Synthesis Essay Notes/Peer Response

Introduction Hook needs to actually grab ATTENTION!!! Rate it 1-10, based on interest. Does it connect to thesis? Funnel needs to be TRULY be an insightful, substantive discussion of the main issue in the essay! Is this happening? Thesis needs to be clear, concise; the simpler the better. If you’re giving any facts, stats, percentages, etc., then YOU NEED TO CITE THEM. 2 options: – 1) You could directly quote. In 1999, “20% of people recycled on a regular basis” (Kozar). You would need a works cited page with an entry for Kozar! – 2) Signal Phrase with info: According to a New York Times article written by George Kozar, titled “ We’re Not Recycling,” in 1999, “20% of people recycled on a regular basis.” Write in 3 rd Person!!! THERE SHOULD BE NO “I” “YOU” or “WE” – Some exceptions: You can use “I” only in the intro/conclusion if part of your hook involves your OWN story. Like, “On March 7 th, 2004, technology saved my life. I have a Pacemaker.” You can use “WE” only when you establish that you’re talking about a group that you belong to. Like, “Americans throw away 3 million pounds of garbage each day. We’ve got to do better than this.” Don’t use “YOU.” No referencing the specific texts in the INTRO! Don’t talk about Poor Kids or the other texts for the prompts. You’ll do this later!!! In a synthesis argumentative essay like the one we’re writing, there’s really no space to effectively do this in the intro.

Body Paragraph(s) Make sure topic sentence is a logical REASON stemming from the Claim. Does it make sense? Could it be stronger? Is it general (not specific) There should be 2 pieces of textual evidence in this paragraph (one from one text, one from another text). They should be cited correctly, like this, “this is how you quote something” (Krakauer). In the INTRODUCTION to EVIDENCE, the writer NEEDS to explain the author and text title and provide sufficient CONTEXT. Would a reader unfamiliar with the text know what is going on? Is this Textual Evidence TRULY logically proving the topic sentence and claim? Could this evidence be better aligned with the TS and claim? ANALYSIS: IMPORTANT!!! Are there connections to the TS and claim? NO “This quote shows” or “I think…” ANYWHERE in this paragraph!

Hints/Fixes If there’s a quote from someone in an article/video that isn’t from the writer, you have an option: – “I need some Jordans” (Davis qtd. in Poor Kids) – Or: Johnny Davis, a child in one of the families featured in the PBS documentary Poor Kids, says, “I need some Jordans” (Poor Kids). Make SURE you introduce your source in the CONTEXT/INTRO TO EVIDENCE section. – Instead of: College is expensive for the average American, and practically impossible for an American in poverty. “The college costs for in-state schools in 2013 averaged $22,826” (“What’s the Price Tag for a College Education”). – Do THIS: College is expensive for the average American, and practically impossible for an American in poverty. Costs for higher education are surging, and, according to a recent article published in Modern Education, “The college costs for in-state schools in 2013 averaged $22,826” (“What the Price…”). Don’t forget about grammar rules for punctuation– quotation marks for shorter works (“articles”) and italics for longer works (italics).

Conclusion Has the writer restated the claim in a NEW way? Is it still effective, clear, and concise? If the writer used a transition clause/sentence, is it effective? (No “In conclusion”) So What? Has the writer moved the conclusion into an interesting discussion of why the topic matters to the reader—why we should care? If contemporary connections are used, do they make sense? Are they forced? Are they over- used? Does the writer seem to connect back to the hook, and does this work? GRAMMAR!