Craft an essay that synthesizes your research, providing a response to your student selected scholarly article’s main argument. Your goal is not to simply agree or disagree with your student selected scholarly article’s claims, but instead, to craft a response to these points that develops the scholarly conversation between your initial source and your researched sources.
Tasks:
- Review the assignment details as provided in our Writing the Synthesis Essay resource.
- Refer to your annotated bibliography submission to assist you in crafting a cohesive, research-informed response to your selected article’s main argument and supporting claims.
- Your essay should contain an introduction, conclusion, and at least three body paragraphs.
- The introduction should provide an introduction to your topic, naming both your author(s) and the title of your chosen student selected scholarly article and offering a brief summary of the work and some background or contextualization that informs readers why this is an important topic to discuss. Finally, your introduction must contain a thesis statement, providing your position on the topic and providing a quick preview of the specific (three to five) claims you will address in the body of your essay.
- In each body paragraph you will address one of the specific claims noted in your thesis, noting whether these claims are consistent in all of your research or whether disagreement (or a difference in focus) exists, and providing your research-supported analysis of why your primary article’s claims should be supported or disputed.
- The conclusion should contain a restatement of the thesis, and can incorporate recommendations for the future, such as areas for additional research, or proposed social or cultural changes. You may also take the opportunity to share your own personal view about the topic and the ideas that are expressed in your research, ensuring that you do not use the first or second person.
- Please ensure that all summarized, paraphrased, or quoted materials are cited using MLA 9 formatted in-text citations and Works Cited entries.
- Once you have developed your rough draft, please read your essay again, referring back to the Writing the Synthesis Essay Assignment page to make sure your essay meets the assignment requirements.
- Make sure you leave enough time to submit your draft to our Free Tutoring service for review on thesis and content development – do this as many times as needed.
Criteria on which you will be graded: A good grade on this assignment (the Rough Draft) reflects that you have completed this assignment to the specifications of a rough draft. This does not mean that your final paper will earn the same grade. Your instructor may highlight instances of editorial errors; and, while points will not be deducted for grammar, spelling, and citation mistakes here, incomprehensible writing or writing that does not demonstrate academic honesty will not earn a passing grade.
- Rough drafts will graded on content (claims, supporting arguments)
- Rough drafts will be graded on organization and logic (transitions, flow)
- Rough drafts will be graded on engagement with the texts and how you engage them in conversation
File formatting:
- Please submit your file as a . DOC, .DOCX, or .PDF file.
- Use full MLA document formatting, including a running header, block header, double-spacing, and a font such as Times New Roman 12pt.
- Please ensure you include your in-text (parenthetical) citations and your Works Cited page.
