Author: admin

I would like the rubrics to follow the following draft and you can add or subtract whatever you want from it.
Here is the draft and the rubrics are further down (under the draft)
Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health
An Introduction That Includes Specific Detail:
For the past ten years, social media has had a disturbingly negative effect on the mental health of our youth. Ever since the turn of the decade in 2010, it had become standard to use social media as the universal propaganda machine which allowed the entire planet to ask for more – more fake perfection, subconsciously heightening the prevailing attention seeker culture; to the degree that new studies reveal an increased level of anxiety as well as depression. Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat may be the new kings of teen culture, but each has been closely linked with the skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health woes currently plaguing teens and young adults worldwide. Most of those are online behaviors and this trend is most visible in connected societies, especially Western countries, where social media is a part of daily life.
A Description of Three Specific Effects of the Problem on the Lives of Individuals:
The effects of social media on mental health are multifaceted, and a full discussion of all the implications requires extensive volumes of discussion. The bulk of the criticisms come from the general featured beauty, success, and overall happiness standards being unrealistic. Consequently, these platforms, more often than not, present an idealized version of life, urging people to fall into the trap of comparing their lives with others, which in turn can turn us into perpetual failures or our lives into something to be dissatisfied with. Over and over, studies have shown that more time on social media relates to higher rates of anxiety and depression in teens. A large study carried out by the Royal Society for Public Health found that as many as 91% of 16-24-year-olds now use social networking sites, demonstrating how widely such tools have infiltrated our lives and the additional potential for impact on users’ mental health (Royal Society for Public Health, 2017, p. 7).
It is notable, however, that in the United States, for example, social media is so widespread among the young population, that even the most reticent research finds that 95% of teenagers have access to such services (Lenhart et al., 2015, p. 9). Almost all teens use social media – 95% of teens reported having access to a smartphone in 2018 and about 45% say they are online “almost constantly” (Auxier et al., 2020, p. 4). The 21st-century theme has been toward an omniconnected society, creating technology to connect people. These compounding effects translate into a 33% increase in the number of self-reported symptoms of major depression from 2010 to 2015 (Twenge et al., 2018, p. 12). This period combines with when this type of social media usage was starting to become widespread, which shows a potential correlation between the growth of these two things. The stakes around these discoveries are high and insist upon preventative work across sectors. It is a matter of greater vigilance on the part of parents and teachers to control the use of the internet by restricting excessive and harmful use and to teach young people to better manage their own consumption, as well as developing critical thinking skills and practicing for ethical and responsible use of what we access on the internet. Mental health professionals have a critical role in offering tailored interventions and support services to adolescents with increased susceptibility to mental health challenges in various platforms.
A Summary of at Least Two Debates on the Issue:
Social media and the damage it does to our youths is a complicated subject. On one hand, social media is a tool that introduces mainly unrealistic beauty standards and comparison culture at large as well as depression and especially the youth. Fans of this point of view refer to literally hundreds of studies in which more and more use of social media is linked to correspondingly more misery and everything from mildly contented moping to full-blown depression. Others argue that at least some social media can create supportive communities and emotional resources for otherwise isolated people, giving them a sense of community and social connection. This viewpoint points out the way forward for social media to foster good relationships and promote good mental health as deployed well.
Another hotly debated element is regulation. The report hopes to inspire calls for stronger regulation of these social media platforms to safeguard their content suitable for young people and to promote digital well-being. These include age-gating, moderation, and digital literacy training. Critics of strict regulation, though, say it would be one step closer to the government limiting free speech, and that more platform-specific moderation is both technically challenging and likely ineffective.
A Discussion of Reasons Why an Audience Should Care About the Problem:
Social media, an inescapable influence on global youth in the 21st century, has greater potential to damage mental health among teenagers than at any time in history. Indeed, these are the challenges that are best suited to being solved at the child level, through a creative and collaborative approach that brings together parents, educators, mental health professionals, and policymakers. Together, they are positioned to create safer digital spaces and empower young people to navigate social media waters that may otherwise put their mental health in an increasingly digital and connected world. Recognizing and addressing these issues is crucial to enabling us to build a more humane future for future generations.
Works Cited:
Auxier, B., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., & Turner, E. (2020). Teens, social media & technology 2020. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/08/14/teens-social-media-technology-2020/
Royal Society for Public Health. (2017). #StatusOfMind: Social media and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Retrieved from https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/status-of-mind.html
Twenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among U.S. adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3-17.
Moreno, M. A., & Whitehill, J. M. (2014). Influence of social media on alcohol use in adolescents and young adults. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews, 36(1), 91-100.
O’Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.
Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017). A large-scale test of the Goldilocks hypothesis: Quantifying the relations between digital-screen use and the mental well-being of adolescents. Psychological Science, 28(2), 204-215.
Radovic, A., Gmelin, T., Stein, B. D., & Miller, E. (2017). Depressed adolescents’ positive and negative use of social media. Journal of Adolescence, 55, 5-15.
Chou, H. T. G., & Edge, N. (2012). “They are happier and having better lives than I am”: The impact of using Facebook on perceptions of others’ lives. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(2), 117-121.
FROM THE 10 SOURCES at least have to be 5 scholarly and 2 multimodal
Rubrics: WR 2 Paper 1 Grading Rubric
WR 2 Paper 1 Grading Rubric
OTHER INSTRUCTIONS: 
WR 2H
Professor Carrie Goulding
Formal Paper #1: Definition of a Problem (150 points, 15%)
The purpose of this first paper is to describe and define a problem that is meaningful to you and to show your audience (our class) that this problem should be meaningful and relevant to them as well. This paper is the first stage of writing for the Research Paper (so the second and third papers will build on this same problem), as you can see here:
Formal Paper 1
Problem, Effects, Debates
8+ pages, 10+ sources
(month 1)
Your paper should cover these main topics, not necessarily in this order:
A complex definition of your problem;
A description of three specific effects of this problem on the lives of individuals; 
A summary of at least 2 debates on your issue made by key stakeholders (scholars, advocacy groups, organizations) interested in your problem;
A discussion of reasons why your audience should care about this problem.
Specific things to shoot for:
Show your audience (our class) that your issue is meaningful and important.
Show you’re really thinking about this problem through the critical evaluation of sources, ideas, and information.
Embrace complexity: identify the non-obvious, more difficult and hard-to-understand aspects of the problem.
Use credible sources appropriate for an academic context to support and develop your ideas.
Your organizational structure should clarify your information and ideas. 
Write a minimum of 8 pages, double spaced (not including the works cited).
Use a minimum of 10 sources (at least 5 scholarly and 2 multimodal) fully integrated into your paper. 
Format your document and cite your sources in a style that’s appropriate to the academic discipline of your topic. 
Use sources in each paragraph of the paper, including the introduction and conclusion.
Your writing should be easy to read and understand, using language and tone that reveals your voice and personality but that is appropriate to an academic context.
Criteria Ratings
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProblem Definition
Includes a complex definition of your problem, usually at least 2-3 pages
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeThree Specific Effects
Paper describes three specific effects of the problem on the lives of individuals
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomePaper summarizes two debates about the problem or its effects, using the strategies from They Say/I Say
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSo what? Who Cares?
The paper concludes with a discussion as to why the audience should care about the problem, using the strategies from They Say/I Say, “So what? Who cares?”
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeComplexity
Show you’re really thinking about this problem through the critical evaluation of sources, ideas, and information.
Identify the non-obvious, more difficult and hard-to-understand aspects of the problem.
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSources and Text Integration
Use credible sources appropriate for an academic context to support and develop your ideas. Use a minimum of eight sources (at least 4 scholarly and 2 multimodal) and fully integrate these sources into your paper using the strategies for framing quotes and summarizing discussed in They Say/I Say. Any information from a source, or any statement of fact, should be cited with an in-text citation (parenthetical). Use sources in each paragraph of the paper, including the introduction and conclusion.
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeOrganization
The paper begins with an introduction that captures the readers’ interest and includes concrete information. Paragraphs are less than a page long and are unified around one clear main idea. Paragraphs are connected to each other using the strategies from They Say/I Say.
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDocument and Citation Format
Format your document and cite your sources in a style that’s appropriate to the academic discipline of your topic. For most of you, this will be either MLA or APA format.
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeClarity, Style, Editing
Your writing should be easy to read and understand, using language and tone that reveals your voice and personality but that is appropriate to an academic context. Typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors should be addressed through proofreading.
Meets All
Meets Most
Meets Some
Does Not Meet

Working with data: 
–Try to find a newsworthy peg. When writing about the rise or fall of a particular name or category of names (gender-neutral names, non-English names, names based on sports figures, celebrities or fictional characters, etc.), tie that rise or fall to another phenomenon: a celebrity’s peak popularity, a blockbuster movie, decreasing number of Americans who identify as religious, a scandal involving someone with that name, etc.)
–But remember: Correlation is not causation! If you find that the proportion of babies who were named Franklin or Frank grew after the four terms (1933-1945) of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, you might be seeing the influence of a popular president on the choice of baby names. But there could be other explanations, such as media attention given to the 150th anniversary, in 1940, of the death of Benjamin Franklin. Your article could point out, with examples, that some presidents’ first names spike in popularity after the president’s term, but you cannot conclusively state that the popularity of those presidents actually caused the increase.  
–You must write about at least three names that illustrate your central point. For instance, if your story centers on the name Kobe, include the names of at least two other. well-known athletes. If you want to focus on the names Beyonce and Taylor, bring in at least one more comparable female singer. You may certainly use more than three names. 
–You may, or may not, find a trend. Either way, describe what you found and why it’s of interest. Using reliable sources to guide you, try to explain the WHY the best you can without overstating conclusions. 
–Make sure you cover more than the “2020 and later” years that the database defaults to. For instance, looking for my name, I clicked on “1900 and later”:
–If you want to emphasize how many or how few babies were given a particular name, go beyond the Social Security database’s basic rankings. Most of what the database does is rank names in popularity. But after clicking on a specific name, it will show the actual number of babies receiving a particular name in a particular year. In the 2000s, for example, the name John was most popular in 2001. That year, the number of newborn Johns was 18,900,which represents 0.914 percent of total male births in 2001. So almost 1% of all male babies were named John that year, which is a statistic that most readers can understand. While “Elon” made the top 1,000 in 2018, at a rank of 940, the actual (a/k/a “absolute”) number of Elon newborns that year was 222, which represents just 0.011% of total male births in 2018.
Sources in addition to the Social Security data base: 
You’ll need properly formatted quotes (direct or partial) from at least two sources. These will be sources you find through research (that is, you do not need to personally interview anyone for this assignment). As always, give credit to and LINK to any publications you quote or paraphrase.       
You may quote from as many sources as you like, but at least one source should come from an expert on names, cultural history, or languages that you find in a published article on a news site or a research paper.Search for them on Google, Google Scholar, or the Rutgers libraries. If you quote someone from something previously published, use this format: “TK QUOTE,” Rutgers lingusitics professor Sally Speaknow LINKtold the New York Times. So, you will both attribute the quote and link to it, usually on the verb of attribution, like “told” or “said.” 
Information or quotes may also come from a non-news site source, like Namerlogy, theBump.com or other baby-naming sites. For direct links to these sites, see this, from 2 Ideas for a piece on baby names:
Sources: The Social Security Administration’s baby names dataset, and for background on those names and more, check out TheBump.com/baby-namesLinks to an external site. (and its list of listsLinks to an external site. of names and origins of namesLinks to an external site., from African to Sanskrit to Vietnamese and more!) Scroll through Pampers baby namesLinks to an external site., sorted into gender-neutral, short, vintage, flower, international and many more categories of names. As if that’s not enough, there’s a wealth of name info on Nameberry.comLinks to an external site. andLinks to an external site.aband Namerology.comLinks to an external site.. 
The writing:
–5Ws: Whether you’re writing data journalism or a hard news story, you still need the 5Ws and How. WHAT (the name and rankings), WHEN (the years or decades), WHERE (the U.S. and possibly different states or countries). The WHY may be the most interesting: WHY Liam and Olivia now? WHY more gender-neutral or unisex names? WHY Luna but not Hermione? Because correlation isn’t causation, you can’t know the exact cause for any one name’s popularity, but you can entertain cultural or historical reasons and quote others who may speculate. You never want to say that A “proves” B, but you may use honest “hedge” words, like indicate, possible, might, may have contributed to, may have influenced, etc. 
–Your story must be accurate and well organized, and use concise language. Remember: everything in the story should relate to your central point.
Your story must include these key elements:
1) A headline. A subhead is optional. Neither will be included in the word count.
2) A photo or a chart/graph at the top. You can use the snip tool to show the pertinent Social Security dataset page. 
3) A lead:
You may use a summary lead, maybe on the light-hearted side. For instance: 
How many people named Liam or Olivia do you know? You’re likely to meet many more over the next few decades. Liam has been the number-one boy’s name since 2017 and Olivia joined his ranks as the top girl’s name two years later, according to the Social Security Administration’s ranking of names given to babies born in 2023.
Or, you may use an anecdotal lead (I’m completely making this up):
Karen Thompson of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was 40 years old when she seriously considered legally changing her first name to Karine. She never did–changing names was “a legal hassle out of hell,” she said. But she isn’t the only Karen who’s wanted to scrub away her name ever since being “a Karen” became synonymous with an entitled, racist white lady.
4) After the lead, stick more or less to an inverted pyramid structure, starting with the most important facts and statistics from the Social Security database and continuing in reverse order of importance. Remember, you must credit and link to the Social Security database.
5) Use short paragraphs: one idea per paragraph and no more than one or two sentences per graf.  
6) Write concisely: Your piece should be filled with info, data, and ideas–NOT with unnecessary words. That means: no filler; no redundancies; no repetitive words, phrases, or ideas; and virtually no passive-voice constructions. Apply everything you learned on concise writing in Chapter 3. The more you re-read your work, the more you’ll notice unnecessary words. Then you’ll have that much more fun getting rid of them! 😉 
7) Use at least SEVEN statistics or data points, based on rankings: TK NAME rose (or fell) from TK RANK in TK YEAR to TK RANK in TK YEAR. When useful, you may use percentages (nearly 1% of all boys born in the U.S. in 2018 were named John) and/or absolute numbers. Since you’ll be covering at least three names, you will probably exceed the seven required data points.
7) Use proper AP style for grammar, punctuation, capitalization, numbers, dates, and spelling. When in doubt, check the AP Stylebook, Appendix B in the textbook, or Google: What is AP Style for TK? 

Discussion #2 consists of 2 parts.
1) As we continue reading Rodriguez’s autobiography Hunger of Memory and identify evidence from the text to support a specific argument on the more significant influence of “advantage” or “adversity” on his “academic success,” in Discussion #2 we will want to consider the autobiography itself as a form of evidence.  In what way, then, is the very production of Hunger of Memory evidence of Rodriguez’s “academic success?” In other words, how can the fact (of the text’s written production) help to support your argument on the main source of Rodriguez’s “academic success” – whether it is more the result of advantage or adversity?
2) It is also important that as we prepare the Persuasive Argument Essay we share both what our (1) argumentative position is as well as provide (2) cited evidence from the autobiography in support of this position. Therefore, what has turned-out to be your argumentative position on our Persuasive Argument Essay question: in Hunger of Memory, would you say that Richard Rodriguez’s “academic success” is portrayed more as the result of advantage or adversity? Cite at least 2 examples from the autobiography in support of your argument. (It is encouraged that you discuss 2 examples that you intend to discuss in your Persuasive Argument Essay.)