The Big Momma

1. The Big Momma SYNTHESIS PROMPT

2. You are the policy makerTHREE TYPES OF SYNTHESIS PROMPTS • PROBLEM SOLVING (Criteria-based response) EX. Museum Prompt • ARGUMENT (Take a position and support it with reasons) • EX. Space Exploration • ARGUMENT-PROBLEM SOLVING (Examine implications of key issues AND • take a position that you support with • reasons)

3. Deconstruct the prompt • UNDERLINE THE ISSUE • EXAMINE THE EXIGENCE (See the introduction. Ask yourself, “Why did the College Board pick this issue? Note that synthesis topics will not reflect issues that are extremely controversial, yet the issues may have arisen from some related recent political issue. For example, the Locavore prompt could have spun off of the GMO debate. • BRACKET THE TASK beginning with a “command” verb. EX. [synthesize the information that identifies the key issues and examines their implications) 4) CIRCLE THE KEY TERMS that must be understood or defined

4. ORGANIZING AND WRITING A POSITION-DRIVEN ESSAY • CONSIDER THE ISSUE BEFORE LOOKING AT THE SOURCES. • Ask yourself, “What do I already know about this topic? Can I think of any related topics. • READ THE SOURCES AND ANNOTATE FOR SPECIAL FEATURES OF EACH • Note the types of implications/criteria (economic , social, political, destructive, constructive, etc.) • What is the point of view? Is there more than one? If so, label them X and Y. • Note the types of appeals each author uses to make his/her argument (factual, emotional, credible) • Bracket material that directly counters the opposition (to use to your benefit) SPANK IT! • Summarize in one sentence the central argument of charts, graphs, visuals. • Visuals that are cartoons : Consider tone, argument, purpose, audience, irony, • paradox, satire (gentle or caustic), language, allusion • Which sources present similar arguments? (The author of Source C provides corroborating information to support the idea that….) ENTER THE CONVERSATION! • Make notes in the margin: “supports A” or “refutes A”

5. Tactics for writing a position-driven essay • Avoid using long quotations. Limit quotes to 6 consecutive words. • Use the Quotation Sandwich method • TOP SLICE Introduce the claim (You may quote a source here, too.) • MEAT Embed the quote in your own sentence that supports the claim. Do not begin any sentence with quotation marks!! • BOTTOM SLICE Provide an analysis. Put some flesh on the bones! • Enter the conversation. • Create compelling link between the sources and your position. • Consider proposing an alternative solution. • Address any underlying problem. • Present an argument that reflects a global view.

6. Entering the conversation • INCORPORATING THE SOURCES • DIRECT QUOTATIONS • INDIRECT QUOTATIONS • PARAPHASING • COMMENTARY • The author of Source B offers a short-sighted view of….because he has not considered…. • To a point, the author of Source is correct; however, he does not carry the argument • far enough. To strengthen his case, he should have included…. • In Source B, the author says that…, an assertion that supports the idea that (your position). However, to add to his point, …. • Clearly the author of Source B has a bias against…, a failing that weakens her argument.

7. Ways to respond: • Disagree – and explain why • You need to do more than simply assert that you disagree with a particular view; you also have to offer persuasive reasons why you disagree. After all, disagreeing means more than adding “not” to what someone else has said. • Agree -- but with a difference/qualification • As you are agreeing, it is important to bring something new and fresh to the table. You may point out some unnoticed evidence or line of reasoning that supports X’s that X herself had not mentioned. You may cite some corroborating personal experience, etc. Whatever mode of agreement you choose, the important thing is to open up some difference between your position and the one you’re agreeing with rather than simply parroting what it says. • Agree and disagree simultaneously • This move in academic writing produces a reader-friendly response that can be tipped more toward agreement or disagreement. You may also express ambivalence in an intelligent manner – “I am of two minds.” Although you never want to be merely evasive, leaving your ambivalence thoughtfully unresolved can demonstrate your integrity as a writer, showing that you are not easily satisfied with viewing complex subjects in simple yes-and-no-terms

8. Templates for disagreeing (with reasons) • X is mistaken because she overlooks ____________ • X’s claim that ________ rests upon the questionable assumption that ______. • X’s view is incorrect because, as recent research has shown, __________. • X contradicts herself. On the one hand, she argues _______. But on the other hand, she also says _______. • By focusing on ________, X overlook s the deeper problem of _______. • X claims that ________, but anyone familiar with ______ has long known that ___________.

9. Templates for agreeing (with a difference) • X is correct in her belief that _______ because recent studies have shown that ________. • X’s theory of _____ is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of _______. • X’s point that ______ is one that needs emphasizing since so many people believe __________. • Those unfamiliar with this school of thought may be interested to know that its stance, in its most simplified form, is that ____________.

10. Templates for agreeing and Disagreeing simultaneously • Although X’s beliefs are valid up to a point, one cannot accept his overall conclusion that ___________. • Although much of what X says is incorrect, one may find some common ground in the author’s conclusion that ___________. • Though the issue of _________ may be conceded, the reader will still insist that _____________. • X is right that __________, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that ________. • Whereas X provides ample evidence that __________, Y and Z’s research on ________ and _________ convince the reader that __________ instead. • The reader may be of two minds about X’s claim that _________. On the one hand, he may agree that _________. On the other hand, he may be unsure if _________. • X’s position that ______________ is viable, but Y’s argument about _______ and Z’s research about _________ are equally persuasive.

11. SYNTHESIS ESSAY POSITIONS • --Eating locally can bring back diversity to a land that has been destroyed, provide jobs at the local level, and help rebuild a community. • --Eating locally benefits the consumer, the local farmer, and the community. • --Issues to consider in adopting a locavore culture include the expense of food, access to the food, and the reliability of the food source.