In this essay, Professor Rothenberg discusses the decline in the quality of student writing and research papers that he has observed in recent semesters. He attributes this decline to students' overreliance on the internet and websites for research, rather than books and other sources available in libraries. Students are copying and pasting information without properly citing sources, using outdated information, and not demonstrating original thoughts or analysis in their work. While new technologies provide easy access to information, Professor Rothenberg believes students and teachers need to encourage developing critical thinking skills through careful research, reading, and synthesizing various sources.

1. How the Web Destroys the Quality of Students
Research Paper
- DavidRothenberg
In this essay Prof. Rothenberg has showed the
harmful effects of the use of internet especially for the
students. The writer has claimed that plagiarism (copying)
has lost the sense of originality. In fact his experience
with the last semester students clarify that the students
were eager to download the materials without mentioning
their sources.
For the ever growing use of the web, the students
themselves aren’t fully responsible because the
universities themselves teach the students,” Don’t read,
just connect”. Instead of searching the materials in the
libraries, it is easy for the studentsto cut and paste.
The university teachers must be friendly with the
students and they must encourage the students to read
books from the libraries and consult the related journals
when the teachers give pressure to the students they are
likely to download the materials form the web that helps
them to secured a good grade and avoid the pressure of
the teacher.
It is also necessary that libraries must be made up-to-
date. It is better to invest on buying book than spending so
much money for computer.

2. Or
In this essay, he discusses the recent decline he’s
noticed in the quality of his students’ writing, critical
thinking and originality due to their increasing reliance on
the World Wide Web as a research tool. In addition to
outlining the Educational hazards of the World Wide
Web, he stresses the responsibility of teachers to help
develop students’ critical thinking ability, including the
hard work of reading closely, working through arguments
and assessing and synthesizing sources.
In the past before the arrival of World Wide Web, he
could read and evaluate students’ research paper with
their own ideas and thoughts that came up after his
guidance and classroom discuss. But this semester, he
finds students’ research papers declining in both the
quality of writing and the originality of thoughts.
In the past, he could read research papers which
students made after they studied many books, consulted
teachers, experts and concerned people and visited field.
They were the result of students’ careful study, hard work
and under the guidance of their teachers or experts.
But in recent days, in students’ research papers, he
finds bibliography with no books or books containing

3. outdated information. There are beautiful pictures and
graph neatly inserted in their papers, they look impressive
as if they were the outcome of careful work and analysis,
however they are the cut and paste from World Wide
Web, they contain nothing that represent students’ own
idea, thought and analysis; furthermore, the pictures and
graphs inserted have no or little relation to the subject
described. They add unattributed quotations and only the
information that are available on the net.
Rothenberg is not against the new technology that
provides instant information but opposes the hunt-and-
peck method of writing paper. He also claims that the
decline in the quality of students’ research papers is not
only the fault of the students and www but also the fault
of teachers. Stressing on the fact that it is better to rely on
books, library and other reliable source for originality and
critical thinking, he wants teachers to be aware of such
new arrivals in the market.
DavidRothenberg’s major criticisms:
While writing research papers using the World Wide
Web, studentshave:

4. -declined the quality of writing, critical thinking and
originality of thoughts,
-used outdated sources that consist of articles and Web
links but not in depth commentaries found in books.
-used graphs that look impressive but often bear little
relation to the paper topic.
-used random, superficial research methods avoiding
careful, analytical and logical work and synthesis of
sources.
-increased plagiarism and neglected the use of library.
-become lazy and inattentive.
Opposingview
Richard Cummins in his letter to the editor suggests
that Rothenberg overemphasizes the influence of World
Wide Web and falls to the common misleading notion of
blaming the medium instead of the ways it is used. He
says that World Wide Web provides an opportunity for
students to reflect on topics that are relevant to their
academic success including the nature of critical thinking,
information against knowledge, plagiarism and locating

5. evaluating and documenting library and web
sources. Www is a recent arrival as a source. We should
teach our students the strategies how to use it and take it
just as a tool.