For this assignment, you will focus on a case, and complete the first three steps of the critical thinking process: 1) Identification, 2) Research, and 3) Analysis. First, read the Guardian Article: ” Original Papers

For this assignment, you will focus on a case, and complete the first three steps of the critical thinking process: 1) Identification, 2) Research, and 3) Analysis.

First, read the Guardian Article: “Social media bans for teens: Australia has passed one, should other countries follow suit?”: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/feb/22/social-media-bans-for-teens-australia-has-passed-one-should-other-countries-follow-suitLinks to an external site. (Note, a Washington Post article was previously posted. It stopped working for some of the class, so it was replaced with this one. If you already have been using the WaPo article, you may continue to do so for the assignments in the subsequent assignments.)

Follow the Sample Format: Identification, Research, Analysis, and submit to this Assignment using MLA formatting.

Complete this assignment by following the sample format above.  You will complete the first three steps of the critical thinking model:

Identification (one sentence in bold print) 

• State the main ethical/moral issue in question format: Should ______? or What should ______?
• Be impartial
• Write just one issue, not two; so, do not use the word “or.”

Research (bulleted list)

List three topics that would be appropriate to research regarding this case and what you identified as the main ethical issue. Suppose you were the person named in the main ethical issue, and you had to make a decision about the main ethical issue, what facts would you want to discover to help you make a better decision, and where would you find those facts? You do not need to actually complete the research; just list the three specific topics you would research, and discuss why you chose these topics.  What would you like to discover? Three distinctly different topics are required.

Analysis (chart)

Complete the analysis chart to include:

• at least four of the best options and four of the most vulnerable/most impacted stakeholders.
• Stakeholders are people or a business/entity that represents people.  A stakeholder cannot be a thing such as a friendship or a reputation.
• All options must be in the control of the central person named in the main ethical issue. For example, if the issue is Should Jack report, Jill?  The first option could be -Jack could report Jill’s stealing to the boss. There are probably many more than 4 options but choose the 4 best options. All options should be reasonable ones that the person named in the main ethical issue could choose to make their decision. For example, you could NOT use, Jill could turn herself into the boss because Jill is not the central person named in the main ethical issue. Again, choose the best options that could resolve the ethical issue.
• Once you have four options and four stakeholders filled in, complete the chart with possible consequences; briefly explain how you believe each stakeholder may be affected by each option. For example, for the option – Jack could report Jill, a possible consequence for Jack, as one of the stakeholders, is that Jack could become a victim of Jill’s scorn. For Jill, as one of the stakeholders, a possible consequence is that Jill could lose her job.

Helpful Hints:

How to Create a Chart:

• In MS Word click on the INSERT tab
• Click on Table
• Create a 5 x 5 Table if you have 4 options and 4 stakeholders.  As you write in the squares the chart will expand to support your writingInclude at least 4 stakeholders and 4 options

Assignment Rules

• Use MLA Formatting. Double-space the entire document. Adjust all font color/style/size to black Times New Roman 12 pt. Put the heading in the upper left corner of the first page; include your name, the professor’s name, the course name, and the date. Use the document header to display your last name and page number in the upper right corner of each page. Put the “Works Cited” on the last page, and the total word count at the end of the document.
• Attach your submission in the proper Microsoft Word format .doc or .docx
• Review your Originality Report.

Assignment Grading CriteriaAssignment Grading CriteriaCriteriaRatingsPointsSubmissionFollows directions, well written, original, meets length requirements, and answers the specific question(s) asked by using examples from the assigned item(s). Proper format. Submitted timely and correctly.40 ptsFollows most directions, NOT well written, does not meet length requirements, or does not fully answer the specific question(s). Proper format. Submitted timely and correctly.30 ptsDoes NOT follow most directions, does not meet length requirements, partially answers the specific question(s) and/or not well written. Proper format. Submitted timely and correctly.20 ptsDoes NOT follow most directions, does not meet length requirements, partially answers the specific question(s) and/or not well written. Proper format. Submitted timely and correctly.20 ptsDoes not follow the directions or does not answer the specific question(s). No submission, no timely submission, no correct submission, and/or no original submission.0 pts