Synthesis Paper
Copy of Assignment Details:
MLA Format
Synthesis Paper (Due 11/29)
Synthesis is the art of merging the information of two or more sources AND adding your point of view! Yes, it is much like the Compare/Contrast structure in that we usually “synthesize” two sources at once. The difference is that we are not just comparing and contrasting, but ADDING our point of view. Your brainstorming lists of comparison from last week are a great start. You might have found that Baker and Adler both talked about the importance of things in the margins (one literal and one metaphorical). In the Synthesis paper now, ADD something that exists in the margins of your life that is important to your education. Maybe you help your little sister with her grammar homework, and that helps you be a better college student! Be creative. Remember to ADD your view or experience RIGHT AFTER the comparison!!
Example:
Think of our work (the Steven Assignments) as the high school administrator who has to decide whether or not to expel a student. We didn’t just have one source to ANALYZE, but many. When we took evidence from the sources and applied our own points of view, we SYNTHESIZED. When we decided for example, that we would expel him, we ADDED to the source information that because of Steven’s poor behavior, other students would follow his bad example. That wasn’t in the text. We synthesized when WE suggested that! When we said we should keep him, some of you said Mr. Driesen could tutor him! That wasn’t in the source…we SYNTHESIZED and added to the facts!
SYNTHESIS PAPER FINAL DRAFT
-Five paragraphs. No rough draft.
-In terms of the three articles listed below, write an essay about how they connect. Your thesis statement will be that all three articles tell us about those who succeed in the world of education. Construct each body paragraph to link two of the essays at a time in terms of some common or opposing idea relating to your thesis.
You may use quotes (MLA) but this is not required until the Research Paper.
-Required: refer to two essays per body paragraph. No body paragraph can have the same two essays as another body paragraph. You must use each of the three articles at least once.
Note: Please don’t JUST compare or contrast. This is only the beginning. Be sure to add your views and ideas according to the relation you have exposed from text.
My suggestion for format is:
Body Paragraph 1: Kassfy (Text) Pgs. 84-87 and Taking Stock in Reading” (Text) Pgs. 10-11
Body Paragraph 2: “Taking Stock” (Text) Pgs. 10-11 and “Frost” (Text) Pgs. 211-216
Body Paragraph 3: Kassfy (Text) Pgs. 84-87 and “Frost” (Text) Pgs. 211-216
Required Reading for this Assignment:
1) Textbook Pgs. 84-87 – “Automotive Literacy” by Ana-Jamileh Kassfy
2) Textbook Pgs. 10-11 – “Reading in Academic Contexts” sub-section “Taking Stock of Your Reading”
3) Textbook Pgs. 211-216 – “Literary Analysis / Frost’s Broken Roads”
Follow the usual template in terms of structuring the essay, minus background information:
Introduction: attention getter, preview of support, thesis.
Body Paragraphs: reasons, arguments, evidence, statistics, observations, facts, opinions,
Conclusion: rethesis, recap, last line.
