English Discussion

Analyze and discuss Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”
Prompt 1: First, do the following exercise, which is adapted from Ruszkiewicz’s A Reader’s Guide to College Writing. Write a 1-2 paragraph report that summarizes Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by using the following techniques recommended by Ruszkiewicz:

Quote from Carr’s article at least twice, being certain to include appropriate signal phrases and verbs of attribution.
Include an ellipsis mark in at least one of the quotations to shorten it. In other words, quote a lengthy passage and pare it down carefully to make it more pertinent to readers.
Use brackets to add pertinent information to a quotation. You might add a date, an author’s first name, an explanatory phrase, and so on.
Introduce ideas from Carr’s article at least twice, acknowledging the borrowing, but not quoting from the material directly. Be sure that readers realize that you are paraphrasing Carr.

Prompt 2: Now that you have read and summarized Carr’s position, respond in 1-2 paragraphs. Use any or all of the following questions as guides to response:

What did you think of Carr’s article, in general? 
Which of Carr’s points strike you as correct, and why?
Which of Carr’s claims do you disagree with, and why?
What has been your own experience with the Internet and online reading? Do Carr’s examples resonate with you? 
Does Carr make any claims that seem unsupported or untested? If so, how would you test them?
What aspects of the subject need further exploration?
What does Carr’s article remind you of? Have you encountered any similar texts? Have you had similar conversations with friends or family?