1. Warm UP- Write in complete sentences
What is your position on college? Is it worth the money? Should everyone go to college?
What are your options if you don’t go to college?
Write what you think about college and the cost. What could be a solution to that problem?

2. Honors: What is happening?
Over the next two weeks, synthesizing information to write and refine several essays.
1.25 (day 1): Intro to Synthesis Writing
Evaluate the Source A and understand what’s written
1.26 (day 2) Evaluate the rest of the sources and understand what your claim will be
1. 29 (day 3) Write your first Paragraph with Prompt 1: “Is College Worth It?”
Peer Edit- you will work with a partner and edit their BP1!
Write your second Paragraph with Prompt 1: “Is College Worth It?”
Self-Edit BP1 and 2- “College”
Analyze and assess scoring rubric
1.30 (day 4): Evaluate sources for Prompt 2: “Television’s impact on presidential elections”
1.31 (day 5): Compose BP1 and 2 Prompt 2: “Television’s impact ...”
Self-Edit- BP1 Prompt 2: “Television’s impact ...”
2.1 (day 6): Peer Edit BP2 Prompt 2
2.5. (day 7): Formal In-Class Essay

3. Evaluation of Source A Who is the author of Source A? The publisher?
Based on the article title, what is Crawford’s purpose in writing this article?
Based on the date published, is this source still relevant?
Look up “enervating.” What does this word choice tell you about Crawford’s feelings about sending everyone to college?
Based on the context of paragraph 1, what does “imperative” mean?
What is the connotation of “every warm body” in paragraph 1? What can you infer about the author’s opinion based on the use of this phrase?
Provide a quote that best supports the author’s claim.
What is the author’s claim? Are the included grounds persuasive? Why or why not?

4. Synthesis Essay

5. Honors: Today you will…
Be given a brief description of the issue.
Be presented with seven sources, at least one of which is visual.
Compose 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.
•I’d like you to consider . . .

6. Context of your Essay
•What is your position on college? Are there others?
•Is it worth the expenditure?
•Should everyone go to college?
•What are your options if you don’t go to college?

7. How it Starts •INTRODUCTION:
Many recent college graduates have faced record levels of unemployment. This situation has led people to question what they value about higher education. Some high school students and their parents are wondering if a college education is worth the cost. Others, however, believe that a college education prepares students for more than just a job or career.

8. •The ASSIGNMENT:
Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that evaluates whether college is worth its cost.

9. Make sure to do it this way:
Take a clear stance.
• Make sure, in other words, you decidedly express your claim on the necessity of going to college.
• You aren’t disagreeing or agreeing with the existence of college (or certain ones).
• Rather, you are arguing whether or not college is worth the cost.

10. Make sure you do it this way:
2. 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.
• Be sure to cite the sources. The citations are provided!
• If you are going to discuss your experiences with college (an older sibling who graduated; a friend who dropped out), make sure you do so to support the grounds you’ve identified in the sources not as substitution for the sources.

11. Make sure you do it this way:
3. This is an argument, not an opinion.
• Now you might have an opinion on this; you might not.
• It doesn’t really matter.
• The task isn’t to advance your opinion, but to advance your biased claim (that college is or is not worth the cost).
• There’s nothing wrong with bias.

12. Honors: Formal In-Class Essay
You will be provided the prompt the day of. The Formal Assessment will be a timed in-class essay where you will be expected to model your skills evaluating sources and synthesizing the information into a clear claim.

13. How to Evaluate a Source
What do you know about the publisher? What makes them credible?
When was the material published? Is it too far out of date?
What is the purpose of sharing the information? Is there a secondary purpose or benefit?
What kind of wording or language is being used? Does this make the information more biased or unreliable?

14. Evaluation of Source A Who is the author of Source A? The publisher?
Based on the article title, what is Crawford’s purpose in writing this article?
Based on the date published, is this source still relevant?
Look up “enervating.” What does this word choice tell you about Crawford’s feelings about sending everyone to college?
Based on the context of paragraph 1, what does “imperative” mean?
What is the connotation of “every warm body” in paragraph 1? What can you infer about the author’s opinion based on the use of this phrase?
Look up and read “To Be of Use.” What is the effect of alluding to this poem?
Provide a quote that best supports the author’s claim.
What is the author’s claim? Are the included grounds persuasive? Why or why not?

15. Evaluation of Source B
What is Michael Roth’s job? How might that information inform you of Roth’s bias? (Remember, bias is not an evil word. “Geometry” and “chemistry” and “Voldemort” are evil words. Nasty things.)
What is the implied claim at the end of paragraph 1? How is this point meant to influence the audience? Did you find this point compelling?
According to Roth, what are the merits of a liberal arts education (he enumerates several)?
Consider the use of words like “freedom and experimentation” combined with terms like “tools,” “meaningful,” and “productive” in the last paragraph. What is the effect of Roth’s use of diction here? What final point is he making?

16. Source C

17. Evaluation Source C
Review the title. What does Shierholz seem to be suggesting here?
Read the sentence in italics. What is the organization’s goal? Is this chart effective in supporting the organization’s goal? Why or why not?
Analyze the chart. Who or what is being charted? What element could be added to be more persuasive?
If you wanted to argue that college is worthwhile and use this chart, what point could you make?
4. Not comparing non-college grads wages; it’s 2018 so its a bit dated; overall higher since 1979;

18. Evaluation of Source D
Identify the sentence in this article that best supports the author’s claim.
What are the two main reasons that college costs are not a problem for those who graduate?
You’ll need to define “panacea” in order to understand what Author meant in the second paragraph. Why does Leonhardt quote from Author? How does this establish Leonhardt’s claim and his ethos?
Explain Leonhardt’s logos in this article. How does it support a pro-college claim?