Video games are harmful – argumentative essay

Video games are harmful – argumentative essay

Getting Started With Critical Thinking
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Thinking About Question at Issue
A week later, Susan still hasn’t found regular work, but she continues to apply. She has picked up a couple of
shifts here and there, but not enough to pay the bills. Her mother agrees to pay her rent, but demands that
Susan do chores in return. Being without a job takes more time than having a job.
Her phone rings, interrupting her job search at the staffing agency.
“Ms. Maxwell, this is Lieutenant Ed Kowalski of the Riverbend City Police. We’ve arrested your son, Joe, for
threatening the clerk at Wholesale Shoes.”
Susan texts her mother with the news. Then she explains the situation to her new friends. Her mother texts
back that she needs to go bail Joe out immediately.
“Do you have a way to get money for bail?” Christy asks.
“Will you be safe with Joe if you bail him out tonight?” Mike asks.
“Do you have a lawyer to get advice from?” Juan asks.
“I think the question is what’s right for Joe,” Susan says.
“Bail him out but tell him he needs to get a job and repay you,” Juan says.
“Or you could ask your mom to put up the bail; she’s the one who wants him out,” Christy says.
Susan thinks about it. She doesn’t have the money to bail Joe out, and she doesn’t have anything to put up as
collateral for a loan—even the car is in her mother’s name. Although the others seem to think she should bail
out her son, Susan decides to leave him in jail.
Looking Ahead

This week, we begin our look at critical thinking. As you complete your work, think of Susan’s experience. What
stage of thought do you think she is in? From what you learn about critical thinking, what advice could you offer
Susan?
TO DO LIST:
Discussion: Chose one option to respond to this week.
What You Need to Know: Explore resources related to purpose in writing and critical thinking, including a selfassessment
to help you determine your level of critical thinking.
Plan: Review Week 6 assignment requirements and resources to support your work, including building a thesis
statement and setting up your paper.
Review: Track your progress this week by visiting the Achievement Board.
Discussion Overview
Each discussion in this course has three options which may apply readings, use new skills, reflect on how
content applies to you, or give you an opportunity to talk about what interests you most. You will choose one to
respond to each week.
What You Need to Know
This week we move from skills to have in college to learning how to think critically-a crucial aspect of a college
education. The first step to becoming a critical thinker is to be honest with yourself about where you are in your
development. After that, we’ll explore the first steps to take for your week 6 assignment, where you’ll put your
new critical thinking skills to work.
Critical Thinking
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2012). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life (3rd ed.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Chapter 1: Becoming a Fair-minded Thinker.
Complete the short assessment, “What Stage of Thought Are You In?,” to help you determine your current
level of critical thinking. Be honest and thoughtful in your answers to achieve the best results from this
assessment. You will complete this assessment again in Week 10 to measure your progress in critical thinking
from this course experience.
Purpose in Writing
There’s a purpose behind everything you write. Are you trying to inform or
persuade? What do you want your reader to do with the information?
Read Focus and Intent to follow steps of finding your purpose in writing, including an opportunity to practice
those steps.
APA Style
Review the Direct Quotations and Paraphrasing page on the Learn tab of Academic Writer on how to handle
paraphrasing and quotations in APA style. Additional guidance on APA style is found on the APA Help page in
the companion HELP site.
Plan: Week 6 Assignment
PLAN: WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT
As you become familiar with this week’s resources, take a moment to review the requirements for the Week 6
assignment so that you’re aware of how all of these pieces will come together to support your work. Then, use
the Assignment Calculator to see the steps and a recommended schedule for your assignment’s paper.
Sources to Construct Your Paper

The following articles are provided for you to use in your week 6 assignment. You may go use the Capella
Library if you wish, but you are not required. Reading these articles will help you to start formulating knowledge
for constructing your argument that supports your stance on the topic of violence in video games.
If you’re taking the stance that video games are not harmful to children, refer to the following resources,
reading the discussion section of each:
Harrington, B., & O’Connell, M. (2016). Video games as virtual teachers: Prosocial video game use by children
and adolescents from different socioeconomic groups associated with increased empathy and prosocial
behavior. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 650–658.
Lobel, A., Engels, R. C. M. E., Stone, L. L., & Granic, I. (2019). Gaining a competitive edge: Longitudinal
associations between children’s competitive video game playing, conduct problems, peer relations, and
prosocial behavior. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(1), 76–87.
Verheijen, G. P., Stoltz, S. E. M. J., van den Berg, Y. H. M., & Cilleson, A. H. N. (2019). The influence of
competitive and cooperative video games on behavior during play and friendship quality in adolescence.
Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 297–304.
Wang, B., Taylor, L., & Sun, Q. (2018). Families that play together stay together: Investigating family bonding
through video games. New Media & Society, 20(11), 4074–4094.
If you’re taking the stance that video games are harmful to children, refer to the following resources, reading
the discussion section of each:
Chang, J. H., & Bushman, B. J. (2019). Effect of exposure to gun violence in video games on children’s
dangerous behavior with real guns: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 2(5), 1–11.
Coyne, S. M., Warburton, W. A., Essig, L. W., & Stockdale, L. A. (2018). Violent video games, externalizing
behavior, and prosocial behavior: A five-year longitudinal study during adolescence. Developmental
Psychology, 54(10), 1868–1880.
Dowsett, A., & Jackson, M. (2019). The effect of violence and competition within video games on aggression.
Computers in Human Behavior, 99, 22–27.
Greitemeyer, T. (2018). The spreading impact of playing violent video games on aggression. Computers in
Human Behavior, 80, 216–219.
Shao, R., & Wang, Y. (2019). The relation of violent video games to adolescent aggression: An examination of
moderated mediation effect. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1–9.

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