Gossling Sample Outline
Cell Phones Do More Harm Than Good
I. Introduction Thesis Statement: Cellular phones have served to damage people’s written communication skills, increase the likelihood of traffic accidents, and have been proven to increase the risk of brain cancer. II. Effects of cell phones on social skills A. Written communication i. Texting is dependent on a limited number of characters ii. Students shorten the words to fit in more content, causing a change in standard writing B. Spoken Communication i. After text writing becomes common in students, text speaking is more likely to develop ii. Edutopia (George Lucas Foundation) survey of educators to show affects of texting in school writing III. Effects of cell phones on driving/pedestrians A. Speaking on the Phone i. Driving while talking to a car’s passenger can be distracting enough for young drivers, without including a cell phone in the mix ii. Using a cell phone while driving is proven to be just as bad as drunk driving B. Texting i. Texing while driving is even more distracting, often requires using two hands, and increases the likelihood of accidents ii. As texting is becoming the more dominant way of using a cell phone, it is often preferred over calling-even while driving IV. Conclusion
**** REMINDERS: every “A” needs a “B” – you should not have only one piece of information under a given heading keep the formatting the same – if you use “verb phrases,” continue to use them throughout watch your punctuation (or use phrases so you don’t need punctuation at all!)