Argumentative Essay

Sentence Outline
Topic: The increased dependence on technology has diminished our critical thinking
skills. Argue for or against.
Purpose: To persuade the reader that our increased dependence on technology has
diminished our critical thinking skills
Audience: The general public
Thesis Statement: The increased dependence on technology has eroded our critical thinking
skills, we have replaced our quest for knowledge with ready-made
information, even university graduates spend a great deal of time on
technological devices instead of engaging in activities that stimulate
critical thinking and there is a greater reliance on technology for problem
solving instead of engaging our critical thinking skills for possible solutions.

1. We go straight to technology and access the ready-made information when there is a quest

for knowledge.
A. In several cases we turn to the internet for knowledge instead of searching our minds.
B. We often later find out we already knew all that we failed to unhurt from our minds.
C. According to a research done by FACTTANK in 2019, only 10% of Americans do not use
the internet to find information.
11. University graduates whose critical thinking skills should be sharp spend a great deal of
retrieving information from the internet instead of using their critical thinking skills.
A. One who has university level education should be less dependent on technology.
B. Many university graduates find it difficult to function without technology.
C. According to Wolbert (2009), “technology plays an important role in our lives; however,
skills such as critical thinking and analysis have been declining.”
111. The dependence on technology for problem solving has grown to a high level.
A. Critical thinking is a way of approaching problems to arrive at possible solutions.
B. The use of critical thinking for problem solving will remove the use of technology as
scaffolding for problem solving.
C. According to Patricia Greenfield, UCLA professor of psychology and director of
Children’s Digital Media Center, children’s critical thinking skills are getting worse
as they turn to Google to try and solve every problem.
14. Counterargument: Many people of today’s society are of the opinion that technology is a blessing
in this twenty first century since it makes our lives more comfortable and easier.

A. For some technology is the greatest invention since creation as it allows us to access materials

in just minutes.

B. Technology has changed our society. There is no denying that 20 years ago everything was
different – the way we communicated and how we went about our business.

(Bilal Mehmood, 2017).

Refutation: Nevertheless, this blessing has pushed our minds into a state of dormancy.

A. People have become lazy and have reduced thinking to just the push of a button.

B. Since the invention of technology our brains are no longer stimulated to think and analyse.

C. “Technology has become a crutch that is diminishing our kids’ critical thinking skills, this is quite

troublesome since critical thinking is the foundation of education and an essentional skill for

survival and success. ( Sandi Schwartz, Freelance Writer, Psychology Today).