1. 1. STEP ONE – READ THE PROMPT
NOTE – The introduction IS NOT the Prompt!
Introduction: Many people believe that the physical differences in size and strength between men and women affect their intellectual capabilities and social status. Brain research suggests that men and women process information in different ways. Are menand women created equal? Or do their differences suggest an inherent inequality between
the sexes? Do these physical differences imply that one gender is superior to another?

2. Step 1 – Read the Prompt – Underline key words that tell you what to do
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 position that defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim that "Human creatures …are never entirely male or entirely female; there are no men, there are no women….”

3. Brainstorm what you think – What angles might you take?
Step 2 – Jot down YOUR ideas on the topic FIRST (keep your argument central)
Brainstorm what you think –
What angles might you take?
Be careful not to oversimplify the issue BUT don’t be wishy washy either – take a firm position

4. Step 3 – Read the Sources
Look for sources that align with your ideas or serve as a good counterpoint to your ideas.
Underline key quotes that you can use to support your ideas
Look for commonalities or key differences between sources that you can use to SYNTHESIZE (pull sources together!)
Ideally read all the sources to know all your options BUT . . .

5. If time is an issue
Look at the visual text(s) – they are usually a fast “read”
Scan the titles of the sources – read only those that seem to align with your ideas/argument
Read the first few sentences of each source – generally the thesis or main idea is there and you can tell pretty quickly if the source will be useful to you
You need to read at least 3 of the sources!

6. 10 minutes to read the sources
THEN – Complete the back side of the 3 sources you would use for your essay –
If you want to use Source A you may but it doesn’t count as one of your 3 sources

7. Advice from the AP Readers
One type of low-scoring essay was the heartfelt personal response that barely referenced the sources. Instead of using sources to explain a reasoned response, these essays largely ignored the sources, as the
students devoted their energies to emotional expression. Eager anticipation of college life, assertions of the American dream, and complaints about oppressively high college costs were especially common emotional arguments and received scores of 4 or lower if. As this year’s synthesis question leader reported, students did not somehow “tether” their feelings to “regard for the supplied sources.” Another type of low-scoring essay offered what the synthesis question leader described as “a long-winded source tour.” These responses were often lengthened by extensive quotation and paraphrase but took the
form of source reports rather than source-based arguments. The student writers of these essays did not synthesize the sources, but rather summarized them individually, offering each summary or quotation as a separate piece of evidence to support a chosen response to the question: Is college worth its costs?
Essays that failed to use and/or synthesize the sources were inadequate responses to the question, thus
scoring in the lower half (4 or below) of the 9-point scale. Successful responses to the synthesis prompt
were firmly grounded in careful reading and collective interpretation of the sources, and some especially
successful essays coupled reasoned responses to the sources with emotional investment in the argument.
Essays scored as “adequate” (6–7) or “effective” (8–9) exhibited careful reading of the prompt and the
sources, taking direction from the prompt to “evaluate” the costs and/or benefits of college. Successful
essay responses weighed of the value of a comprehensive education, or decried the continuing escalation
in college expenses in difficult economic circumstances, or embraced alternatives to the established-butexpensive
college path.

8. http://apcentral. collegeboard
lic/repository/ap11_english_language_for m_b_q3.pdf

9. NOW SYNTHESIZE
Write ONE strong body paragraph where you keep YOUR ARGUMENT CENTRAL – Then
SYNTHESIZE at least two of the sources to support your argument. Make sure you CITE your sources either by source letter or name. You may cite in your sentence OR at the end (Source A).