CATW Structure and Google Essay

When do you take the CATW?

-          After level 2 (if you are doing very well in the course) and level 3 (if you are passing the course)

What is the CATW?

-          An in-class writing done in 90 minutes

-          Read, summarize, and respond in essay form

Essay Structure	Summary/Response
Introduction: General statement Introduce the topic(s) Thesis Body: Topic sentences Discussion Proof/Evidence/Examples Conclusion: Reword Remind, Relate	+Source + Paraphrase (in your own words – proves your understanding) + Main Idea (thesis) + Supporting Details (big ideas that support the thesis) No small details, no quotes, no opinions	+Your opinion +Support and examples for your opinion (make your opinion more than just an idea, but something that can be proven) +Direct reference to the reading (quotes or paraphrase)
CATW Essay
Introduction: General statement or hook Summary of the reading Thesis (your opinion about the reading) Body (Response to the reading): Topic sentence Discussion, support, examples Direct reference to the reading Conclusion: Reword Remind Relate

Source: Nicholas Carr
Main Idea: Google is slowing down our ability to think for ourselves

Supporting Details:

-          We don’t think deeply when we rely on Google

-          Google distracts us, and when we’re distracted, we don’t think deeply or remember well

-          Google profits from our distraction and over use

-          Don’t rely on the internet if you want to really use your brain

Introduction Structure:

General statement/hook

Summary

Thesis

Example Thesis:

After reading this article, I think it is clear that Google is damaging our thinking because ____ and ___.

I think using Google has both positive and negative effects.

I completely disagree with Carr about Google’s harmful attributes. I think usuing Google is beneficial and helps us expand our minds.

                In the article “Is Google Making Us Stupid,” Nicholas Carr wrote that, “In the blink of an eye,” the search engine gives good information about anything you could want. However, he believes one thing we should think about is what Google does to our brains, because really, the thing that makes us intelligent is our ability to think about something deeply, not finding a lot of information all at once. Although the net gives us a lot of information rapidly, Carr believes we lose things because we do not think in a practical way and that if we continue Googling and texting, we will not remember things well anymore, because this does not properly develop our brains. Additionally, he says Google doesn’t want us to slow down, because every time we use it and the more it shows us, the more money it can make. The author believes that if we want to develop our minds, we need to slow down with our use of the computers and telephones and start thinking for ourselves; however, I think it would be totally ridiculous to not use Google to search for information.

        I can say that this article does not give strong enough evidence to convince me or anybody else to stop using Google to search for things, because we need to do some research to have a good idea about what we want to learn about, and Google is the best way to do that. The author said that “even as Google is giving us all that useful information, it’s also encouraging us to think superficially. It’s making us shallow.” For me, this is untrue. It is not making us shallow; it helps me have more knowledge about various topics than I would otherwise. For example, I had some homework where I had to write about my country. I know a little bit about the history of my country, but not everything. When I made some searches on Google, I found a lot of good points and combined them with my own ideas to make my homework stronger. Additionally, if you have a reading class, you can do some research on class topics to learn more about the subject and practice. Google doesn’t ruin our thinking; it helps us think about subjects more completely.

        In conclusion, I don’t think Google is harmful at all. Instead, I believe helps me to develop new ideas and learn more about various subjects. I think it would be completely ridiculous to stop using Google.