Poor Synthesis Essay
Due Tuesday, January 18th
Question: What, if anything, is society’s obligation to the poor? Using several of the pieces we have read in this unit, as well as your own personal experiences, reading, and research, explain how and why society at large ought (or ought not) to help those who can’t help themselves. Support your thesis with direct quotations from multiple texts (a minimum of three sources from class, plus one additional source from the Gale Databases), properly formatted in MLA style.
This paper will require you to define some key terms: society, obligation, and poor. We’ve read a variety of models of authors using a variety of techniques to define complex terms.
Typed. Double Spaced. Twelve point. No blank lines between paragraphs, except to indicate a major shift in tone or setting. Four - six pages. Don’t forget a title.
Required:
• Three rhetorical strategies from The Virtual Salt, underlined and labeled (handwritten labels are acceptable, as are footnotes).
• A minimum of three sources from class.
• A minimum of one additional source from the Gale database.
• A minimum of three synthesis paragraph. Not all of your paragraphs need to be synthesis paragraphs.
• Properly formatted Works Cited Page.
Suggested: Consider the tone you want to set from the outset. Narrative openings emphasize pathos. Openings filled with stats and facts emphasize logos. What is the most effective tone for you to employ?
Audience: 1) “Society.” 2) Yourself.
Purpose: 1) To suggest a plan of action for the future. 2) To convince “society” to embrace your plan.
How to approach this paper:
• Define your key terms.
• Develop an opinion on this subject.
• Gather evidence (from our texts and from research) to support your opinion. This is an argument; therefore, personal experience is valid evidence and first person is an acceptable POV.
• Consider counter arguments.
• Create clear, defensible topic sentences.
• Draft paragraphs with two quotations to support your topic sentences.
• Draft paragraphs with an eye towards ethos, pathos, and logos.
• Proofread to ensure your quotations are properly formatted and cited. For this essay, “you will need to include the author’s name in your parenthetical citation” (Kline 1).
• Create your Works Cited page.
What if you think the poor are part of society? Can society still have an obligation to its poor?
ReplyDeleteYep. You could certainly make that argument.
ReplyDeleteIf we use a statistic does that take the place of a quotation?
ReplyDeleteYep. Stats are quotations. Be sure to establish your source.
ReplyDeleteFor one of our synthesis paragraphs do we have to have quotations from two different writers or can we use two quotes by the same author for one synthesis paragraph?
ReplyDeleteIf your quotations come from the same source, then it's not synthesis - it's just supporting your opinion with a source. Synthesis brings together more than one source to support your opinion.
ReplyDeleteShaina left a post that appeared in my e-mail but doesn't appear to be appearing here. This is what she asked:
ReplyDeleteFor one of my Gale sources, I found an editorial published in the Washington Times (Washington, D.C.), that says byline: Ed Feulner, but in the citation it doesn't have an author. Here's the url: http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=IPS&docId=CJ244974773&source=gale&srcprod=CNSN&userGroupName=oreg77062&version=1.0
Wondering if I should still put the author's name in parenthesis after the quote or something else since it's not in the citation the reader would refer to? Thanks!
Citation makers are not always accurate. If you've got an author, add it to the citation. You should *also* introduce the author in your essay, as part of establishing your source.