The Synthesis Essay: Hello, and welcome to the Fifth podcast in a series to prepare AP Language students for the
AP Language test. Thanks for tuning in; I hope this information will help you do that much better on the AP exam.
So let’s talk about the essays you’re going to have to write for this exam. For the AP Language exam, you will have to
write three essays: a rhetorical analysis essay, an argument essay, and a synthesis essay. I suggest that you look at
the transcript for this podcast; we will be analyzing real AP Test prompts, and it will be easier for you to understand
the prompts if you have something to look at while you listen.
Let me say one thing before I go into detail about synthesis. For every essay you write (whether it is for the AP
Language test or for another AP test that involves writing) it is imperative that you incorporate a strong, concise thesis
statement in your introduction. The AP graders do not have time to figure out “what you are trying to say”; they need
to know that YOU know how to pick a position, take a side, and write about it. So whether you’re writing about US
History and the way in which past history influences today’s policy, the influence of the Internet on media and
communications, or texting while driving, pick a side.
Today, I would like to focus on the Synthesis essay; but before I start, let me briefly define all three of your AP
Language essays:
The first essay is the rhetorical analysis, in which you will have to read an excerpt of nonfiction (probably nonfiction)
prose and will have to analyze how the author’s use of rhetorical devices accomplishes his or her task.
The second essay is the argument, in which you will be given a very short prompt in which an issue or a quote is
explained. You will be asked to state your opinion about the issue: you must defend, qualify, or challenge a statement
made or an idea in the prompt.
The third essay, and the one we are going to discuss today, is the Synthesis, in which you will be given an
introductory paragraph that identifies an important issue in society and then a prompt that asks you to accomplish a
certain task. You will be asked to state your opinion about the issue: you must defend, qualify, or challenge a
statement made or an idea in the prompt. You also may be asked to consider certain elements of the issue as you
defend your argument; so for the synthesis essay, it is vital that you read the entire prompt and that you understand
everything it is asking you to do.
So what IS a synthesis essay? The way I think about it is as an argument in which you are given a bonus: sources.
Many students feel that the synthesis is difficult because of the reading involved, but if you look at the excerpts as
extra evidence for your essay and not as a time-wasting hindrance, you’ll do much better.
So let’s look at a synthesis essay prompt from 2009:
Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying seven sources.
This question requires you to synthesize a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. When you
synthesize sources you refer to them to develop your position and cite them accurately. Your argument should be
central; the sources should support this argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources.
Remember to attribute both direct and indirect references.
Introduction
Mass public schooling has traditionally proclaimed among its goals the following: (1) to help each student gain
personal fulfillment and (2) to help create good citizens. These two goals—one aimed at the betterment of individuals
and the other aimed at the betterment of society—might seem at odds with one another. At the very least, these two
goals are a cause of much tension within schools at every level: schools want students to be allowed or encouraged
to think for themselves and pursue their own interests, but schools also believe that it is right in some circumstances
to encourage conformity in order to socialize students.
Assignment
Read the sources that follow (including the introductory information) carefully. Then choose an issue related to the
tension in schools between individuality and conformity. You might choose an issue such as dress codes, mandatory
classes, or the structure of the school day. You do not have to choose an issue that you have experienced
personally.Then, write an essay in which you use this issue to argue the extent to which schools should
support individuality or conformity. Synthesize at least three of the sources for support. You may refer to the
sources by their titles (Source A, Source B, etc.) or by the descriptions in the parentheses.
Source A (Gatto)
Source B (Bell schedule)
Source C (Book cover)
Source D (Postman)
Source E (Holt)
Source F (Photo)
Source G (Expectations)
So what should your thought process be as you look at your essay prompts?
o
First, I suggest that you skim through all three prompts to see what you’re up against. If you can determine
early on which essay is going to be your most challenging one, you will be able to make better decisions about
time allotment. I often tell students to start with the synthesis essay; because this one requires you to read 6 to
7 excerpts, you need to allow yourself the full time to “synthesize” what you read with your own opinion about
the given topic. You may feel differently after you get your test. My main point here is to start with the hard one;
by the time you write your third essay, you’re going to be drained and ready to go home. Save the easy one for
last.
o
Let’s continue here under the assumption that you are starting with your synthesis essay. The first thing you
must do is to carefully read the prompt and the directions. So let’s take a look at the directions above. Here
they are again:
Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying seven sources. This question requires you to
synthesize a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. When you synthesize sources you refer to them to
develop your position and cite them accurately. Your argument should be central; the sources should support this
argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect references.
If we break down the directions, we know that the prompt is based on seven sources. But be careful here. Just
because the prompt is based on sources doesn’t mean that your essay should be based on them. You should base
your essay evenly on your own experiences, readings, and observations. The excerpts should serve as the perfect
cited evidence to back up your already strong argument. The directions require you to “synthesize sources you refer
to them to develop your position and cite them accurately. Your argument should be central; the sources should
support this argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources.
o
So how do you accomplish this? Simple. Avoid talking about the sources. No matter how strongly you want to
evaluate the validity of source “A” or the moral strengths of source “F”, don’t. The actual sources don’t matter
nearly as much as your opinion. This is your argument, after all. The readers want to hear your voice in your
essay, not just a regurgitated version of someone else’s voice in the form of quotations and paraphrases. By
the way, this holds true with any other secondary source paper you write. Although your goal may be to find 5
or 10 or 20 or however many sources to incorporate into your paper, the goal is NOT to use those sources as
your primary content. They are icing. Extra. Sugar in the coffee. You still need good coffee – - and if the
coffee’s bad, no amount of sugar is going to make it taste good.
Now let’s break down the introduction to the synthesis essay:
Mass public schooling has traditionally proclaimed among its goals the following: (1) to help each student gain
personal fulfillment and (2) to help create good citizens. These two goals—one aimed at the betterment of individuals
and the other aimed at the betterment of society—might seem at odds with one another. At the very least, these two
goals are a cause of much tension within schools at every level: schools want students to be allowed or encouraged
to think for themselves and pursue their own interests, but schools also believe that it is right in some circumstances
to encourage conformity in order to socialize students. Here, the issue is introduced. What this means is that you, the
writer, are shown the two broad sides of a complex issue that is very, very difficult to solve. Your task is to break the
complex issue down into terms that can be understood by a wide audience. While the intro lists two opposing sides,
you should recognize that in every complex issues, there are many sides; it is NOT all black and white. As you are
reading through the introduction, try to imagine a group of people (all with different opinions, backgrounds, histories,
and desires) discussing the issue. If there were 7 people, they would all have a slightly different take on the issue:
maybe a different personal story about it, a new source they’d read about it, a new perspective, etc. When you write,
always imagine this hypothetical group of people in an open discussion. That way, you will avoid thinking about the
issue has having only two, obvious solutions.
Okay. Now let’s revisit the prompt and see if we can formulate a plan.
Here is the assignments:
Read the sources that follow (including the introductory information) carefully. Then choose an issue related to the
tension in schools between individuality and conformity. You might choose an issue such as dress codes, mandatory
classes, or the structure of the school day. You do not have to choose an issue that you have experienced
personally.
Then, write an essay in which you use this issue to argue the extent to which schools should support
individuality or conformity. Synthesize at least three of the sources for support.
Your first task is to read the sources and their introductory information carefully. You have 15 minutes in which to do
this pre reading and planning, so I suggest that you take your pencil and read through every excerpt. Underline
quotes that you think either sum up the entire “gist” of the passage, and star quotes that you think you might want to
use as evidence in your own essay. You must use at least three sources, and I suggest using 4 – three that will back
up your thesis, and one that goes against it so you can then “refute” it.
Now that you have read all the sources and you understand them, go back to the prompt and break down the tasks.
In the prompt above, you have 4 directives:
1. Read the sources
2. Choose an issue related to the tension in schools between individuality and conformity. This is important, because
some people will want to write about their theory of being an “individual” but will forget to choose a specific issue.
3. You are then given a possible choice of issues, although you do not have to choose one of those. You are also told
that you do not have to have experienced the issue personally.
4. Write an essay in which you use the issue to argue about conformity vs. individuality in schools.
I suggest that you write a bullet list similar to this one when you get your synthesis essay prompt. You don’t want to
lose critical points on the test because you forgot a step!
Okay – we’ve outlined the basics of the synthesis essay and the way you need to think when you get the prompt.
Remember that it is an argument, it is not black and white, and the most important thing is that you show your voice –
- you do not analyze the sources. Good Luck! For further sample synthesis prompts you can email me at
jamiso_t@bellsouth.net.