In this project, you will analyze three readings about the pros and cons of social media use. After reading, you will complete an organizer to discuss each readings use of facts and opinions, as well as evidence to support the authors main points. You will then summarize your findings and recommend social media use for businesses in a written report. Determining an authors main argument, telling the difference between fact and opinion, and using that information to come to your conclusions are all valuable skills you will use throughout life.
Scenario
You work for Acme Widget Company, a business that sells products including toys, games, bicycles, sporting goods, and footwear. Acme Widget is based out of a small store in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Over the past 10 years, the company has expanded its business model to include online sales. In that time, the companys sales more than doubled and its customer base went from local to international.
Acme Widget company logo
Because of the companys online success, Acmes founder, Winnie Widget, is considering using social media to grow Acmes brand. At the same time, she has some concerns about social media.
For example, she knows that one of Acme Widgets rival companies, Whacky Widgets, Inc., recently dealt with some public scrutiny. Its CEO had been using his social media accounts to broadcast his controversial opinions and share fake news from unreliable sources.
After witnessing the other companys controversy, Winnie Widget has asked for your guidance. In the past, she avoided using social media for fear of embarrassing herself or the company publicly. But she has also heard that social media has benefits for businesses. With the recent growth in the companys online business, she needs to decide whether social media would be helpful for Acme Widget.
She would like you to review some articles about the topic to learn more.
Directions
Part One: Read Actively
The founder of Acme, Winnie Widget, has asked you to review three texts that she has been too busy to read. These texts explain the risks and benefits related to social media. Winnie needs to decide whether she should embrace social media use for the company, or she should avoid it altogether.
A customer shopping online using a laptop
As you read the articles, shes asked you to keep track of your thoughts by taking notes and using other active reading techniques. Read each of the three articles several times, and use the organizer from the What to Submit section to guide your thinking about each one.
Part Two: Report on Your Findings
Once you have completed the organizer, summarize your findings for Winnie Widget in a report (500750 words). Be sure to cover the following topics:
Your reading process and opinion:
What was your opinion of this topic before you started reading? Has your opinion changed after reading these articles? Explain why or why not.
What new information have you learned about this topic?
After reading each text, did you find that you agreed with any of the authors more than the others? Why or why not?
Form and use of evidence in the articles:
How did the authors use evidence to support their positions? In your opinion, which author did this most effectively?
How did each authors choice of form, including the medium and genre of each piece, affect your reading?
A final recommendation for Acme Widget:
Based on your analysis, do you think Acme Widget should use social media? Make a recommendation and support it with evidence from at least one of the articles you read.
Submit your organizer and report brief as your deliverables for this project.
What to Submit
Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:
Organizer
Answer the first two questions in this organizer before and after you have read each text. Then answer the other questions for each reader. Submit your completed organizer as one of your deliverables for this project.
Report (500-750 words)
Summarize your findings for Winnie Widget in a written report.
Supporting Materials
The following resources will help support your work on the project:
Resource Instructions
Using techniques for active reading, read each of these texts several times. As you read, be sure to consider each authors main ideas, their use of evidence to support their ideas, their choice of form, and the context for the text.
Reading: The Social Executive: How to Master Social Media and Why It’s Good for Business, Chapters 1 and 2
Reading: The Real Risks of Fake News
Reading: Misinformation on Social Media: Can Technology Save Us?
thanks
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