102
-‐
BRENTAR
-‐
ESSAY
#2
-‐
EXPLANATORY
SYNTHESIS
(ONLINE)
What’s
a
Synthesis?
A
synthesis
is
“a
written
discussion
that
draws
on
two
or
more
sources.
It
follows
that
your
ability
to
write
syntheses
depends
on
your
ability
to
infer
relationships
among
sources”
(Behrens
and
Rosen
81).
As
compositionist
Katherine
Ackley
adds,
“A
synthesis
draws
conclusions
from,
makes
observations
on,
or
shows
connections
between
two
or
more
sources…by
extracting
information
that
is
relevant
to
your
purpose”
(51).
An
explanatory
synthesis
is
built
on
the
ideas
that
you
select
from
your
group
of
sources,
fits
the
purpose,
occasion,
subject
and
audience
of
your
essay,
states
then
develops
an
informative
thesis
that
presents
for
the
reader
the
biggest
possible
picture
of
the
issue,
contains
well-‐chosen
textual
support
(quotes,
summaries,
and
paraphrases),
and
includes
a
“Works
Cited”
page.
Keep
in
mind
that
your
audience
is
college-‐educated
adults,
but
instead
of
reading
the
original
texts
for
themselves,
they
are
relying
on
your
essay
for
their
information.
Your
synthesis
will
be
evaluated
on
how
well
you
develop,
state
and
maintain
an
informative
thesis
synthesizing
the
works
of
other
writers,
how
clearly
you
establish
your
main
points
of
synthesis
that
support
your
thesis,
how
accurately
you
summarize
the
original
texts
(as
needed),
how
you
integrate
your
source
material
into
the
essay,
how
you
organize,
develop,
and
present
your
essay,
and,
most
importantly,
how
well
you
maintain
the
focus
on
the
ideas
presented
in
the
sources
and
not
on
your
own
personal
reactions
to
them.
To
that
end,
remember
to
make
sure
that
you
do
not
evince
any
stance
of
your
own
whatsoever.
This
essay
must
not
make
an
argument.
As
Behrens
and
Rosen
note,
an
Explanatory
Synthesis
is
like
reportage:
the
writer
of
an
Explanatory
Synthesis
will
report
only
the
salient
ideas
surrounding
the
issue,
which
may
include
the
stances
of
those
being
cited,
but
will
not
opine
about
the
issue
him
or
herself.
The
Assignment
For
the
assignment,
you
will
use
the
following
articles
focusing
on
urban
renewal
from
the
Engaged
Reader:
Short,
299;
McGuigan,
309;
Szeman,
321;
Piiparinen,
341;
Williams,
345;
Davidson,
349;
Older,
357;
Slater,
361;
and
LaCroix,
401.
In
your
synthesis
essay,
you
must
integrate
and
then
cite
on
your
Works
Cited
page
at
least
SIX
of
the
readings.
This
is
not
a
research
essay,
per
se;
however,
if
you
do
conduct
research
and
use
any
research
materials,
you
must
cite
them
appropriately.
Remember
that
your
purpose
determines
not
only
which
sources
you
will
use
but
also
which
information
you
plumb
from
them
and
how
you
will
relate
them
to
one
another.
Here
are
the
general
parts/elements
of
a
synthesis
that
should
be
apparent
in
your
essay:
• Introduction/statement
of
the
essay’s
subject
and
purpose
(at
some
point
indicating
the
essays/sources
considered
for
synthesis)
• A
clear
thesis
that
controls
the
essay
and
presents
the
“big
picture”
about
the
issue
at
hand
• Clear
topic
sentences
that
support
the
thesis
(each
topic
sentence
will
relate
a
“big
idea”
inherent
in
the
issue)
• Well-‐chosen
and
well-‐synthesized
textual
support
• Logical
organization
(remember
that
explanatory
syntheses
are
organized
according
to
ideas,
not
sources)
• Effective
transitions
• An
effective
conclusion
• Use
of
your
own
words
• Use
of
third-‐person
voice
and
present
tense
Essay
Submission
Guidelines
You
will
submit
your
draft
at
the
Draft
of
Essay
#2
assignment
page
and
the
revision
at
the
Revision
of
Essay
#2
page;
please
follow
these
guidelines:
• Do
not
cut
and
paste
your
document
into
the
submission
box.
You
must
submit
it
as
an
attachment
at
both
the
assignment
pages.
• The
file
for
the
draft
should
be
named
in
this
fashion:
Yourlastname
Explanatory
Synthesis
Draft
• The
file
for
the
revision
should
be
named
in
this
fashion:
Yourlastname
Explanatory
Synthesis
Revision.
• Finally,
if
you
are
a
user
of
Microsoft
Word,
Pages,
Open
Office
Write,
or
WordPerfect,
I
will
have
no
trouble
opening
your
attachment.
If,
however,
you
are
a
user
of
Microsoft
Works,
you
must
save
a
copy
of
your
work
and
send
it
in
Rich
Text
Format
(documents
saved
in
this
format
have
the
extension
“rtf”),
or
I
will
be
unable
to
open
your
attachment
successfully.
If
you
do
not
abide
by
the
above
procedures,
I
retain
the
right
to
refuse
your
submission.
The
finished
submitted
synthesis
should
be
between
at
least
1000
words
(4
pages,
double-‐spaced).
There
is
no
upper
limit
to
length.
Please
follow
MLA
essay
format
guidelines.
You
may
refer
to
the
sample
Explanatory
Synthesis
as
a
model
for
how
your
paper
should
be
formatted.
• The
only
paper
size
you
should
be
using
is
US
Letter.
Do
not
use
A4.
• Use
one-‐inch
margins
on
all
sides
of
the
page,
double-‐space,
and
include,
on
the
first
page
of
text
only,
include
your
name,
my
name,
course
number
(ENG
102),
and
date
in
the
upper
left-‐hand
corner
of
the
first
page,
followed
by
the
title,
centered.
• But
do
include,
on
every
page,
in
the
upper
right
hand
corner,
one-‐half
inch
from
the
top
of
the
page,
your
last
name,
followed
by
a
space
and
the
page
number,
without
the
word
“page”
or
a
“p.”
• Do
not
introduce
horizontal
or
vertical
lines
in
this
area
(called
the
header).
Also,
do
not
introduce
shaded
boxes
in
this
area.
The
font
should
be
identical
to
the
font
in
the
text
of
the
essay.
• Finally,
please
use
for
your
font
12
point
Courier
New.
You
may
refer
to
the
sample
essays
as
a
model
for
how
your
paper
should
be
formatted.
Due
Dates
• Draft
Due:
10/4/2015,
by
11:59
p.m.
• Revision
Due:
10/16/2015,
by
11:59
p.m.
