Wednesday, January 22, 2014

My shoe is my cell phone--excuse me


So--once upon a time, a man DID talk into his shoe when he had to make a phone call. Well...it was a matter of National Security: he was Secret Agent Maxwell Smart!

Hello, Chief?

If I had to write a paper for...a communications class, a business class, a sociology class, a public speaking class, or maybe an English class!...and the assignment was about the pros and cons of cell phones, this is what I'd use:

Cell phones: smart technology or thought-control tool

In the old TV series Get Smart, cell phones are a powerful and vital tool in the war against secret agents—even if the phone is in a shoe. Even a real spy needs a reliable cell phone—and so do many people. Having one can make a world of difference for best sales, navigation, weather, and entertainment—but create challenges and options. There are health risks involved in using them, and most people do not realize that they have lost simple mental and social knowledge by relying on an electronic device.  Access and use of a cell phone have become routine for almost everyone—but with a price that may take away more than the user realizes.
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Okay then: I've found a good working thesis and also made the idea into my title. Then I have several options for topic sentences that I can extract and resubmit in paragraphs to build my paper. And note how I've used a classic role model from society/archetype: the "Secret Agent" image, even if it is a comedy TV show. 

The topic sentence themes are 
(1) best sales opportunities that can be found with a cell phone, 
(2) navigation assistance while driving, 
(3) weather alerts,  
(4) finding out who's where and what's hot for fun with friends, 
(5) health risk alerts: keeping a phone too close to the body (and head), 
(6) people can't do simple math skills without a cell phone/calculator!, 
(7) lack of social etiquette and manners while using a cell phone. 

(And I didn't even include the dangers of texting and driving. Nor did I mention the issue of cell phones in school. For that matter, what do you think of my idea of assigning guilty-in-class-time cell phone users some extra work?)

I would suggest doing BOTH pro/con sides in a paper like this because it shows better research as well. 

Now, for some research material, I would use...and there's certainly more available in other places!

Link #1
Link #2
Link #3

And the paper should pretty much flow on its own. After all, if you've taken up this assignment or given it to a class, EVERYONE has a cell phone these days, it seems!

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