Rough Draft: Writing Project #2: Reading Multiple Authors and Making connections.

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Description

NSTRUCTIONS: Writing Project #2: Reading Multiple Authors and Making connections (Synthesis Essay) – Joining the Conversation

Purpose:

Now we have our topic; we have our research question; we proposed our research; and we have written annotated bibliographies to organize our thoughts. What do we do with all of this?

The two major modes of writing in college are 1 analysis and 2 argument. This paper will ask you to analyze your research by using a technique of analysis called synthesis.

Analysis is about meaning making. Often writers will look at individual sources and break down what each means and why that is important to their thesis.

In a synthesis, writers build on the analysis techniques by bringing these ideas back together. Think about how patterns between the writings/authors exist. Why could those patterns be important or significant? Connecting your research and showing meanings and implications of ideas shared between them is synthesizing the works.

Synthesis is the ability to create a new whole, your own perspective, by studying alternative views on an issue.  In other words, the “new whole” is connecting your sources ideas together to create a new point of view on an issue, something you will obtain through the combination of analyzing the ideas of others and relating them to one another.

Skills: The purpose of English 111 is to help you develop and practice writing and thinking skills essential to your success in college and in your professional life beyond school. Drawing on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains, we will focus on developing writerly “moves” that characterize strong written communication. This assignment will ask you to practice the following writing skills: Analyzing, Evaluating, and Synthesizing.

Knowledge: This assignment will focus on developing knowledge in the following course learning objectives:

(2) Develop and apply strategies for critical reading, critical thinking, and information literacy.

(4) Analyze and synthesize researched information to develop and support original claims.

(7) Employ correct techniques of style, formatting, and documentation when incorporating quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from sources into compositions.

Task:

This paper will build on writing projects you have done previously in the course and will utilize the same topic and research you compiled for the Critical Annotated Bibliography.  You may (and likely will) refocus and revise your guiding research question for this project, but your overall topic should stay the same.  Textual support for this essay will come from The Little Seagull Handbook Chapters W-16 “Reading Strategies,” R-3 “Synthesizing Ideas” and R-4 “Integrating Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism”

Process: 

1) You will choose four (4) sources from 1-2 from non-academic sources (opposing viewpoints and the internet) and 2-3 from academic sources (Academic Search Premier/Complete, EBSCO).

Remember analysis is about breaking down individual parts to show the meaning and value.

Synthesis is about connecting those parts to show how the individual meetings connect, create a pattern, and make a new meaning when considered together. 

Format:

Length: About 4 pages double spaced 

Use standard fonts and sizes (Times New Roman 12, Calibri 11)

  • The final draft of the essay should observe formal formatting and documentation (APA) guidelines 
  • You will need to include quotes from at least four (4) of the sources (non-academic and academic).
  • Criteria for Success:

Writing Project #2 is worth a total of 150 points (the rough draft is 50 and I will adjust the points to such). A successful finished product will meet the criteria below.

Synthesis Essay Rubric

Annotated Bibliography Entry of non-academic sources.

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Description

Assignment: Annotated bib of non-academic sources

For this activity find two sources using the Ivy Tech LibraryLinks to an external site. article databases. Then, using APA , you will write a source citation and an evaluative annotation of the source.

Purpose:

An annotated bibliography should help you think about your research (and what you’ve started reading). It should be a collection of sources that you’ve found that you have evaluated as the best that you’ve found (meaning that you’ve looked at other things and they won’t be included because they weren’t as good). When you find your most helpful research, you should place it on an annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography should help you express: 1 the value of the research, 2 a summary of who wrote the article and what it says in relation to your topic 3 an evaluate the source quality (why is this source of high quality) and what are the most important things it says. Finally an annotated bib should communicate to someone else (in this case your teacher: 4 how does this source answer your research question, 5 how/why could you use this to write a synthesis (paper 2, where we look at the relationship of sources together and how they change meaning paper)?, 6how/why could you use this source to write an argument paper (where you persuade/convince someone)

Your chosen source should address your research topic and question.

For this assignment, you should include the following things:

an APA style source citation (correctly punctuated and formatted, including doubles-pacing and hanging indent)

An evaluative annotation of about 150-200 words, which includes

a brief summary (about 2-3 sentences)

an evaluation of the source assessing the author and/or publication’s credibility, bias, strengths and limitations, as well as how you might use this source in your argument essay.

An idea of how this source interacts with the other source included (what is it saying that is different, agrees, disagree, contradicts your other source? How do these two sources impact/change each other? (Helpful for your teacher to understand if you are in a good position to write paper 2)

Annotated Bibliography Entry of academic sources

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Description

Assignment: Annotated bib of academic sources

For this activity find two sources using the Ivy Tech LibraryLinks to an external site. article databases. Then, using the APA style, you will write 2-3 source citation and an evaluative annotation of the source.

For your first annotated bibliography we were learning the format and creating an annotated bib for a few non-academic sources. For this annotated bibliography you are creating an annotated bibliography for ONLY your academic sources from Academic Search Premier/complete (EBSCO).  If your article isn’t academic, don’t put it on your annotated bib. ONLY include articles you got from Academic Search Premier that are academic.

We are trying to evaluate articles that come from academic sources that we can use for our synthesis and argument papers.
The purpose is to share with me what you have been reading from the academic database that you think will be useful for the final two papers.

Purpose:

An annotated bibliography should help you think about your research (and what you’ve started reading). It should be a collection of sources that you’ve found that you have evaluated as the best that you’ve found (meaning that you’ve looked at other things and they won’t be included because they weren’t as good). When you find your most helpful research, you should place it on an annotated bibliography. The annotated bibliography should help you express: 1 the value of the research, 2 a summary of who wrote the article and what it says in relation to your topic 3 an evaluate the source quality (why is this source of high quality) and what are the most important things it says. Finally an annotated bib should communicate to someone else (in this case your teacher: 4 how does this source answer your research question, 5 how/why could you use this to write a synthesis (paper 2, where we look at the relationship of sources together and how they change meaning paper)?, 6how/why could you use this source to write an argument paper (where you persuade/convince someone)

Your chosen source should address your research topic and question.

For this assignment, you should include the following things:

an APA style source citation (correctly punctuated and formatted, including doubles-pacing and hanging indent)

  • An evaluative annotation of about 150-200 words, which includes

a brief summary (about 2-3 sentences)

an evaluation of the source assessing the author and/or publication’s credibility, bias, strengths and limitations, as well as how you might use this source in your argument essay.

An idea of how this source interacts with the other source included (what is it saying that is different, agrees, disagree, contradicts your other source? How do these two sources impact/change each other? (Helpful for your teacher to understand if you are in a good position to write paper 2)

An idea of why this source is convincing/persuasive with the other source included (what is it saying that is can be used to persuade an audience) (Helpful for your teacher to understand if you are in a good position to write paper 3)

only academic sources (see me or a librarian if you have questions about what an academic source is)

This library resource may prove helpful: https://library.ivytech.edu/c.php?g=456362&p=3615392Links to an external site.