Synthesize

Assignment #3: Synthesize (Synthesis: Final Assignment Part 1) 

The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate how well you can capture patterns and trends in your research topic (problem). Specifically, you’ll want to connect (synthesize) what others have already said about this problem so that your readers will have an in-depth understanding of the different perspectives of this topic. With this background understanding, you can move to define a new term, refute someone’s point, further support a perspective, etc. All of these moves will help you with your advocacy/proposal paper (Assignment #4: Final Assignment Part 2). But we’re getting ahead of ourselves! For this paper, you will essentially synthesize multiple perspectives on one issue so that you can support what you want to say.   

Note! This is not a summary assignment. You should not summarize each source individually, and each paragraph should not be dedicated to only one source. During the research portion of this assignment, you may wind up summarizing your articles – this will help you identify patterns and connections among your sources.  

Because you want to provide an in-depth background, you must do deep and careful research using reputable sources – a simple Google search will not be enough. Your readers will probably not believe you if your sources are Apple or Yahoo! News.  

To get started, choose a topic that you find interesting enough to deal with for two assignments. If you’re not sure about your topic, ask your instructor for guidance. Using the techniques discussed in class for conducting research, generate a list of sources related to your topic. Evaluate the sources on this list based on the criteria discussed in class and determine if they are relevant to your research. If they are, great!  

Read, annotate, and briefly summarize the sources. Take notes on any patterns and connections, and group similar bits of information together. Refer to NFG, Ch. 50, pp. 520-521 for an example of how a writer synthesizes several sources into different categories. 

When you’re ready to begin the writing process, think about the following: 

• What is your topic, and why might readers find it important/ relevant?
• What are the writers saying, and what categories, patterns, or trends do you observe? Why are these writers believable, and what forms of appeal do they use? Are they reliable sources of evidence?
• If you can divide the topic into categories, how would you divide them? Which writers would fall into those categories?
• In response to all of these writers, what do you have to say? Do you agree, disagree, etc.?

Format & Layout  

[Insert how you want students to organize their writing and format their paper.] 

Sample General Outline 

• Introduction with Thesis
• Category 1 with sources and evidence
• Category 2 with sources and evidence
• More categories as needed and so on and so forth
• Conclusion

Your paper should reference 3-4 sources and be about 3-6 pages in length, single-spaced.   

Include in-text citations where you paraphrase or quote directly from the article. Include a Works Cited or Reference page at the end of the paper.  

Due Dates 

___________  [Annotated or Working Bibliography] – strongly recommended 

___________  First Draft 

___________  Peer Review 

___________  Final Draft 

Final Submission Checklist  

• I have not simply summarized each article.
• I have included a thesis statement that captures the focus of my paper.
• I have provided evidence to support my thesis statement.
• I have discussed the context of the problem.
• I have discussed patterns and connections in what .
• I have included in-text citations and a Works Cited/Reference list.
• I have formatted my paper [as my instructor has described.] 
• I have read the rubric the instructor will use to assess my rhetorical analysis.

Rubric 

For each of these criteria, students will be graded on the following scale: Insufficient, Novice, Competent, and Proficient.