Synthesis Essay
Assignment
Write a coherent and unified essay in which you use at least five sources to answer a question at issue for you, your instructor, and your classmates. Your question should be raised in the context of a claim made in a reading from the coursepack or a source article of your choosing. (The coursepack reading/source article may count as one of your sources.) Be sure that all sources are relevant and credible-use the CRAAP handout to help determine the quality of your sources, and, if you're still not sure about the credibility of a source, you're encouraged consult me.As always, format your paper according to MLA guidelines (see the sample student paper in section 13c of Harbrace Essentials).
Organization
In the opening paragraph of your essay, introduce source material that raises a question at issue. State the question you hope to answer and explain its significance (that is, the reason the question needs to be answered). The rest of your essay will be an exploration or a discussion of multiple perspectives on the issue. In the body of your paper, introduce and discuss the sources you've gathered, comparing and contrasting their contributions intertextually. Each paragraph should link logically with the paragraphs coming before and after it.
Because this type of essay is question-driven and not thesis-driven, you can conclude in a number of ways: (1) answer the question, (2) answer the question but note that your position may change, (3) state that you are unable to answer the question set forth in the introduction and explain why,(4) state that you are only partially able to answer the question and explain why, (5) state that you understand the complexities of the issue but need to gather more information before you take a firm stand, or (6) state that your question has changed and explain why.
Works Cited
The last page of your essay should list all the sources you cited in your paper. For a sample works-cited page, see section 13c of Harbrace Essentials.
Length:1250-1500 words