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Critical Thinking Guide
1. What is the purpose of the article? Why did the author write it?
The purpose of this article is to persuade readers to be cautious of what they post on social media. The
author wrote this article to perhaps save someone from rejection to their dream school and to
encourage responsibility and maturity when using social media.
2. What are the sources of information the author uses in this piece? How reliable are these sources?
The author uses a parent of a student, which can be reliable. However, one parent’s viewpoint cannot
represent every parent so there is a bias. The author also used another biased source, a person with her
master’s degree who conducted a survey of 144 colleges within 150 miles of Chicago, which cannot
accurately represent an entire population of the United States. Another source used is from specific
universities saying whether or not they check applicants’ social media accounts, which is more reliable
because it is specific to certain schools.
3. What questions does the author raise in this essay/article? What are some of the complexities of
these questions?
Do universities check applicants’ social media pages? If so, does checking the social media accounts
affect whether or not a student is admitted into that university? Complexities of the questions would be
that there is not one set answer. Some universities do check social media, others do not. Some check
social media but would not deny someone admission because of content on their social media, whereas
other universities would. The answers to these questions are relative and it is important to find the
answer specific to a school you personally want to attend to know whether or not you should worry
about what you post on social media.
4. What point of view is being represented? Can you briefly identify points of view that might aid in
understanding this issue at hand?
The point of view used is first person. However, it would be more convincing if it was told from a nonopinionated view.
5. What are some assumptions presented by the author? How would one combat these assumptions?
The author assumes that most universities care about what people post on social media, and he is
clearly finding sources that support his argument the most, rather than equally showing both sides of
the situation. It could be combatted by finding sources proving that many universities do not check
social media accounts of applicants.