A.P. English Language Summer Assignment
Directions: You will write a synthesis essay that responds to the prompt you find below. To write a
synthesis essay, you must read the articles and cartoons that are given to you below, think about them
in terms of the prompt, and write an essay that makes an argument of your own, using information from
the materials you’ve been given as support.
When you use either a direct quote or paraphrase information from one of the sources, you should cite
where the information came from using a parenthetical citation. You do not need to include a Works
Cited page.
For a brush up on the correct way to use quotes and properly cite them, check out this video on
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0YW5ZRF-SI (If you can’t follow the links, search on
YouTube using the words “Using Quotations Lesson Matthew Singleton” and you can find it.)
You do not have to use information from every article in your essay, but you should use at least three or
four. Your essay should be a minimum of 750 words and a maximum of 1500 words. Your essay is due
the first day of the second week of school. In the first week, I will review with you how to complete the
assignment. It is probably best to work on this toward the end of summer because we will be spending
a lot of time in the beginning with this and you’ll need it to be fresh for you.
Introduction: In the last decade, technology has proliferated in the lives of students. Because virtually
100% of students today have access to the Internet at home and/or on their phone and because the
information available on the Internet has exploded over the years, students can now take many “shortcuts” on what is considered traditional study and homework challenges. For example, students today
can write a research paper without ever going to a library. They can find SparkNotes in a moment for
any novel assigned to them. They can use technology to store answers and access those answers on a
test.
Do today’s students too often take the easy way out when it comes to their assignments and exams? Do
they rely too heavily on outside sources such as SparkNotes rather than thinking for themselves? Do
they too often turn to online essays for inspiration rather than persevering independently? Is this
generation in danger of not being able to think for themselves?
Prompt: Read the following sources carefully. Then, in an essay that synthesizes a minimum of three
sources to support your position, defend, challenge, or qualify (this means to agree in some
fundamental ways, but disagree in others) the claim that the immediate availability of information via
the Internet has created students who take so many short-cuts that they are in danger of becoming
complacent thinkers.
Source A:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114631/harvard-cheating-scandal-students-everywhere-cheat
Source B:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/girl-moved-to-tears-by-of-mice-and-men-cliffs-note,2029/
Source C:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB113779787647552415
Source D:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2006-02-01/news/0602010014_1_cheating-students-common-sense
Source E:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29210274.html
Source F:
http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/story?id=132376&page=1
Source G:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/08/education/studies-show-more-students-cheat-even-highachievers.html?_r=0
SourceH:
Source I:
Source J: