The Art of Synthesis

Do you ever feel frustrated by…

• Conflicting medical advice?

• Conflicting life advice?

• Five different teachers having five different “right ways” to do something?

• Consider your chapter 12 readings. Each offered a different perspective regarding sustainable eating. – What were the sources in agreement about?– Where did they differ? – What values and beliefs were underlying

these arguments?

What is Synthesis?

• Synthesis is the combining of separate elements or substances to form a new, coherent whole.

© 2012 GMM

© 2008 GMM

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© 2008 GMM

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ALLWILL/

or WILL NOTBE USEFUL TO ME IN MY FUTURE CAREER

ALL TEACH SOMETHING

ABOUT HUMANLIFE

Synthesize…ALL ARE

SUBJECTSTAKEN IN

HIGHSCHOOL

Consider the hashtag…

#....

Recent tweets under #ebola•  @MarketWatch :A Spanish nurse has tested

positive for Ebola• @BtonGirlProbs   Apparently Ebola is spreading

to the UK...no doubt I'll catch it as I tend to attract things which want to ruin my life

• @HitsBIunt: If Ebola breaks out in Vegas, does it stay in Vegas?

• @davidschneider:Don't know who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine but if they use the same logic they sometimes do with the Peace Prize it was probably Ebola.

• @CatherineQ  Ebola has yet to kill anyone in the US. The 'flu has killed up to 36,000 people a year. Do something constructive and get a 'flu shot.

THE TORTILLA CURTAIN

IN THE STRAWBERRY FIELDS

A MODEST PROPOSAL

CHOOSE A CHAPTER 12

READING

GREED SAPSHUMAN

COMPASSION

SYNTHESIS on the AP Language Exam…

• “Accomplished academic writers don't simply draw material from published sources as if the sources were maples being tapped for their sap. On the contrary, savvy writers converse with sources and incorporate (literally: em-body) them in their argument” (David Jolliffe).

What It Means to Enter a Conversation…

DO… DO NOT…

-offer your own, original stance on topic-listen and respond to the ideas of others-engage as a thoughtful member of the discussion-Entertain a multiplicity of perspectives

-merely repeat the ideas of others

-merely summarize the ideas of others

-speak as an outsider

-approach subjects in a black and white way

SYNTHESIS on the AP Language Exam…

• “In most college courses that require substantial writing, students are called upon to write researched arguments in which they take a stand on a topic or an issue and then enter into conversation with what has already been written on it.”

(David Jolliffe).

• As such, it is not surprising that the College Board wants you to demonstrate this skill on the AP Language Exam.

Six Moves Toward Successby David Jolliffe

1. Read Closely, Then Analyze

First, read the sources carefully. There will be an extra15 minutes allotted to the free-response section for

thispurpose. You will be permitted to read and write on thecover sheet to the synthesis question, which willcontain some introductory material, the prompt itself,and a list of the sources. You will also bepermitted to read and annotate the sourcesthemselves. You will not be permitted to openhis or her test booklet and actually begin writing thecomposition until after the 15 minutes has elapsed.

Six Moves Toward Successby David Jolliffe

2. Analyze the argument each source is making:

• What claim is the source making about the issue?

• What data or evidence does the source offer in support of that claim?

• What are the assumptions or beliefs (explicit or unspoken) that warrant using this evidence or data to support the claim?

• Note: You will need to learn how to perform such analyses of nontextual sources: graphs, charts, pictures, cartoons, and so on.

Six Moves Toward Successby David Jolliffe

3. Generalize about your own potential stands on the issue. The writer should ask…

• "What are two or three (or more) possible positions on this issue that I could take?

• Which of those positions do I really want to take?

• Why?"

.

Six Moves Toward Success by David Jolliffe

(#3 continued… Generalize about your own potential stands on the issue. )(#3 continued… Generalize about your own potential stands on the issue. )

It's vital at this point, for the writer to It's vital at this point, for the writer to keep an open mindkeep an open mind..A A stronger, more mature, more persuasive essay willstronger, more mature, more persuasive essay willresult if the writer resists the temptation to oversimplifyresult if the writer resists the temptation to oversimplifythe issue, to hone in immediately on an obvious thesisthe issue, to hone in immediately on an obvious thesis..All of the synthesis essay prompts will be based onAll of the synthesis essay prompts will be based onissues that invite careful, critical thinking. issues that invite careful, critical thinking. TheThebest student responses will be those in which the thesisbest student responses will be those in which the thesisand development suggest clearly that the writer has givenand development suggest clearly that the writer has givensome thought to the nuances, the complexities of thesome thought to the nuances, the complexities of theassigned topic.assigned topic.

Six Moves Toward Successby David Jolliffe

4.4. (and this is the most challenging move) (and this is the most challenging move) Imagine presenting each of your best Imagine presenting each of your best positions on the issue to each of the authors positions on the issue to each of the authors of the provided sources. of the provided sources.

Role-playing the author or creator of each source, create an imaginary conversation between yourself and the author/creator of the source. Would the author/creator…

• agree with the writer's position? Why?agree with the writer's position? Why? • Disagree? Why? Disagree? Why? • Want to qualify it in some way? Why and how?Want to qualify it in some way? Why and how?

Six Moves Toward Successby David Jolliffe

5. On the basis of this imagined conversation, finesse, to refine, the point that you would like to make about the issue so that it can serve as a central proposition, a thesis -- as complicated and robust as the topic demands -- for your composition.

• This proposition or thesis should probably appear relatively quickly in the composition, after a sentence or two that contextualizes the topic or issue for the reader.

Six Moves Toward Successby David Jolliffe

6. Argue your position.

Develop the case for the position by incorporating within your own thinking the conversations you had with the authors/creators of the primary sources. Feel free to say things like

– "Source A takes a similar position similar to mine," or– "Source C would oppose this position, but here's why it is

nevertheless valid” or – "Source E offers a slightly different perspective, one that would

be more effective if slightly altered to reflect…”

Sample Prompt: Directions

• Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying six sources. This question requires you to integrate a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. Refer to the sources to support your position; avoid mere paraphrase or summary. Your argument should be central; the sources should support this argument. Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.

Sample Prompt: Introduction

• Introduction :Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960’s. But just what is this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made elections fairer and more accessible, or has it moved candidates from pursuing issues to pursuing image?

Sample Prompt: Assignment

• Assignment: Read the following sources (including any introductory information) carefully. Then, in an essay that synthesizes at least three of the sources for support, take a positionthat defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim that television has had a positive impact on presidential elections.

• Refer to the sources as Source A, Source B, etc.; titles are included for your convenience.