Page 124 - Keys To Community College Success

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THINKING ANALYTICALLY ABOUT MONEY

Complete the following on paper or in digital format.
Analyzing potential purchases helps you decide whether the pros outweigh the cons. To practice, write down your thoughts
on three potential purchases and their consequences. Use this format: “If I buy [fill in the blank] for [$ amount], I will be
able to [whatever this purchase will allow you to do] but I won’t [whatever sacrifice you will have to make because of the
expenditure].”
Here is an example to get you started:
If I buy the latest iPhone for $299, I will be able to access the Internet, take videos, and store music and photos,
but I won’t have money for my sociology books, and I won’t be able to buy coffee every morning.

KEY 4.3 Different articles may present different
perspectives on the same topic.

Topic: How teens’ grades are affected by Internet use
STATEMENT BY STATEMENT BY A PR STATEMENT BY A PROFESSOR
A TEACHING AGENT FOR AN INTERNET SPECIALIZING IN NEW MEDIA
ORGANIZATION SEARCH ENGINE AND EDUCATION

“Too much Internet use “The Internet use allows students “The effects of the Internet on
equals failing grades and access to a plethora of information, young students are undeniable and
stolen papers.” which results in better grades.” impossible to overlook.”

After the questions: What information is most useful to you?
You’ve examined your information, looking at its evidence, its validity, its perspective,
and any underlying assumptions. Now, based on that examination, you evaluate
whether an idea or piece of information is important or unimportant, relevant or not,
strong or weak, and why. You then set aside what is not useful and use the rest to form
an opinion, possible solution, or decision.
In preparing your paper on young teens and the Internet, for example, you’ve ana-
lyzed a selection of information and materials to see how they applied to the goal of your
paper. You then selected what you believe will be most useful, in preparation for drafting.

Make Connections
The last part of analytical thinking is when, after you have broken information apart,
you find new and logical ways to connect pieces together. This step is crucial for research
papers and essays because it is where your original ideas are born, and it is also where
your creative skills get involved (more on that in the next section). When you begin to
write, you focus on your new ideas, supporting them effectively with information
you’ve learned from your analysis. Here are some ways to make connections.
Compare and contrast. Look at how ideas are similar to, or different from, each
other. You might explore how different young teen subgroups (boys vs. girls, for exam-
ple) have different purposes for setting up pages on sites such as Facebook or creating
Twitter handles.

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