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Synthesis Paper Overview and Guidance

This document provides an overview and conceptual framework for a 1,500 word synthesis paper that discusses 2-4 related essays from the Fields of Reading collection. It outlines the key elements and steps to complete the assignment, including: analyzing each individual essay's thesis and main points first before synthesizing; focusing on tightly related concepts across essays rather than covering everything; showing how ideas interact through support, contradiction, or new implications revealed; making interactions explicit in the thesis and topic sentences; and providing some context setting summary as ideas are discussed rather than a single block of summary. The document also notes that developing the synthesis concept will take place over two classes, with the first establishing the framework and the second refining the details of the prompt.

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205 views1 page

Synthesis Paper Overview and Guidance

This document provides an overview and conceptual framework for a 1,500 word synthesis paper that discusses 2-4 related essays from the Fields of Reading collection. It outlines the key elements and steps to complete the assignment, including: analyzing each individual essay's thesis and main points first before synthesizing; focusing on tightly related concepts across essays rather than covering everything; showing how ideas interact through support, contradiction, or new implications revealed; making interactions explicit in the thesis and topic sentences; and providing some context setting summary as ideas are discussed rather than a single block of summary. The document also notes that developing the synthesis concept will take place over two classes, with the first establishing the framework and the second refining the details of the prompt.

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orangeview
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© All Rights Reserved
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Synthesis Paper Conceptual Overview

1,500 words
Discusses 2 to 4 related essays from Fields of Reading (your choice of essays)
MLA Style
November 26
When you synthesize two or more readingswhen you show how they interactyou are doing a
high-level kind of thinking. At this point in the course, you have already done a lot of important
work toward the synthesis paper. You have read numerous related essays, and you have been
thinking about how these essays relate to each other. Hopefully you have been taking notes, as I
have suggested, on specific areas of overlap between essays that particularly interest you. Also,
you have been analyzing and synthesizing research materials, skills you will be further
developing in the synthesis paper.
Before you start drafting your synthesis paper, you will need to analyze each essay you will be
using. What is the thesis of each? What are the main sub-points? How do the details fit in?
Once you have done solid analyses, youre ready to synthesize. Its important to note that you
dont have to cover all of the points from any of the essays. In fact, thats probably impossible.
You will be covering tightly-focused concepts that apply across essays.
As you figure out how the essays interact with each other, you will find that they support the
same idea or ideas in different ways, or that they contradict each other in interesting ways, or that
implications beyond the authors intent reveal themselves through the synthesis youre doing.
Now, what does it mean to show how ideas from the essays interact? Summary isnt enough,
though summary is necessary. In addition to summary, you will need to make the interactions
explicit. The thesis statement and topic sentences are essential places to do that. You can make
room for your own speculations toward the end of the paper.
Saying that two essays contain the same basic ideas is not enough, because that doesnt get the
ideas to interact. Its crucial to get below the obvious surface somehow. Can you use the
assumptions of one writer to interpret the findings of another essay? Are very different-seeming
essays really talking about the same idea using different terms? Do two or more essays explain
the same experiences from different perspectives?
Since you are writing for a general audience, you will need to do some quick summary as you go
along, to set up your points. Its generally better not to write a big block of summary before you
proceed to the points you are making. We will review summary writing next class. You first
worked with the summary process in your peer-reviewed source summary paper.
Practically speaking, it will take two classes to develop the idea of the synthesis paper. The first
step is to get the idea conceptually today and to work with the process in class. The second step
is to work with the detailed prompt next class, once we have the concept under our belts.
(Credit for this paper idea goes to Jared Haynes.)

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