ENGL&102 – English Composition II (Online)
Essay #2: Synthesis of Two Texts
Assignment: For the second essay of the quarter you will write a thesis-driven synthesis of two texts that we have (or will) read in class this quarter. In a synthesis, your objective is to find and explicate a meaningful connection (not simply an obvious similarity) between two texts, with the goal of coming to a deeper or new understanding of your topic, the texts, and how these things relate both to our class theme and to a larger social context. Your synthesis will attempt to show readers something they would not have been able to see if they had examined each text in isolation. To do this, you will search for the points of conversation between texts.
You will write a rough draft of this essay to be peer reviewed by your classmates and a final draft to be graded by the instructor. The final draft will be worth 200 points.
In order to craft your synthesis, your thesis statement should address the following questions:
• What overlap is there between the texts in terms of theme, idea, voice, or style?
• How do both texts, when taken together, offer a more complex view of some issue or subject than either one alone?
Answering the questions in that order—first overlap and then the more complex view—will provide the organization for the body paragraphs of your synthesis. This type of essay requires you to accurately summarize each text and to incorporate quotations, paraphrase, and personal examples in support of your assertions.
Requirements: 5-7 pages typed and double-spaced; MLA format; thoughtful, interesting title; summary of each text; paraphrase; at least three quotations from each text; parenthetical citations; list of works cited page.
Important Dates:
Rough Draft due Wednesday, July 27 at 11:59 PM
Final Draft due Wednesday, August 3 at 11:59 PM