STRATEGIES FOR APPROACHING THE SYNTHESIS ESSAY QUESTION Understand the task.

The synthesis essay question requires you to take a position on an issue after reading and synthesizing a number of sources (from four to seven on the actual exam) that address that issue in some form. At least one of these sources will be a visual representation or graphic of some kind. ou must cite! either directly or indirectly! at least three of the sources in your essay. "ach citation! whether direct or indirect! must be attributed in the essay! either by the title of the source or by the parenthetical description provided on the instruction page. ou are allotted fifteen minutes to read the sources and forty minutes to compose your essay. Understand the types of ss!es " ke"y to #e presented n the synthes s $!est on. An issue presented for consideration in the synthesis essay will not be one on which there is a clear#cut! black and white point of view that is obvious to everyone. ($or example! you will not be asked to take a stand on whether getting adequate sleep is a good thing.) The issues you will be asked to consider will be those for which cogent! valid arguments can be made on either side. The sources provided will shed some light on what some of these arguments might be! and it is important for you to approach the sources with an open mind! even if you believe you already have a firm opinion on the topic. %ecause of the nature of the topics and issues likely to be presented! be careful about writing in an adamant tone that completely dismisses the &other side' of the argument. (t is difficult to demonstrate one)s capacity for complex thinking in an essay that is overly dogmatic in tone. *o if you encounter a topic on which you already hold a strong opinion! you must be doubly careful to read and consider carefully the sources that present a differing viewpoint. %ra nstor& 'ays to approa(h the so!r(es. +iven the time constraints! it is important that you have a strategy for reading and evaluating the sources as efficiently as possible. ,ne approach you might use is to mark portions of the sources as you read with plus or minus signs to indicate &pro' and &con' arguments! respectively. ,f course! making numerous marks on each source will probably waste! rather than save! time. %ut if you mark only those statements! ideas! or observations that strike you as particularly weighty! you will be able to access these points quickly while you write your essay. ou might add a star beside an element from a source that is so striking that you want to be sure to refer to it in the essay. -eep in mind that there is no obligation to find something of note in every source. .harts! graphs! and other visual representations of statistics can be tricky to evaluate. /hile a chart or table might seem to support your position very strongly! you should look carefully and ask yourself if there might be questions that are not adequately addressed by the source. $or example! if a survey is presented! was an important segment of the population excluded from the survey! or was the sampling unreasonably small! thus unfairly skewing the results0 (n other words! take these forms of evidence at face value and be prepared to evaluate such sources critically (though not necessarily negatively). 1oreover! be attentive to the ways in which one source can inform or undercut another.

In(orporat n) ( tat ons s&ooth"y. 2ess fluent writers tend to be stilted and awkward in the way they cite sources. 3emember not to simply paraphrase the sources in your arguments but to engage in conversation with the writers of these sources in order to support your position. Always weave quotes and cite sources. A weak attribution might read as follows4 *ource A says! &/omen should be required to register for the draft.' ( agree with this statement. There is no need to explicitly state agreement or disagreement with a source. *ource A says! &/omen should be required to register for the draft.' This is a valid point. Again! the attribution is choppy and unsophisticated. .ombining sentences allows for some improvement4 *ource A says! &/omen should be required to register for the draft!' a valid point that emphasizes the inequality . . . *till! &*ource A says' lacks sophistication and interest. 5ossible variations of acceptable attributions might include the following4 &/omen should be required to register for the draft!' as *ource A! in his discussion of the inequalities in the present system! argues with clarity. 5ointing out the obvious inequity in the current system! *ource A argues that &/omen should be required to register for the draft.' The solution to this inequality is obvious4 &/omen should be required to register for the draft' (*ource A).

The directions for the synthesis prompt stipulate that any citation! whether direct or indirect! must be attributed. (f you choose not to include a direct quotation but want to refer to information from a source (as paraphrased evidence)! the source would still need to be cited4 *ome commentators have argued that one way to resolve the inequalities in the current system is to require women! as well as men! to register for the draft (*ource A).

O#ser*at ons fro& pre* o!s synthes s essays+ 6. "ngage the reader in your introduction. 3emember your purpose is to persuade your reader of a particular stance. our tone should thus be persuasive and engaging. .onvince the grader that your position is viable. 7. %e sure you stay true to the intent of the evidence. 8o not undermine your source by &tweaking' the evidence to fit your purpose. 9. Avoid contradicting yourself. That confuses your position. :. /hen qualifying! subordinate the exception or concession if you choose to mention it in your thesis. (n other words! start with your statement of defense;challenge. <. ou can give merit to a source)s opposing viewpoint without qualifying your position. =. Avoid an overly adamant! dogmatic tone. These issues are not black and white. (nstead! exude a well#reasoned! convincing tone. >. ?ever forget your purpose (to persuade) and your audience (a grader). 5re@udice the grader in your favor from the beginning by showing clear understanding of what you are persuading. Always apply (explain connection to your argument) well#chosen evidence.