2. 12.7/ Wed/Thu
warm-up: fallacy warm-up. It’s fallaciously delicious!
activity 1: Synth intro and notes; synth 15-minute reading time
activity 2: logical fallacy activity. Like, seriously, a real-life activity for all the girls and boys!
close: Maybe review the FRQ if we have time? Maybe peer edit?
HW DUE: your grad paper rough draft. Grad paper checklist and rough draft on desk.
HW Tonight: write your synth essay.
Upcoming:
12.7/12.8: final draft due
12.7/12.8: begin synth bootcamp
12.9/12.12: unit quiz 2 (logic, fallacies)
12.13/12.14: vocab. 5 due
12.19/12.20: grammar 5 due
12.21/1.4: synth FRQ (formal grade)
1.5/1.6: unit quiz 3 (review all terms)
1.9/1.10: grad paper due
1.17: midterms begin (argumentation unit test)

3. 12.7/12.8 warm-up: VALID/INVALID?
What’s wrong with these?
EXAMPLE 1
All people are born with equal rights
Some people are, however, born with physical disabilities
Therefore some people are not equal
EXAMPLE 2
Equal rights must be a guaranteed right
Some people are denied equal rights
Therefore all people must have their equal rights guaranteed
EXAMPLE 3
Burning fossil fuels causes global warming
Kampolmi drives a car that burns fossil fuels (that jerk!)
Therefore Kampolmi is responsible for global warming (get him!)

4. 12.7/12.8 warm-up: your face is a logical fallacy
EXAMPLE 1: This is called equivocation. I have used the same word (equal) but two different definitions of the word. That’s not right of me. I shouldn’t be so fallacious.
All people are born with equal rights
Some people are, however, born with physical disabilities
Therefore some people are not equal
EXAMPLE 2: This is called begging the question or circular reasoning. A = C because C = A.
Equal rights must be a guaranteed right
Some people are denied equal rights
Therefore all people must have their equal rights guaranteed
EXAMPLE 3: I done jumped to a conclusion! This is probably a little post hoc but it is stronger hasty generalization—it’s a small sample size theater!
Burning fossil fuels causes global warming
Kampolmi drives a car that burns fossil fuels (that jerk!)
Therefore Kampolmi is responsible for global warming (get him!)

5. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
First of all, what the heck does it mean to “synthesis”?
That’s an actual question.
Anyone want to answer it?
Cuz this is what I think about when I think about synthesizers:

7. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
So what is it if it’s not dude in capes playing keyboards? (Pssst. It’s totally that.)
All to synthesize means is to take disparate elements and combine them into one whole.
THIS IS THE MOST COMMON FORM OF WRITING IN COLLEGE. Most of what you do (outside of like literary analysis which is stupid and purposeless stupid poems) in college—heck in every form of writing—is synthesis
And usually it’s synthesis of the argumentative variety (even if, on the surface, it doesn’t seem like argumentation).
You take the sources you are given in the synthesis prompt, and synthesize them into a cogent argument of your own design.
You are given a brief description of the issue.
You are then presented with (typically) seven sources, at least one of which is always visual.
You then write an argumentative essay that incorporates and synthesizes at least three of the sources in support of your position on the topic.
Let’s look at this in context.

8. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
Since the introduction of the synthesis essay, the argumentation essay has become much more philosophical and abstruse.
In the past, there were prompts that were more expository in nature. They still alternate some of those expository topics in, so we’ll look at one of those when we practice later.
The synthesis essay is (more or less) a topical argument.
It asks you to think about an issue and evaluate that issue.
From what I’ve seen over the years, it’s usually a topic about which you have no care or knowledge.
So . . .

9. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
Locavores. It’s a real thing.
See?

10. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
Imagine that a community is considering organizing a locavore movement. Identify the key issues associated with the movement and examine their implications for a community.
TWO PARTS TO THIS ESSAY.
KEY ISSUES: you need to find the key issues that any locavore community must face.
IMPLICATIONS: you need to examine how these key issues affect a community.
I see this going one of two ways.

11. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro BP1: Key issues BP2: Implications OR
BP1: Key issue  implication
BP2: Key issue implication

12. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro How is this an argument?
You are developing a clear position on a topic.
You see how the issue affects people and you explain it to them?
This really sounds more expository than argumentative to me.
LISTEN: you’re not proposing a solution; you’re selecting what you think are the most important issues are that a community should weigh before going locavore (before locarvoring?).
In this, you are making an argument. You are, inherently, deciding if locavoring is worth it or not.
There is bias and you are supporting a claim with evidence.
But, again, you are not proposing a solution to a problem.
While the skills carry over from the grad paper, it’s not exactly the same task.

13. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
Take a clear stance. There is no room for qualification here.
Make sure, in other words, you decidedly express not your approval or dismissal of the locavore movement.
But that you are clear about the issues associated with the movement.
You don’t, by the way, need to define what a locavore is.

14. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro Your argument is based on the sources.
You are required to synthesize the sources.
You’re not merely paraphrasing or quoting. Just quoting using a source is not really synthesizing.
The only grounds your are using is what you find in the sources. You can use anecdotes but it’s probably best to confine it to the intro/conclusion.
(Oh, and you do have to cite the sources, too.)
And it’s best to leave your knowledge of the subject out of the argument.
But it is your argument. The sources provide supporting information, perspectives, viewpoints so that you can make your point.

15. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
The basic structure for your essay is argumentation.
You should probably still be using Toulmin model for your BPs.
You don’t have a whole lot of time to write background or much in the way of introduction.
Focus on your BPs and how you synth information from the sources in those BPs to create an argument.

16. 12.7/12.8 notes: Synth intro
Now College Board recommends (and used to require) a 15-minute reading period during which you, um, just read (I sort of backed myself into a corner with that sentence).
It used to be that they would not let you open your answer booklet, but you could (obviously) annotate the test booklet.
They recommended that you use the entire 15 minutes for the synth.
I don’t know why they stopped doing that, but we are certainly going to try it out.
15 minutes. You may read and annotate but nothing else. Take your time. (Hey, I did it! I found a ten-minute song, read these sources, annotated and wrote a couple of questions for next class before the song was over!)
“Locavores are people who have decided to eat locally grown or produced products as much as possible. With an eye to nutrition ”