Note: To receive full credit for this assignment, you must bring a printed copy of your first draft to class on the due date, in addition to uploading it here. This must be a complete 4-5 page draft.

In this assignment, you will synthesize the arguments of two essays from our text in order to explore your own ideas regarding the material they discuss. This means more than simply summarizing the articles: you are discussing how and why two texts addressing similar concerns help you to shape your own thinking about the issues they address.

When you synthesize use ideas from one text and demonstrate how they explain, contradict, build on, move beyond, or enter into conversation with ideas from another text. Doing this was part of your work for your first assignment. Here, it's the main point of your writing.

While some summary of the main arguments of these textsTo be clear, are not discussing your personal experience of reading these texts. In fact, for this assignment, you should avoid the use of first and second person pronouns. You are, however, drawing comparisons between the two texts in such a way as to create a new and unified argument that draws on two texts.

will be necessary so that you can discuss the main ideas they share (or disagree about) and how they convey those ideas, make sure that you don't spend most of the paper on simple summary. Your goal in this paper is to demonstrate how the two texts, taken together, are helpful to you (and your audience!) in forming your own ideas or opinions about their shared subject matter or concerns. Remember that you are taking part in a conversation, and that you want to allow the reader to share in your familiarity with the texts and your own ideas that have emerged as a result of reading the texts.

To be clear, are not discussing your personal experience of reading these texts. In fact, for this assignment, you should avoid the use of first and second person pronouns. You are, however, drawing comparisons between the two texts in such a way as to create a new and unified argument that draws on two texts.

Your paper should be at least 4 pages long: that's the minimum length you need to write in order to pass the assignment. You can go longer than this, but do not exceed 6 pages. As always, do not pad your writing with broad generalities: dive directly into the primary idea you want to discuss (i.e., your thesis) and discuss that idea in terms of the two texts you've chosen.

For this assignment, you should limit your texts to those that appear in our textbook. At least one of those should be a text that we have discussed in class, but feel free to also consider a text we have not yet discussed or are not scheduled to discuss.

Your first draft is due in class and in the assignment dropbox on Wednesday, February 22nd. Your final draft will be due in the assignment dropbox on Wednesday, 3/1.