Unit IV Assignment 2

FIGURE 8.1Worksheet for Writing a Synthesis

Having drafted the gist, we returned to our notes on the worksheet to complete the synthesis, presenting examples and using transitions to signal the relationships among the texts and their ideas. Here is our brief synthesis of the three texts:

The first paragraph reads, “As a response to increased fragmentation of society, Paul Loeb and Anne Colby and her colleagues underscore the reasons why individuals need to be more involved in both political and civic engagement. They help highlight the ways human interaction makes us more fully human and the extent to which community engagement fulfills the Founding Fathers’ vision of democracy. Loeb’s research in psychology, public health, and sociology also demonstrates the ways that community engagement contributes to our own sense of well-being. Colby and her colleagues share Loeb’s outlook, but they add that moral principles are inextricably tied to democratic principles of rights, respect, tolerance, and community. They also argue that individuals need tools to make decisions, especially a core knowledge of key issues and a moral compass to serve as a guide to action that is aimed at the common good. Still, they recognize the extent to which their focus on moral engagement sets their ideas apart from others like Loeb who try to motivate people to be civically engaged. It is implicit that others may feel uncomfortable with an argument that includes moral engagement, and the authors are careful to explain that they do not have a specific set of values in mind.”

The annotaton for the sentence, “As a response to increased fragmentation of society, Paul Loeb and Anne Colby and her colleagues underscore the reasons why individuals need to be more involved in both political and civic engagement” reads, “The gist of our synthesis.”

The second paragraph reads, “However, Laurie Ouellette broadens readers’ understanding of why it is necessary to be more involved. This is especially true when she focuses her analysis on changes in economic policy in the United States that have shifted funding for families and children with the greatest needs to private entities and corporations. In pointing to this shift in policy, she shows how corporations such as Disney have rebranded themselves as socially responsible, marketing themselves in a way that appeals to viewers who share a view of themselves as altruistic. Thus, Ouellette helps show that there are reasons beyond the humanizing principles that Loeb advances and the kinds of values that Colby and her colleagues believe are inextricably tied to teaching and learning in institutions of higher education. That is, communities may appear to be more fragmented than ever before, but the urgency created by government social welfare programs serves as a pragmatic call to service that we cannot ignore.”

The annotation for the this paragraoh reads, “Transition: There is 2 an alternative reason individuals should be civically and politically engaged.”

Another annotation for this paragraph reads, “Evidence demonstrates that the urgency of a changing economy is a strong factor in motivating individuals to get involved, especially when sponsored by corporations that have been given the responsibility to fulfill what was an obligation of the federal government.”

The first paragraph reads, “As a response to increased fragmentation of society, Paul Loeb and Anne Colby and her colleagues underscore the reasons why individuals need to be more involved in both political and civic engagement. They help highlight the ways human interaction makes us more fully human and the extent to which community engagement fulfills the Founding Fathers’ vision of democracy. Loeb’s research in psychology, public health, and sociology also demonstrates the ways that community engagement contributes to our own sense of well-being. Colby and her colleagues share Loeb’s outlook, but they add that moral principles are inextricably tied to democratic principles of rights, respect, tolerance, and community. They also argue that individuals need tools to make decisions, especially a core knowledge of key issues and a moral compass to serve as a guide to action that is aimed at the common good. Still, they recognize the extent to which their focus on moral engagement sets their ideas apart from others like Loeb who try to motivate people to be civically engaged. It is implicit that others may feel uncomfortable with an argument that includes moral engagement, and the authors are careful to explain that they do not have a specific set of values in mind.”

The annotaton for the sentence, “As a response to increased fragmentation of society, Paul Loeb and Anne Colby and her colleagues underscore the reasons why individuals need to be more involved in both political and civic engagement” reads, “The gist of our synthesis.”

The second paragraph reads, “However, Laurie Ouellette broadens readers’ understanding of why it is necessary to be more involved. This is especially true when she focuses her analysis on changes in economic policy in the United States that have shifted funding for families and children with the greatest needs to private entities and corporations. In pointing to this shift in policy, she shows how corporations such as Disney have rebranded themselves as socially responsible, marketing themselves in a way that appeals to viewers who share a view of themselves as altruistic. Thus, Ouellette helps show that there are reasons beyond the humanizing principles that Loeb advances and the kinds of values that Colby and her colleagues believe are inextricably tied to teaching and learning in institutions of higher education. That is, communities may appear to be more fragmented than ever before, but the urgency created by government social welfare programs serves as a pragmatic call to service that we cannot ignore.”

The annotation for the this paragraoh reads, “Transition: There is 2 an alternative reason individuals should be civically and politically engaged.”

Another annotation for this paragraph reads, “Evidence demonstrates that the urgency of a changing economy is a strong factor in motivating individuals to get involved, especially when sponsored by corporations that have been given the responsibility to fulfill what was an obligation of the federal government.”

The paragraph reads, “While some may argue that corporations act out of self-interest in branding themselves as socially responsible, evidence indicates that the media may be more successful at motivating individuals to be involved than other means. Yet in considering the reasons why it is important to be an engaged citizen, whether as individuals or as a corporation, Ouellette, among others, forces us to ask whose interests are served when any of us becomes invested in communities where we do not live, work, shop, or go to school. Despite the benefits of citizen branding, Ouellette reminds us that we cannot ignore the profit motive of companies that have fulfilled a role once played by the federal government in what is now a postwelfare state. To what extent, if at all, are these roles in conflict with one another? For that matter, what values should guide investments and personal responsibility in reaching out to communities with the greatest needs?”

An annotation fot this paragraph reads, “One formulation of an 3 argument that emerges from the three texts. The transition “yet” and the questions set up the direction of what is to follow.”

The paragraph reads, “While some may argue that corporations act out of self-interest in branding themselves as socially responsible, evidence indicates that the media may be more successful at motivating individuals to be involved than other means. Yet in considering the reasons why it is important to be an engaged citizen, whether as individuals or as a corporation, Ouellette, among others, forces us to ask whose interests are served when any of us becomes invested in communities where we do not live, work, shop, or go to school. Despite the benefits of citizen branding, Ouellette reminds us that we cannot ignore the profit motive of companies that have fulfilled a role once played by the federal government in what is now a postwelfare state. To what extent, if at all, are these roles in conflict with one another? For that matter, what values should guide investments and personal responsibility in reaching out to communities with the greatest needs?”

An annotation fot this paragraph reads, “One formulation of an 3 argument that emerges from the three texts. The transition “yet” and the questions set up the direction of what is to follow.”

Writing a synthesis, like writing a summary, is principally a strategy for framing your own argument. It’s one thing to synthesize what you read and convey to your readers how various points in a conversation intersect and diverge. It’s quite another to write yourself into the conversation. This entails thinking critically about what you are reading, raising questions, conducting further research, and taking a stance based on your own understanding of what you have read, what you believe and