The word synthesis means to bring ideas together to form something new.
The word synthesis means to bring ideas together to form something new. For this paper, you can choose between “The Stonewall Reader” and “The Hate U Give” for your anchor text. Then using one of the following topics as a guide, you will find an outside source to connect and present a new idea. The goal for this assignment is to identify a question from the text, and try to find an answer that can add to the academic discourse around the topic you chose.
This paper should (as a general outline) consist of 4 paragraphs, about 200 words each. This is a guideline, and I encourage you to structure the paper in a way that feels natural and makes sense, but it must be between 800-1000 words. You CANNOT go under 800, but may go over a little if it is critical to your point.
When looking at your anchor text you should focus on specific sections instead of the whole text. When planning your paper, choose a topic you find interesting or have questions about, then find an outside article to help build your synthesis. You should use the skills we developed from the library session and our project on credibility to find your outside source. (NOTE- It will help you to think about who your audience is, hint: it isn’t your teacher.) You should be writing with the idea of the academic conversation in mind.
Remember, this is a draft and therefore it doesn\’t need to be perfect the first time.
Topic: CODE SWITCHING
Rough structure of your paper:
PARAGRAPH ONE: Introduce the topic of study. Remember, you don\’t have to focus on the entire reading; you can focus on one aspect that fits your topic. Present the topic and what question you want to answer. Explain how the two sources you’ve chosen relate to the topic. Remember to include a thesis statement (what will this paper be discussing?)
PARAGRAPH TWO: Present what the first reading has to say about this topic you\’ve chosen. (This is your anchor text.) How does this book address your topic and begin to answer the question you have? Somewhere in the paragraph, present at least one key quote from the text to show how it relates. Remember to think about who YOUR audience is and how this key quote will relate to what you are saying to them. (When looking at these books, you will most likely need two paragraphs to cover it fully.)
PARAGRAPH THREE: Present the second source and how it relates to the first. (This is the outside source you found.) You should see this paragraph as adding to the conversations started in the previous paragraphs. This is the beginning of your synthesis skills. Use transition words, showing how this second source relates to the first. Focus on how this article extends the understanding of the topic you are discussing. Somewhere in the paragraph, you need to present one key quote from the source to show what the author adds to this conversation. (Again, think about what YOU are trying to say to your audience about your topic.)
PARAGRAPH FOUR: This is where you will present the insight, or \”so what,\” regarding the synthesis. (I am not looking for why we should make a synthesis paper. It is the “so what” in relation to your question and topic.) You want to begin this paragraph with a few sentences showing the key findings from each article, connecting the dots. That is, what was learned by bringing the two sources into conversation? You want to move to the new* thing that can be concluded due to this synthesis and, ultimately, present a direction for future research due to a \”gap\” in the understanding that you found. That is, when you bring these ideas together, what is still unknown? Where can the future research go? DO NOT USE CHATGPT I WILL KNOW.
Requirements: 800-1000 words
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