Synthesis Essay
Synthesis Essay Instructions
In the Argument Essay, you gained practice in writing your own arguments and considering how to construct an argument that would be convincing to a specific audience. This assignment is going to flip this task around, so that your goal in this assignment is to evaluate the argument that is made in an editorial style argument.
You will be evaluating “The Real Reason College Tuition Costs So Much” by Paul F. Campos from The New York Times. In order to conduct a complete analysis, you will use at least two outside sources to check the facts of your editorial (you may use factual sources that you used in previous essays). The overall goal of this assignment is for you to critique the chosen editorial in order to present an evaluation of how well this editorial accomplishes its purpose.
In finding your sources, be sure that they come from a reliable source that will be appropriate for our class. There are many documents posted throughout the internet, but not all of them are reliable or appropriate. As such, evaluate every source before you decide to use it. As always, it is best to use sources obtained from EBSCO or JSTOR. A properly formatted Works Cited page is also required for this assignment.
Audience: You will be writing this paper to an academic audience; in this case, a group of college/university students and professors. This audience will expect you to write in formal language; as such you should also not use first and second person pronouns in this paper, but instead write from an objective standpoint by writing entirely in third person.
Requirements: The paper must include the following elements:
· a clear, concise, and specific argumentative thesis statement that appears in the first paragraph of the essay – the point of the thesis is to define the position that will be taken in the critique.
· clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion.
· body paragraphs that present effective synthesis, critique, and argument.
· an awareness of rhetorical context, especially audience
· 1250 words min.
· at least two sources (in addition to the editorial).
· parenthetical citations.
· Works Cited.
· MLA format.
Grading Criteria: I will use the posted rubric to evaluate the essay. Not all of these elements are weighted the same, but all are part of the final grade for your paper.
