Application Paper #3

Assignment Format

· Standard heading in the top left corner of the first page (single-spaced): First and last name, class name, assignment name, date, draft # (Please do not include a separate title page.)

· Centered above your two paragraphs, include assignment title in title caps (This is the name you give your work to help reader understand what the content will be about. It should be more specific than “Paper #2 or “Summary and Application Paper.”)

· Total length approximately 1.5 – 2.0 pages (excluding the heading, title, and References page)

· Double-spaced; 12-point Times New Roman font

· Standard 1-inch margins; left-aligned

Assignment Content

Summary paragraph

· Topic sentence/introductory sentence = General summary statement that identifies the name of the article and the author and provides a big picture understanding of what the article excerpt is about. Also includes year of publication for APA in-text citation.

· Length = Approximately 1/3 – 1/2 of a page (not including the heading or assignment title)

· Content = In your words, identify the most important content from the article excerpt. Focus on what’s important for the reader to know about multi-tasking and learning in order to understand your application paragraph.

· Links/Transitions between one sentence and the next (and one idea and the next)

· Concluding sentence(s) + transition to the second paragraph

Application paragraph

· Topic sentence(s): This/These sentence(s) tell(s) the reader what the rest of the paragraph will be about. It/They should include your assessment of the extent to which frequent task-switching negatively impacts learning and what, if anything, should be done about that.

· Paragraph body: Should include at least one claim related to each of the 2 primary topic sentence topics. (A claim is a sentence the audience can reasonably disagree with and that introduces evidence -- in this case, the evidence is likely to be examples from the assigned reading as well as examples from your experience).

· At least 2 pieces of evidence per claim (Evidence = data, examples, facts, and/or expert opinion that support(s) the claim. Typically, when writing about your own experience, the evidence consists of examples.)

· Explanation (helps readers understand how the evidence supports the claim that introduced it)

· Links/Transitions between one sentence and the next (and one idea and the next)

· Concluding sentence(s)

About the conclusion:

· The conclusion is not a separate paragraph. It’s a few sentences at the end of your second paragraph.

· Use the conclusion to explore why it’s important for all of us to think about multi-tasking and learning.

· Do not simply repeat or re-state your topic sentence position. The paper is quite short, so the reader will still remember what your topic sentence position was at the end of the paragraph. Please don’t simply repeat that same idea in the conclusion.

APA format References page & APA format in-text citations

· Use APA format as explained on the GGU Business Library APA Guide (In-text and References page) to cite Murphy Paul’s article and any other sources you choose to include.

· Include at least 2 uses of reporting language in the summary paragraph. Refer to list of reporting verbs in Week Nine on eLearning as needed.