“Synthesizing is the process whereby a student merges new information with prior knowledge to form a new idea, perspective, or opinion to create insight.” - Shannon Bumgarner Today, we are writing our big synthesis essay! Final drafts will be collected the end of the day on Wednesday November 8th. Cut off time: 4pm. I will print them out at this time and go home! Materials needed: - Canadian poetry booklet - East Van poetry booklet - Free writes booklet - printed materials placed here please. Items to show Ms. Shin: - Free writes - TWO Synthesis essay outlines- thematic statement and graphic organizer (T-chart or Venn Diagrams) Your synthesis essay can be written TWO ways: A) block method or B) point-by-point
BLOCK METHOD The Block Method presents all arguments related to A, and then compares and/or contrasts them to all arguments related to B. This style is a little bit more difficult to use because there is so much space between points about A and points about B; however, it can be useful for shorter assignments. The pattern is as follows:
BLOCK METHOD OUTLINE EXAMPLE: Thesis: Same as in Point-by-Point Method Outline. PART 1 Point 1: Mill believes that the majority makes moral decisions. Point 2: Mill argues that complete open-mindedness always benefits society. Point 3: Mill claims that we are all equal because mere accident determines what worldview we are born into. PART 2 Point 1: Bakunin believes that public opinion should be the basis of society’s decisions, which is slightly different than Mill’s understanding of a moral majority. Point 2: Unlike Mill, Bakunin allows freedom of expression to be limited by public opinion. Point 3: As with Mill, Bakunin extends equality to all and embraces diversity. POINT-BY-POINT METHOD The Point-by-Point method alternates arguments about the two items (A and B) that you are comparing and/or contrasting. The pattern is as follows:
POINT-BY-POINT METHOD OUTLINE EXAMPLE: Thesis: John Stewart Mill and Michael Bakunin both support three of the basic principles of democracy (government by the people, tolerance, and equality); however, they support them to different degrees and for different reasons. POINT 1 Paragraph 1: Mill believes that the majority makes moral decisions. Paragraph 2: Bakunin believes that public opinion should be the basis of society’s decisions, which is slightly different than Mill’s understanding of a moral majority. POINT 2 Paragraph 3: Mill argues that complete open-mindedness always benefits society. Paragraph 4: Unlike Mill, Bakunin allows freedom of expression to be limited by public opinion. POINT 3 Paragraph 5: Mill claims that we are all equal because mere accident determines what worldview we are born into. Paragraph 6: As with Mill, Bakunin extends equality to all and embraces diversity. Items needed:
- Reading log (with free writes) - Booklet of Canadian poetry - Booklet of East Van Poetry A sample synthesis |
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November 2018
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