Because the synthesis essay is an argument essay (with sources added), it is best to take a position on the topic, form your two main points and add the counterclaim, following a general format similar to this:

• Although _____opposition_____claim that topic is ____counterclaim_____, in fact, it is ____your claim _____because ______first main point_____ and _____second main point_______, [ultimately leading to _____big picture WHY_____]. 

• *GO TO THE ARGUMENT ESSAY FOR FURTHER RESOURCES AND EXAMPLES OF COUNTERARGUMENT THESIS STATEMENTS

• *Also see the packet (below), bottom of the first page

Read and analyze sources. 

Select 3 sources -- 

• 2 that you will use to support your main points; 

• 1 that goes against your argument (but you will be able to refute later). 

Complete a "Source Analysis Worksheet" (below) for the (3) THREE sources (one sheet for each source)

Analytical Categories: 

What do I mean when I ask you to evaluate social, political, economic, or environmental factors? 

Social Factors: 

This analytical category examines how people see, understand, and act on the world around them. This is a very broad analytical category. 

It can include any of the following: 

• • • Assumptions made about a particular individual or group’s importance in the world; Established patterns of interaction between people; 

    • Gender Roles (if people’s lives, jobs, tasks, are determined by their gender; 

    • Presence of distinct and separate groups of people; 

    • How these different groups of people interact with each other; 

    • Is one group particularly dominant over another group – who is rich and who is poor; 

    • Presence of religious systems – how do varying religious groups interact with each other. 

Political Factors: 

This analytical category examines who is in charge, how this person or group came to be in charge, how much power does this person or group exercise, how do the people in charge keep their power, how do the people in charge relate to and interact with competitors for power. 

Economic Factors: This analytical category examines how resources are used, who has access to using the resources, who decides what to do with resources, what motives for profit exist that might explain behaviors or actions, what systems exist that help or prevent people from engaging in economic entrepreneurial activities. (Our system is capitalism). 

Environmental Factors: This analytical category examines how the physical landscape or geography both enabled (helped, assisted or made possible) and limited (prevented or made impossible) human activities in a place. THERE IS AND IS SUPPOSED TO BE OVERLAP between these analytical categories. Some evidence can be placed in more than one of these categories. Environmental factors can and DO affect social, political and economic factors (very unlikely to engage in deepsee fishing as an economic enterprise in El Paso). Political Factors can and do affect social, economic, and environmental factors. Economic factors can and do affect social and political factors. You get the idea 

It is important to create the Works Cited page before writing the essay since one needs to have the source information for the in-text (parenthetical) citation. See the sample essay below for a sample Works Cited page.

Other resources: OWL Purdue, easybib, google doc citations

When integrating evidence from a source, formally introduce the source.

General layout:

•  According to ___ Name or Container of Source ___, ________credentials about them _____, in their ____article/website/video, etc (genre of source goes here) _______, titled,"INSERT TITLE HERE (remember the rules for italics or quotes when inserting the title)," INSERT THE OVERALL MAIN IDEA OF THE SOURCE HERE. 

* See instructions (Google slide deck, below) and the sample essay with comments in the margin (below)

Write the body paragraphs for your two main points. Use your thesis as a guide; revise the thesis, if necessary!

X-and-I TIPS: 

• Don't fall into the trap of simply summarizing the sources! Instead, make your point, and back it up with the evidence found in those sources. 

• Many of your sources will probably have information that could support both sides of an argument. So it’s important to read over them carefully and put them in the perspective of your argument.

• Remember the Rogerian framework! If there’s information that goes against your main points, don’t ignore it. Instead, acknowledge it. Then show how your argument is stronger. 

Resources below: synthesis packet, page two for a general layout (below, left) and how to integrate research into a paragraph (below, right)

see page 3 (below, left) and the sample essay, page 4 (below, right)

An annotated bibliography is a list of sources you used and sources you consulted. A short annotated bibliography consists of three parts (see google slide deck below or the handouts below, right)

Conduct outside research, specifically for any holes in your argument; this source will be accessed via the online library database from SSC's online library database or Wesleyan's online library database.

When thinking about how to use your sources as support for your argument, you should avoid a couple mistakes—and do a couple of things instead.

 Don’t summarize the sources. For example, this would be summarizing your source: “Source A indicates which houses the Death Eaters belong to. It shows that evil wizards come from all houses.”

 Do analyze the sources. Instead, write something like this: “Although many Death Eaters are from Slytherin, there are still a large number of dark wizards, such as Quirinus Quirrell and Peter Pettigrew, from other houses (Source A).”

 Don’t structure your paragraphs around your sources. Using one source per paragraph may seem like the most logical way to get things done (especially if you’re only using three or four sources). But that runs the risk of summarizing instead of drawing relationships between the sources.

 Do structure your paragraphs around your arguments. Formulate various points of your argument. Use two or more sources per paragraph to support those arguments.

When thinking about how to use your sources as support for your argument, you should avoid a couple mistakes—and do a couple of things instead.

 Don’t summarize the sources. For example, this would be summarizing your source: “Source A indicates which houses the Death Eaters belong to. It shows that evil wizards come from all houses.”

 Do analyze the sources. Instead, write something like this: “Although many Death Eaters are from Slytherin, there are still a large number of dark wizards, such as Quirinus Quirrell and Peter Pettigrew, from other houses (Source A).”

 Don’t structure your paragraphs around your sources. Using one source per paragraph may seem like the most logical way to get things done (especially if you’re only using three or four sources). But that runs the risk of summarizing instead of drawing relationships between the sources.

 Do structure your paragraphs around your arguments. Formulate various points of your argument. Use two or more sources per paragraph to support those arguments.