English 990 – Writing a Synthesis Essay
For this essay, we are going to focus on two important critical thinking processes: analysis and
synthesis. So, let’s review what we already know about these two words and/or add to our
understanding of what we need to do in order to be GREAT critical thinkers.
Analysis: Analysis is the process of breaking something down into its parts to see how they
function. But let’s face it, that is a pretty simplistic definition of an incredibly amazing thing that
we, as thinkers, can do. Let’s look at an example. Let’s say you just bought a used car. You
bought it from a relative, and he assured you that it was in good shape and good repair. You paid
him $2500 dollars for it, and that took all your savings and a loan from your parents. On the
first day that you get that car out on the freeway, it starts to make a strange sound. You’ve never
heard this sound from a car before, so you are worried. As you keep driving, the noise gets louder
and a little more high pitched. You take the next exit and see there a run-down garage with the
sign that says, “Car Repair.” YEA!
As you pull in, the mechanic comes out and hears your car’s noise. He says, “You need
some new tires. I’ve got some right here. I can install them on your car for $500.00.” Do you
buy them? Do you let this mechanic fix your problem?
Well, if you are an astute automobile owner, you know that this situation is not that easily
fixed. You know that you are going to need some analysis of the real problem. The mechanic
has not even opened up the hood of your car to see if something is smoking under there. He
hasn’t asked you about the conditions where you first heard the sound, and he hasn’t asked you
how the car behaved as you drove. He hasn’t run any diagnostics…because he hasn’t analyzed.
And there is no way that you should pay him for the tires that he is trying to sell you.
That process of analysis is the key feature of most of our problem-solving in our real lives,
and the trick is to then apply it to the texts that we are reading. We have two texts that we are
going to consider in writing this essay, Edgar Allan Poe’s two short stories: “The Cask of
Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Once we have analyzed these two stories, we’ll know
more of what we can synthesize.
The Process of Analysis:
1. Before reading, access whatever information you may have about these two stories or
Poe or American lit or anything else you may have read by or about this author. If
you don’t know anything, that makes things a little more difficult, but it isn’t
impossible. (Here’s one of the biggest advantages to reading: you get a lot of
background information that you can draw from as you continue on in life.)
2. Make any notes on the text that you are reading—if you can. In this situation, you
have copies of both stories that you can mark up and annotate. If you can’t mark up
the text that you are going to work from, it wouldn’t hurt you to invest in some PostIt notes. You will need to take notes as you read.
3. As you read, make sure that you have engaged with the best reading strategies you
know.
 Mark the words that you don’t understand or that you may need to have
clarified.
 Mark any descriptions of characters or events that stand out.
 Mark the direct comments of the author that may lead you to a greater
understanding of the main idea in the text.
 Put question marks or one-word references to indicate where you had a new
idea or where something seemed particularly relevant.
4. After reading, take some time to think about the story. Summarize the main events.
5. Discuss your observations and ideas with a peer to clarify the events that happened.
Repeat this process with the second source. Make sure that you have a very clear understanding
of the two stories.
For this essay, your pre-writing is a Venn Diagram. This type of a graphic organizer requires
you to consider all the points and evidence for one side, all the points and evidence for the other
side, and then the points and evidence that the two sides share. This helps you see what the two
stories have in common and can help you find the evidence to prove what you know.
Synthesis: Once you have analyzed and evaluated your sources, the next step is to find the
elements that these two texts share. Your goal is to present a deeper understanding of the two
stories AND to show how these two stories highlight some aspect of human behavior that we
can view and analyze. Is this a lesson that we have learned? Well, not necessarily. I don’t think
that you really have to be told that it isn’t a good thing to trick your friend into going into a
catacomb with you where you are planning on leaving her or him behind a newly created wall to
starve and die alone. But does it have something to say about how we let insults and perceived
We have talked a little about how they are both about murders. One is a murder of a man’s
“friend.” One is a murder of a man’s employer. One is a torturous death. One is how the murderer
himself is tortured. So, it is important to come up with what they have in common.
 They are both about a pre-meditated murder. In both of these cases, a character has
decided that someone else simply cannot live on, but the desire not to be punished is
strong.
 They are both about an obsessive need to kill someone.
 Each story has an element of being wronged. Both of these killers think they are entitled
to decide that someone else must die.
 These stories have an element of torture for the victim. Is that an essential element for
murder? Does that make it more satisfying?
 Is killing one’s enemy satisfying? In one of these stories, the murderer gets away with
the murder and in the other, he confesses almost immediately. Does that mean that it
was not satisfying?
 Both of these murders take place because of a motive that may seem strange to us. Does
that hint at a reality that we don’t really understand other people’s motives?
You may have other elements that are the same in the two stories, and you are free to use your
own ideas to construct your thesis.
The Thesis: For this essay, then, we are going to need a thesis that addresses both of these
works and a theme that is common or that can be compared in both of them. A thesis statement
is the statement that the writer is going to prove with the essay, so it helps a lot to come up with
a question that will guide the development of the paper first, and then write the thesis to answer
that question.
Here’s an example:
Do we have a right to take revenge?
Now, in both of these stories, we have examples of revenge murders: one is for some imagined
insults, and one is because of an imagined glaring evil eye. So, my next step is to figure out how
I’m going to use these two stories to answer the question. I personally think that there are some
things that we can take revenge for…someone who bullies, for example. But is revenge in
general a good thing? Probably not. So, if I think that, how can I use these two stories to
illustrate that we shouldn’t take revenge? Well, it does seem to me that in both stories, revenge
didn’t bring anyone any happiness. It may have been a pretty common human response, but it
didn’t really make anyone better. Now I have an idea of what I want to write about: the
uselessness of revenge. I’m going to take that idea and create a working thesis:
In “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe creates
two situations where revenge takes time and planning, but it doesn’t seem to bring
either one of the two murderers any real joy and satisfaction.
In the space below, write your thesis question and response:
Thesis Question:
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Working Thesis:
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Outline:
The outline for your essay is much the same as the outline for any any essay: you
need a hook, an introduction, a thesis, room to develop your body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
I.
Introduction: Find a creative way to introduce your essay.
A. Hook:
 Use a line of dialogue from one of the stories that stands out with your thesis.
 Describe a vivid setting from one of the stories.
 Ask a provocative question.
 Share a universal idea that comes from the story.
 Use a meaningful quotation from one of the stories.
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B. Background: You are going to need to provide enough information from the stories to
guide your discussion, but you don’t want to just write plot summary. You can assume
that your readers have read the stories.
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C. Thesis: Now that you know what your intro is going to be, write your thesis as it will
appear in your paper in the space below.
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II.
Body: Throughout the paper, you are going to need to have evidence from the stories to
prove your point. Then, each piece of evidence needs your analysis to show its significance.
In the spaces below, write the points, the evidence, and the analysis that you will use to
develop your thesis.
A. Point:
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Evidence:
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Analysis:
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B. Point:
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Evidence:
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Analysis:
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C. Point:
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Evidence:
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Analysis:
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D. Point:
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Evidence:
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Analysis:
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III.
Conclusion: Your conclusion is your final point on the paper. You need to use it to point out
to your audience how you have proven your thesis:
A. Thesis Restatement:
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B. Summary of Evidence:
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C. Final Point:
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