Topic Sentence: The topic sentence
should state your opinion. The synthesis paragraph supports your opinion
with evidence from multiple sources.
Set-up:
You need to set up your quotation. The set-up has a number of purposes.
Some set-up sentences establish your source. Where did you find the
information? What makes this author qualified to support your opinion.
Sometimes the source material itself is sufficient to establish your
author's qualification. For example, if your article comes from the Journal of American Medicine, your author is by definition credible. If your article if from High Times,
on the other hand, it might be more difficult (but not impossible) to
establish your source as reliable. Appositives can be very helpful when
you are establishing sources. Once you have established your source as
reliable, you don't need to do it again. Your set-up also needs to
provide a little bit of context. What was your author writing about in
the essay when your quotation appears?
Quotation:
Never use a quotation as a complete sentence. At the very least, begin
like this: [Author] writes, " ..." (Author Pg). The "Author's Name" in
the parenthetical citation should be the first word that appears on the
Works Cited page. You don't need the abbreviation "Pg" in your citation.
You don't need to invent a page number for websites that don't have
page numbers.
Analysis: First, decode any
figurative language that appears in your quotation. Then, explain how
the quotation supports your topic sentence. You don't need to label your
quotation as a quotation.
Repeat the S-Q-A
steps. At some point during the first Analysis or the second Set-up you
will need to transition from your first quotation to your second.
Transitions of addition, emphasis, or contrast will all work here (a
quick google search will provide you with endless lists of transitions).
Closing: This sentence wraps up your paragraph and transitions the reader into your next paragraph.
Can our topic sentence be two sentences?
ReplyDeleteNope, but it is possible to use a semi-colon to link two complete sentences; if you do that, you'll have a single sentence topic sentence with two sentences (I dare you to say that five times fast).
ReplyDeleteDoes the most credible source come last?
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting consideration, but not necessarily. I think Emerson is more credible than Rose, and Hurston is more credible than Malcolm X, but in both cases chronology would trump credibility.
ReplyDeleteOk. Because i'm using Rose and Emerson. I think I am going to start with Rose and use Emerson as a solidifier, if you will, to show that the educational system hadn't changed between their two eras. Would this be acceptable?
ReplyDeleteYour logic is more compelling if you start with Emerson and establish the problem (or strength) in the past; when you bring up Rose, you can show that the problem (or strength) is still relevant to contemporary readers.
ReplyDelete