1. Thompson: Initial Questions
- What did you find most interesting, surprising or useful in Thompson’s text?
- Did parts of the argument connect to your own experience? Did any parts of the text seem at odds with your experience?
- On page 47 Thompson describes the “foaming Niagara” of online writing. This consists of A) emails, B) tweets, C) blog posts, D) comments on blog posts, E) fanfiction, F) discussion boards, G) comments on newspapers or other web sites, H) wiki posts, I) Facebook posts, J) text messages.
-How many of these forms of writing have you created? (and how often)
-Are there other forms of online writing you compose that are not listed?
- What are some questions you have about the text, or questions you would like to ask the author? Are there parts of the text you would like to know more about?
- Did this text change or expand the way you think about writing, and the possibilities of writing online? If it did, explain.
- Where do you find yourself most in agreement, and where least in agreement with Thompson? (Think also of any other texts you have read that present claims that illustrate, echo, complicate or disagree with Thompson)
2. Close Reading: the Okolloh Story
Thompson’s book is an example of creative non-fiction. It draws on academic research, but “translates’ this research to make it accessible and interesting to a general audience. He also draws on personal anecdotes, stories and case studies. Most chapters feature an “anchor story” or “paradigm case.” An “anchor story” is designed to prepare the reader for his main claims, put a human face on an issue, draw his readers in, and elicit interest.
Re-read pages 45-46 and 61-63. How does the Okolloh story set up/illustrate Thompson’s main claims, put a human face on issues, draw his readers in, and elicit interest? Consider word choice, the elements of the story Thompson selects, and connections to T’s main claims.
3. Thompson: Claims & Evidence
In groups, find all elements of the text that seem to be claims. Sketch each claim and describe the main kinds of evidence used to support the claim (if Thompson provides no evidence for the claim, note this).
- 46-52 (from “The internet has produced a foaming Niagara….” to “It crystallizes your thought”)
- 52-58 (from “The explosion of online writing ha a second aspect that is even more important…” to “…a key part of the reform process.”
- 58-66 (from “Once thinking is public…” to “…credit that we hack it back into any system that comes along.”)
- 66-70 (from Stanford University English Professor Andrea Lunsford…” to “they’d understand more about why material gets left out of a piece-or left in it.”
- 70 – 77 (“Wikipedia has already…” to “on open-ended discussion boards.”)
- 77-82 (“Clearly, public speech can be enormously valuable…” to end.)
4. What is Different? What Makes Online Writing Successful?
Thompson suggests we are seeing new kinds of reading and writing emerging – what does he claim is new and distinctive? Thompson gives us hints throughout the chapter that successful online writing has a number of characteristics that are different from traditional, print-based writing. What are these characteristics?
5. How does Thompson Use (Rhetorical) Questions?
Questions and question-answer pairs are often used by authors to a) present a claim, b) signal a new topic or create cohesion between paragraphs, c) advance a rebuttal (counterargument and refutation), d) create interest/dramatic tension, e) create a conversational tone and a connection with the reader.
What is Thompson doing in the examples below?
47: “How much writing is that, precisely? Well, doing an extraordinarily crude back-of-the-napkin calculation…”
48: “Is any of this writing any good? Well, that depends on your standards, of course…”
49: “What about the glorious age of letter writing? The reality doesn't match our fond nostalgia for it..”
51: “So how is all this writing changing our cognitive behavior?”
55: “The results? The children who solved the puzzles silently did worst of all.”
59: “Why would the same ideas occur to different people at the same time? Ogburn and Thomas argued…”
63: “The existence of multiples-the knowledge that people out there are puzzling over the same things you are-is enormously exciting if you're trying to solve a problem or come to an epiphany. But if you're trying to make money? Then multiples can be a real problem. Because in that case you're trying to stake a claim to ownership, to being the first to think of something.”
66: “And as for all those benighted texting short forms, like LOL, that have supposedly metastasized in young people's formal writing?” Mostly nonexistent.”
69: “Clearly, public speech can be enormously valuable. But what about the stuff that isn't? What about the repellent public speech?”
69: “How do we end this type of abuse? Alas, we probably can't”
72: “This works with artificial thinking tools, too. Spent too much time babbling online? Go find a quiet corner and read. Spent a ton of time working quietly alone? Go bang your ideas against other people online.”
74: “Why do question sites produce such outpourings of answers? It's because the format is a clever way of encouraging people to formalize and share knowledge.”
79: “What exactly do you call what Coates is doing, this mix of persuasion, listening, and good hosting, like someone skillfully tending bar? A few years ago, three Internet writers and thinkers-Deb Schultz, Heather Gold, and Kevin Mark-brainstormed on what to label it.”
81: “What tools will create new forms of public thinking in the years to come?
6. Evaluation – Strengths and Weaknesses
What are some of Thompson’s main strengths and weaknesses? Are some claims overstated? Does he leave things out? How well has the argument aged (it was published in 2013)?
7. How Can We Extend, Develop, Draw on or “Operationalize” Thompson?