Synthesis Essay
“Six Moves Toward Success”
(David Joliffe, AP Chief Reader)
Synthesis: A combination of two or more entities
that together form something new (Wikipedia)
Materials and instructions you will receive:
Directions: always the same– see handout
Introduction: A few sentences of general information about the
topic.
Assignment:
•Describes the crux of the issue/controversy
•Gives you the writing task
• support/refute/qualify
• take a positionand support it
• evaluate a situation and recommend a course of action.
*You will always be asked to incorporate, directly (quotation) or
indirectly (explicit paraphrase), at least three (3) sources.
Sources: 6-8 sources of no more than one page each, including
at least one visual source; all sources are to be assumed “credible”
STEP 1:
Read
to understand the issue and the task
Don’t bother reading the “Directions”– they’re always the same!
Take only a quick glance at the “Sources” list at the end– you’ll
bother with them later.
READ TO UNDERSTAND THE
“INTRODUCTION” AND ESPECIALLY THE
“ASSIGNMENT”! Re-word it in a way that
is clear and simple to you.
STEP 2:
Find your side of the fence.
Recall the definition of “synthesis”– you need to make
something new!
Decide what YOU think about the issue before you
muddy your own vision with others’ arguments.
Jot down a “tentative thesis”– similar to the way
scientists hypothesize before researching.
THIS STEP LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL THE
REST! DON’T SKIP IT!
STEP 3:
View, Analyze, Converse (VAC)
With each source, do the following:
View: Read it.
Analyze: What claim is the source making? (label)
What data or evidence supports his/her claim?
What assumptions (warrants) make this data
useful to their argument?
Converse: If you entered a conversation with the creator
of this source, what would you two have to say to each
other? Agreement? Disagreement? Reconcilable or
staunchly contradictory? Pick apart what they’re saying.
STEP 4:
Finesse Your Thesis
(finesse: v. To handle a complex task with subtlety and skill.)
Revisit your pre-thesis
You are now more informed– how does that complicate what you originally had
to say about the topic? Are there any qualifications that you want to add?
Thesis should be complex enough to do the topic justice– not cookie-cutter
staunch and deaf to the already-in-progress academic conversation presented
by the sources (Burkean Parlor).
STEP 5:
Plan Your Essay
1. Re-read the “Assignment” one more time to make sure the task is set in your
mind.
2. Decide whether/how you’ll incorporate both sides of the issue.
3. Map out the points and concessions* you want to make and where the
sources will be incorporated (<3 sources will not be scored.)
*Incorporate opposition responsibly
STEP 6:
Write (& Revise)
Remember, you’re arguing your position, incorporating
the sources in order to boost
logos and ethos– showing that you believe
what you do for good reason (support), but that you’re not so closed-minded as
to ignore the complexity of the issue (qualifications/concessions).
Some useful phrases:
•“Source A takes a position similar to mine…”
•Source C would oppose my position, but here’s why I still maintain its validity…”
•Source E offers a slightly different perspective, one that I would alter a bit…”
Past Topics
:
(2007-2010)
Technologies in education: Evaluate the most
important factors that a school should consider before
using particular technologies in curriculum and
instruction
Daylight Savings Time: Synthesize at least three of the
sources into an essay that evaluates daylight savings
time and offers a recommendation about its continued
use.
Space Exploration: Develop a position about what
issues should be considered most important in making
decisions about space exploration
Past Topics (continued):
Individuality vs. Conformity: Choose an issue related
to the tension in schools between individuality and
conformity. Use this issue to argue the extent to which
schools should support individuality or conformity.
Eliminating the penny: Write an essay in which you
develop a position on whether or not the penny coin
should be eliminated.
Defined school curriculum: Write an essay that
develops a position on whether or not there should be
specific texts that all students of high school English
must read.
Past Topics (continued):
Advertising: Write an essay in which you develop a
position on the effects of advertising.
Art Museum: Write an essay in which you develop a
position on the most important considerations facing the
person responsible for securing a new work of art or an
artifact for a museum.