Essay #2: Argumentative Synthesis Overview: We have read essays on a  In this paper, you will write an essay which brings together ideas and evidence from multiple essays to inform the audience about these issues Task: Write a 4-5 pages (not including the works cited page) synthesis paper arguing the point you have concluded from the variety of sources from Rereading America. Writing this essay will require you to:

1. Look for connections among the ideas in assigned essays based on your critical thinking for the reading and class discussions 2. You may use personal statements/ “I” statements

3. Develop a thesis statement and main points which make an informative claim (based on the assigned essays’ content) in response to your thesis

4. Synthesize information from your sources/essays to support and explain your main points.

5. You must pick 2 essays assigned from Rereading America as your sources.

6. Your goal will be to effectively and accurately synthesize the source material in order to inform your audience. A secondary goal will be to integrate and document sources correctly.

7. Correct MLA format Thesis:

Your thesis statement should avoid making a persuasive opinionated claim, and instead should make an informative claim/thesis which represents the ideas you’ve encountered in your sources. It should acknowledge agreed upon opinions but also make mention of different views (when appropriate). Body: This section of your essay should provide any additional background necessary and should lay out the major claims in support of your thesis. Your goal here is NOT to merely summarize each of your sources. Instead, you need to have topic sentences which put forward a point and then use information from multiple sources to help explain and support that point. That is, your topic sentences will put forward overarching areas of agreement or contention you’ve seen across multiple sources (or conclusions about the issue you’ve come to through reading all of your sources), and your paragraph content should explain the topic sentence through providing your own discussion as well as information synthesized from your sources. Be sure that each paragraph:

● Begins with a sentence or phrase that informs readers of the topic of the paragraph;

● Includes information from more than one source;

● Clearly indicates which material comes from which source using transitions and topic sentences, and in-text citations.

● [Beware of plagiarism: Accidental plagiarism most often occurs when students are synthesizing sources and do not indicate where the synthesis ends and their own comments begin or vice verse.]

● Shows the similarities or differences between the different sources in ways that make the paper as informative as possible;

● Represents the texts fairly Conclusion: Your conclusion should bring appropriate closure to your essay, tying together the claims made in the body, reinforcing the thesis, and perhaps even commenting on the potential further reaching implications of this issue for culture. Additional Content: Either in the body or as part of the conclusion, you might choose to briefly explore issues, counterarguments, or implications the sources failed to address or overlooked. Source Requirements: Refer to the “Topic Choices and Reading Assignments” handout. Documentation: Your essay should follow MLA documentation guidelines, including source integration methods, in-text citations, and a Works Cited page. Formatting: Please use twelve-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and MLA formatting.