Synthesis Essay
A Few Truman Show quotes
“We accept the truth of the reality with
which we are presented” (Christof)
“We’ve become bored with watching
actors give us phony emotions, we’re
tired of pyrotechnics and special effects”
Christof
Synthesis Essay
What is a synthesis essay?
A synthesis essay is an essay in which
you use a variety of sources to support
your thesis statement.
In a typical literary analysis essay, you
would generally use only one source.

PROMPT: Take a position on the point at
which the use of modern technology has a
negative impact on people’s lives (individual
people’s lives or the life of society as a
whole, or both).
 essay must cite Fahrenheit 451 and
at least two other sources
Sources:
 Fahrenheit 451 (must use at least two pieces of evidence
from F451)
 Utopia by Thomas More
 “The Pedestrian”
 “Harrison Bergeron”
 2081 – film
 “There Will Come Soft Rains”
 “Digital Dementia On the Rise” article
 “Technology and Childhood” article
 “Do Human like Machines Deserve Human Rights?”
 “Does Facebook Make Someone Social Offline?” article
 “Are iPads, smartphones, and the mobile web rewiring the
way we think?” article
 The Truman Show
 Wall-E – we will watch a clip in class
Sources
Digital Dementia:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/digital-dementia-rise-south-koreachildhood-internet-addiction-must-be-addressed-experts-say247100
Technology and childhood:
https://www.parentmap.com/article/technology-and-childhood
Facebook/Social offline:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/fashion/30Studied.html?_
r=0
Wall-E clip:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1BQPV-iCkU
 Humanlike machines
 http://www.wired.com/2009/01/st-essay-16/
Step 1: review the sources available
Step 2:form an opinion on the prompt
and brainstorm a list of subtopics
Step 3: choose your subtopics
Step 4: choose three or more sources
that will prove your point
Step 5: write a draft of your thesis
statement
Synthesis Essay 11/13 & 11/16
Today:
Finish the Truman Show
Go over big picture of essay
Outlining format
Choose your sources and your subtopics
Work on your outline
Fill in your body paragraph subtopics and
evidence choices
Be specific about your evidence – you
need passages for all pieces of writing
November 17/18, 2015
Today:
 Comments about title of essay
 Thesis instructions
 Write your thesis AND have it checked by Mrs. G (10
points for a good thesis)
 Analysis instructions
 Work time to write analysis portion of outline
 If there is time – introduction instructions
 Homework: finish analysis portion of outline – think
hard about your evidence and how they support
your topic sentence and thesis AND work on your
rough draft of your body paragrahs
Thesis Statements
“When you have gathered enough information, it is
time answer your thesis question. As you gather
ideas and concepts from other people, you should
begin to get an idea of what the answer to your
thesis question is. This is your thesis statement (or
controlling idea).
The thesis statement expresses the central
conclusion of your research findings and is the
controlling idea of your essay; in essence, it states
what you are trying to prove.” (from OWL Purdue).
The thesis is the map for your essay – it tells the reader what
your essay is about.
Generally: a good thesis will have the following
characteristics:
1. A good thesis statement will make a claim. Develop
an interesting perspective that you can support and defend.
This perspective must be more than an observation.
“America is violent” is an observation. “Americans are violent
because they are fearful” (the position that Michael Moore
takes in Bowling For Columbine) is an argument. Why?
Because it states an opinion. It makes a claim.
2. A good thesis statement will control the entire
argument. Your thesis sentence determines what you are
required to say in a paper. It also determines what you
cannot say. Every paragraph in your paper exists in order to
support your thesis. Accordingly, if one of your paragraphs
seems irrelevant to your thesis you have two choices: get rid
of the paragraph, or rewrite your thesis.
Adapted from Karen Gocsik’s “Developing Your
Thesis.” Dartmouth Writing Program. Dartmouth
College, 12 July 2005. Web. 3 Sept. 2012.
http://www.canandaiguaschools.org/uploads/CALibrary-Research/09%20%20Developing%20A%20Thesis%20Statement.pdf
Thesis Statement
The thesis is the guiding statement for your
essay – it tells exactly what your essay will
be about.
It is typically the last sentence of your
introduction
It can stand alone – it can be read separate
from your essay and make sense
In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis”, the
author explores the idea that love and
cruelty can coexist in the human heart.
Sample Thesis Statements for synthesis
 Prompt: Take a position on the point at which homework
has a negative impact in people’s lives.
 #1 Homework becomes a problem in people’s lives
the moment it is assigned.
 (Why? This thesis lacks reasoning.)
 #2 Homework becomes a problem when it interferes
with church, family, social, and sports times.
 (Good, but too specific. Save those points to use in the
individual paragraphs.)
 #3 The impact of homework becomes overbearing for
the student when it diminishes the student’s time for
his or her own passions.
 (Good. Not too much detail but contains a solid overarching
phrase (diminish time for passions) that has many ideas
that can prove it. Shows reasoning.)
Thesis: good or bad?
 Technology destroys friendships.
 Technology is a negative influence because it destroys
relationships.
 Technology has a negative impact when it inhibits
personal growth.
 The insidious nature of technology can be seen when
it destroys relationships, health and critical thinking
skills.
 Modern technology develops a destructive quality
when the technology that is being used interferes with
someone’s life.
 Technology has allowed society to advance, but at a
certain point it can be destructive to people’s lives.
 Technology becomes destructive when it impairs a
person’s ability to succeed.
Period 7 Example Thesis
Statements
 “Technology has been beneficial to modern society in many
ways, but when technology is allowed to control peoples lives
it becomes extremely harmful.”
 -Solomon Knapp
 “Technology becomes a negative influence when it separates
one from society and they forget how to care for themselves
and others.”
 -Kyle Dukelow
 “The use of technology can negatively influence society when
people begin to believe the lies created by modern
technology are the authentic reality.”
 Meghan Howard
Period 8 Example Thesis Statements
 Modern technology becomes a negative impact on
society when it influences people to develop harmful
habits. -Hunter Hicks
 Technology, even though primarily utilized positively,
can be a direct avenue to a negative quality of life. –
Jack Bisset
 Technology develops a negative impact when it changes
the way people think and respond to their environment.
–Kayden McCallum
 New developments in technology have aided in the
progression of modern society, however, it has negative
influence on the quality of life when it interferes with
the mental and physical aspects of one’s health.
-Stephen Hei
Analysis of Evidence
This is where you explain how your
evidence proves your topic sentence
and your thesis
Say, Mean, Matter review
Essay examples
Sample topic sentence and chunk of a body
paragraph
 Television can also be used as a form of manipulation. In
fact, audiences may not be getting the full story or
coverage of an event or issue. The lack of information or
change in information can alter people’s opinions. Ted
Koppel wrote in 2001 that a presidential debate was a
“joke,” but “because we were able to pull the best three
or four minutes of the ninety-minute event, Nightline
made the whole thing look pretty good” (source F). In
this scenario, Nightline changed the debate for its
audiences, who in turn may have changed their minds for
or against one candidate or the other. Through the power
of editing, companies can cut and alter footage to sway
their audiences.
Another “chunk” sample
 For instance, during the election of 1960, those who
listened to the presidential debates over the radio felt
that John F. Kennedy did not do as well as those who
watched the debates on television felt he did. This
evidence shows the “distorting effects of television”
(source C) in its emphasis on image. By using television
as a key in presidential campaigning, a certain
percentage of voters base their votes on image and
personality instead of the political issues at hand.
MLA formatting
 Choose the “references” tab at the top of your
Word document
 Under “style” choose MLA seventh edition
 Choose “Insert Citation” and click on “add new
source”
 Fill in the information for your source
 Repeat process with your next source
 When you quote a source, click “insert citation”
at the end of the quote!!!
 Make that if it is at the end of a sentence, the
period goes AFTER the parenthesis.