GEN 145 – Step 1 - Topic & Source Identification 1:

Student Name: _______________________

A) Planning the rhetorical situation:

1. Identification of the commodity or topic?

- What is the information you want the readers to learn about this commodity?
- What is the impact of this commodity on the environment, culture, society…?

I want everyone to know that social media is not always “badly” affecting people or the human brain.It
may affect a brain that affects humans intellectually and physically, but not always badly.

2. Identification of the audience

- Who do you want to persuade?
- Why do you want to address this group in particular?
- Consider the age, gender, language, culture, religion, level of education, economic class, geographic
location, and/or other circumstances of your audience.
- Is this audience hostile, sympathetic and/or neutral to your message? Why?
- If your audience is the consumer of this commodity, what cultural factors or belief systems are
fueling their demand for the commodity?
- How much does your audience already know about the commodity?

I want to persuade to all people, because everyone uses Social Media and trusts that it has harm,
but they don’t care if the damage affects their health and their way of thinking. I don’t think that
there are specific ages, culturethere is nothing specific, because the topic includes everyone of all
ages and all races, especially adults because they can manage children. I think that the public is
sympathetic to this issue, especially that it is an important topic, and everyone knows how
dangerous it is to sit on the social media for long periods of time.

3. Purpose
- What is your argument and position?
- What is the message you want to convey to this audience?
- Why do you wish to convey this message? What do you hope will be achieved?

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 GEN 145 – Step 1 - Topic & Source Identification 1:

Student Name: _______________________

My argument is social media plays important role in shaping our opinions and it does not always
affect the brain badly instead it has positives too. However, the message that I want to convey to
my audience is one must be balanced in his opinion about social media because it is fact that it
has certain impacts on the human brain and physical body but it does not mean that these affects
are always bad. The reason I want to convey this message is to let people know about positive
side of social media and to resist their negative and wrong perception that social media always
affect badly o human brain and physical body. I hope that people will understand what I want to
convey and try not to over-exaggerate the negative side of social media and its impact on human
brain and physical impacts.

4. Strategy
- How do you plan to affect your audience emotionally?
- How do you plan to appeal to your audience’s sense of logic?
- Do you plan to use ethos? How?

I plan to affect my audience emotionally by telling them that it is social media that ensures close
connection between you and your loved ones. Through different social websites, you share your
happiness memories with others. I plan to appeal the audiences’ sense of logic by telling them the
positives of social media such as gathering information, connection with friends and family members,
and the news of all around the world. No, I do not plan to use ethos.

5. Research
- List of academic sources that will inform your argument; at this point if you only have one article,
just provide the link of the article in the box below.
- For the conferences with your instructor, bring the articles/books that you have read with
highlighted sections you find relevant

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
326496988_Cognitive_Effects_of_Social_Media_Use_A_Case_of_Older_Adults

B. Write a tentative thesis statement in the box below:

Social media has greater affect on human brain and influence people intellectually and physically but this impact is
not always negative instead social media ensures greater role in mental development and sharpen the cognitive skills.

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 GEN 145 – Step 1 - Topic & Source Identification 1:

Student Name: _______________________

C. Task Annotated Summary of Source 1.

1. APA Citation (Write the full reference here in APA format).

Quinn, K. (2018). Cognitive Effects of Social Media Use: A Case Study of Older Adults. Social Media+Society,
4. Doi: 10.1177/2056305118787203

2. Provide web link to your article in the box below:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
326496988_Cognitive_Effects_of_Social_Media_Use_A_Case_of_Older_Adults

3. Summarize the main ideas in the space provided.

Consider the following in your summary:

 What is the article about? Start with a topic sentence and extend your summary with the main
ideas.
 Use your own words (i.e. paraphrase). Do not forget to add the in-text citation.

Social media is use by all the people regardless of their age, gender, geographical location, culture, and religion. In the
article “Cognitive Effects of Social Media Use: A Case Study of Older Adults”, Quinn (2018) argues that social media
has direct impact on the brain development. Those who use social media enjoy several social benefits as well such as
social media favors the improved cognitive functioning. People even above 65 years of age use social media and it do
not affect them badly instead it benefits the people in four cognitive domains such as attention, working memory
processing speed, and also inhibitory control. These factors of this research show the importance of social media in
present time and in lives of all because in article the results mentioned even considering the age of 65 years.

4. What are some ideas in the article that can support your thesis statement? Where in your essay do you
plan to use them?

I can use a lot of ideas of this article in my research such as the four domains of cognitive functioning mentioned in
article will help me to convince my audience about the affect of social media on brain in a positive way. Also, to
strengthen my thesis statement I can use the results of this research in which author has mentioned the social media

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 GEN 145 – Step 1 - Topic & Source Identification 1:

Student Name: _______________________

positive impacts on brain even for the people aged 65 or above. Moreover, I can use the data mentioned about the
importance of social media in my introductory part and in body paragraphs as well.

Sample Annotated Summary

COMMODITY: Illegal fishing

THESIS STATEMENT:
Illegal fishing must be stopped because it affects human health, the economy of the countriesinvolved, and it
destroysmarine life.

SOURCE 1:

1. APA Citation (Write the full reference here in APA format):

Beke, M., &Blomeyer, R. (2014). Illegal fishing, unreported and unregulated fishing: sanctions in the EU.
Brussels: European Parliament .

2. What is the article about? Summarize the main ideas here. Start with a one-sentence summary and
extend your summary with the main ideas. Use your own words (paraphrase). Do not forget to add
the in-text citation.

In the book “Illegal fishing, unreported and unregulated fishing: sanctions in the EU”, Beke&Blomeyer (2014)
write that the illegal fishing is a big problem that the world is suffering from and that there are a lot of fishing
boats that don’t have a licenses. These operate in the oceans such as the Indian and Atlantic Oceans .
Moreover, the fisheries who are practicing illegal fishing are using tools that are banned and they are using
these tools just because it is easy for them to get large amounts of fish in a short time without thinking about
the consequences and negative effects.

3. What are some ideas that can support your thesis statement? Where in your essay do you plan to
use them?
There are a lot of ideas that can support the introduction in my essay in this source such us the meaning of
illegal fishing, the ways of it and what the places in the world that are suffering from illegal fishing are . On

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 GEN 145 – Step 1 - Topic & Source Identification 1:

Student Name: _______________________

the other hand, it also supports my thesis statement because the book includes some of the consequences
caused by illegal fishing that I can use it in the body paragraphs.