Question/Essay Topic:

 

Should the Government regulate social media? Why or Why not

 

Essay Requirement

 

The essay will have at least three cited sources. The following criteria:

 

1. Describe how this topic may or may not affect you and/or your community.

 

2. Typed Written Paper Criteria:

 

 A minimum of three (3) references must be from Professional sources. These include journals, books, and reports of national organizations/agencies. Do not use popular magazines and websites, Wikipedia, Glamour, Sports Illustrated, Essence, etc.

 

 References from web-based sites must include information describing sponsoring organizations(s), full citation of data sources/reports used, and information documenting the professional/scholarly reliability of reports. Example;

 

Title Page

 

• Title page will be bold, centered, and typed in uppercase and lowercase letters on the page. If the title requires more than one line, double-spaced between all the lines.

 

• Double spacing between the title, Student’s name, course and date.

 

Paper

 

• The typed written must be saved as a Microsoft Word document

 

• MLA format, double spaced, Times New Roman - 12 font

 

• Repeat title on top of first half page

 

• One-inch margins at the top, bottom, right and left sides

 

• No more than a 2 page typed written

 

• Double spacing is required throughout the paper.

 

• Each page is numbered, not including the title page or reference page

 

• The paragraphs are indented five spaces.

 

• All typing is done flush-left, not right justified nor full justified. In other words, leave the right margin uneven or “ragged right”.

 

Reference Page

 

• Center the word, REFERENCES, in bold at the top of the page

 

• List the references alphabetically

 

Sample Outline

 

Important: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Your work must be your own with the correct citations.

 

Sample outline format.

 

Topic: Short Message Service and Spelling Ability

 

Introduction:

 

- SMS has revolutionized communication

 

- Recent Statistics (Nielsen): Average American teen: 3,339 messages per month

 

- Objective/Purpose of Research Paper:

 

o To explore the benefits of SMS

 

o To expound on the effects of SMS use particularly on the spelling proficiency of teens

 

Body:

 

- Background:

 

o A mechanism of delivery of short messages over the mobile networks (http://www.wirelessdevnet.com/channels/sms/features/sms.html)

 

o Concept development: 1984 by Friedhelm Hillebrand and Bernard Ghillebaert (http://mashable.com/2012/09/21/text-messaging-history/)

 

o First text message: “Merry Christmas” from Neil Patworth to Richard Jarvis on 1992 (http://mashable.com/2012/09/21/text-messaging-history/)

 

- Benefits of SMS

 

o Relative ease of message typing with the use of shortcuts in spelling (e.g. “you” -> “u”)

 

o Fast transfer of messages from sender to recipient

 

o Strengthens literacy

 

(http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/can-texting-help-spelling)

 

- SMS and spelling proficiency

 

o Fear: poor “textism” (language used in texting) leads to poor spelling

 

o Studies show that texting improves reading and writing

 

Coventry University and University of Tasmania: text shortcuts improve spelling ability of primary school, secondary school, and university students

 

(http://national.deseretnews.com/article/1778/texting-helps-not-hinders-childrens-grammar-and-spelling-study-says.html)

 

Conclusion:

 

Texting and usage of text shortcuts do not negatively affect the spelling ability of learners at any age.