Compose a research paper outlining the expectations for an understanding of the argumentative synthesis essay. The goal of the section is to learn how to incorporate sources together to share your point(s). In other words, you are working at sharing YOUR ideas w/ the help of academic sources that you will use together. So at the beginning of the section, I want to be sure that you are aware of 2 large points.
Please answer both of these questions completely. (If it were me, I’d copy and paste this somewhere, fill it in, and then hit reply and post it all back in.)
Part 1: According to the week 8 video, what are important things to remember when writing an academic, argumentative synthesis essay? (Try to be as complete as you can. Worth 10 pts)
Part 2: This section of the class is introducing and working on core 111 skills that are reflected on the course rubric. According to the rubric, what do you need to keep in mind when writing this essay? Here is a new video about the rubric. (USE rubric terms & explain!!! Worth 15 pts)
English 111 Rubric for AMS Feedback
Student:
Evaluator:
Criteria
Feedback
ANALYTIC INQUIRY & ENGAGING DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES
Problematizes idea and remains mostly focused around a central idea
Develops a complex perspective
Demonstrates a recognizable and significant thought process
Provides evidence of critical reading and reflection
FRAMING WRITING FOR AN ACADEMIC AUDIENCE
Demonstrates ability to write for academic context and audience
Balances academic conventions with own unique voice
Engages in the dialogic nature of writing
Provides evidence of revision and editing efforts
USE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES
Has chosen and clearly introduces academic sources in their essays
Provides support for claims
Integrates sources with the writer’s thinking or analysis
Synthesizes ideas and sources
Effectively uses MLA documentation
COMMUNICATIVE FLUENCY
Structure and organization suited to assignment
and purpose
Includes transitions
Demonstrates paragraph coherence
TEXT EDITING
Additional Comments:
Currently Acceptable : _________
Currently Unacceptable : _________
This is a nasty formulaic paragraph to ensure you know the common format and understand what I mean when I say “top bun” or “signal phrase.” Below are some of the common parts of a synthesis paragraph with an explanation. Beneath the box is a sample essay with corresponding colors.
The opening of paragraphs usually needs a transition and a clear idea of the main idea of the paragraph. Then, it might include a few sentences establishing why that idea matters. This helps build your ownership & shows a “recognizable and significant thought process.”
Top bun – Introduce the source, build credibility using credentials, and explain in your words how what they write about fits with the idea you have focused the paragraph on. (This hits on 3 different rubrics requirements.)
signal phrase – words before the quote for flow & quote “words. . . .” (#). ex) Butler argues, “. . . .”(#).
Bottom bun – explain how the quote makes your point. Consider using the author’s name. Emphasizing a word or two from the quote can help you dig more deeply into your discussion. (This has to do with both “critical reading,” which is on the rubric twice, “integrating sources with the writer’s thinking or analysis,” and shows a “recognizable and significant thought process.”)
transition to second source —- usually you’ll use a comparison word (NOT agrees, but when possible emphasizing how the new sources add different perspective)
Top bun – introduce source two, build credibility with credentials, and explain in your own words how they relate to the overall idea
signal phrase, quote
Bottom bun – explain this new quote to show off your understanding and make sure your point about source two is proven
Follow-up Synthesis – 3-8 sentences explaining how the two sources fit together to solidify your argument about how they relate to each other –emphasizing differences first and then tying to the point of the paragraph
At the end. . . make sure it is tied back to the opening sentence(s) of the paragraph.
Example Formulaic Paragraph:
Teachers, however, are not the only ones with frames of reference that affect learning. Students’ beliefs about what is or is not essential affect the way they approach their learning. Many students have a frame of reference that memorization is an adequate form of learning and tackling coursework. Consequently, rote memorization is a ubiquitous disease among students. Many treat the information they learn as detached bits of data useful only for reproducing in the occasion of a test, instead of internalizing knowledge and analyzing algorithms in search of a deeper, conceptual meaning. In his essay, John Tagg, Associate Professor of English at Palamar College, explores this frame of reference through his examples of Jack and Jill. Jack was a college student who maintained quality grades but did not retain anything he learned; Jill was a student that flunked, but was inspired by a class to change her educational outlook. Tagg feels that Jill was the more successful student because her learning experience continued to shape her life, while Jack was unaffected by the class. Because Jack held the frame of reference that memorization is adequate, he took the surface-level approach to learning. Those who take the surface-level approach focus on only the formulas, or words when processing material they are presented with in class; they memorize. Those who take the deep-level approach delve into the information in search of its underlying meaning. Tagg shared that “Jill …was taking a deep approach to learning; … she engaged with the ideas, the underlying meaning. …. Jack, on the other hand, took a surface approach. We see in Jack what we do not like to see in our students: he studied for tests” (Tagg 5). Jack, in other words, engaged in temporary memorization. He studied only for the purpose of being able to regurgitate information so that he would be rewarded with a good grade. This frame of reference severely impacted his learning; he did not find meaning in the information he was passively consuming. Jill truly learned because she did not just memorize; Jack did not learn as well because he did not take the time to understand the meaning of the material. Similarly, bell hooks, vocal educational reformist and past Yale Professor, has a frame of reference that education should be about more than just memorizing. As a student, hooks experienced different pedagogical approaches and found that some inspired her while others discouraged her. She rejected those methodologies that merely encouraged students to memorize and reproduce the information professors fed them. Instead, she was “most inspired by those teachers who had the courage to transgress those boundaries that would confine each pupil to a rote, assembly-line approach to learning” (hooks 253). This approach was one that encouraged students to quickly and efficiently learn vast knowledge of subjects, without wasting time pondering the deeper meaning. hooks, however, had a frame of reference that learning should be about more than consumption and memorization, and because of this, it was difficult for her to learn from some teachers. Her frame of reference affected her learning. hooks’ experiences as a student also affect her frame of reference about teaching – she tries to devoid her classroom of memorization because she has experienced its ineffectiveness firsthand. Although Tagg looks at how students’ frames of reference about the adequacy of memorization impact their learning and hooks examines how her personal frame of reference of animosity toward memorization affects her educational experiences as a student and teacher, both exemplify the same point. Jack’s frame of reference was that a light surface memorization was enough to get from the class. As a result he didn’t know anything from the course when it was over. hooks resistance and rejection of memorization only as a student saved her, much like Jill, and she was able to take what she learned with her. Both of these author’s adamantly feel a frame of reference that higher education is just about temporary memorization hurts student learning. Both would urge students to avoid such a trap that could limit their potential for growth and change. As a result, both help illustrate that frames of reference about memorization affect the way a student learns.
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