1. Synthesis Essay Get Excited!! What do you think the synthesis essay is?

2. It is an essay in which you will argue your point of view on a given issue. Along with a prompt that describes the issue, you will be given several sources related to the issue, one of which will be a visual.

3. TIMING! Unlike the other two essays, you will be given 55 minutes to complete the synthesis essay. The first 15 minutes is used to read/evaluate the sources. Use this time to mark up the passages/jot down a tentative thesis. After 15 minutes lapses, you will be instructed to open your test booklet.

4. Turn to pg. 107. Let’s take a look at a sample synthesis prompt.

5. In the simplest of terms, a synthesis essay is an argumentative essay in which you will use sources to back up your thesis. Sound familiar??? It should because you have all done this before! The literary research papers that you have written are very similar to the synthesis essay except the synthesis essay does not deal with fiction. BUT HOW DO I KNOW WHICH SOURCES TO USE? (YOU ARE GIVEN 5 OR 6 AND ARE MANDATED TO USE AT LEAST 3).

6. What should you look for when assessing the validity of sources?? In other words, how can you trust the source to be legit? Date of Publication- Facts change; that’s a fact. Consequently, information can become obsolete before we know it, so make sure the source is up-to-date. Place of Publication- A supermarket tabloid is less reliable than a scholarly journal. Enough said. The Intended Audience- Authors slant their writing to appeal to a certain audience. Author’s Purpose- Knowing why an author has written a passage helps you figure out how trustworthy the source is.

7. So how do I Write this Thing? Develop your thesis statement FIRST! (this needs to be done in the pre-writing phase). Develop your thesis statement FIRST! (this needs to be done in the pre-writing phase). Let’s say the prompt asks you to take a stance on whether positive aspects of gambling outweigh its harmful effects or whether the reverse is true.

8. Read the following thesis statements. Then, discuss with a partner which is more effective, and be prepared to explain why! Gambling is an activity that affects the lives of millions of Americans. The economic effects of gambling are generally positive. The first one stinks! It is fuzzy and way too broad. In essence, it doesn’t really say anything. The second one is better! It is specific enough, it expresses the writer’s opinion, it is controversial (worthy of an argument), it addresses the issue raised by the question. BTW, WHICH RHETORICAL DEVICE APPEARS IN THE ABOVE SENTENCE??

9. WHERE DO YOU USUALLY PLACE YOUR THESIS STATEMENT? It should be the last sentence of your introduction. You should start your essay with some sort of attention catcher that leads to your thesis. Can you think of examples?? 1.Anecdote 2.State a provocative idea in an ordinary way or vice versa. 3.Use a quote from the prompt, from one of the sources, or from your reading, your experience, or your grandmother (random, I know, but g-mas usually know everything!) 4.Knock down a commonly held assumption, or define a word in a startling new way. 5.Ask an interesting question or two that you’ll answer in the essay. EXAMPLES, YOU ASK? OF COURSE! TURN TO PAGE 114, PLEASE!!

10. THE BODY OF YOUR ESSAY Each body paragraph should contribute to the development of the main idea. It should contain facts, examples, data, reasons of all kind to corroborate the thesis AND to convince the readers to agree with you. A RULE OF THUMB: THREE DISTINCT AND RELEVANT REASONS WILL USUALLY SUFFICE TO PROVE A POINT. MAKE SURE THAT EACH IS IDEA/POINT IS DISTINCT IN AND OF ITSELF TO AVOID REDUNDANCY. ARRANGE YOUR REASONS IN ORDER OF LEAST IMPORTANT TO MOST IMPORTANT. REMEMBER: AN ARGUMENT IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE REASONS STATED TO SUPPORT IT, SO CHOOSE YOUR REASONS WISELY!

11. A FEW LAST TIPS REFUTING OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS IS OFTEN A POWERFUL WAY TO MAKE YOUR ARGUMENT CONVINCING. AVOID FAULTY REASONING!! IF THE REASON DOESN’T LOGICALLY SUPPORT YOUR ESSAY’S THESIS, GET RID OF IT!! WHEN CITING YOUR SOURCES, USE PARENTHETICAL CITATIONS (SOURCE A), (SOURCE B), ETCETERA