english 1302

Essay #2: Synthesis Essay

Due by midnight on Sunday, Oct. 18th

Objectives

This assignment will give students the ability to:

· Summarize the main ideas of two different texts

· Synthesize texts from two different genres and identify connections between the works

· Establish common ground between the works in a discussion of the themes that bind them, including a clear thesis statement that communicates the perceived link between the works, that may also give some insight into the author’s own personal opinion on the topic (“He said, she said, I say…”)

· Provide some personal insight or observations on a given topic; consider how a text maybe relevant to one’s own life or experience; consider what new angle or insight can be brought to an ongoing conversation

· Write a cohesive, coherent essay in Standard American English, free of distracting grammatical errors, that demonstrates logical organization and flow

Background

A Synthesis essay combines information from more than one text to make a comprehensive argument. In this case, you are looking at two texts that deal with the umbrella topic of “How people cope with failures” (or even, how people “should” cope with failures). Your job is to synthesize by drawing connections between two seemingly unrelated texts (by two very different authors). What common denominator(s) can you identify among the ideas of these two authors? What main ideas bind them? The answer to that question is your thesis statement.

From there, a woven discussion of summary and analysis of their main points should unfold. By the end of your discussion, your own position or contributions to this ongoing conversation should be evident. Allow yourself to align with one or more of the main ideas presented by these authors in a fluid discussion of “he said, she said, and I say…” Your essay should be at least 1.5 pages in length with a Works Cited page listing the bibliographic information for the 2 sources (this is provided for you below).

Sources

You will be using the Introduction of Mindset by Carol Dweck and the excerpt from Jocko Willink’s book, Extreme Ownership (attached for you in the Week 7 folder).

The Works Cited page entries you need are as follows (copy and paste these onto your Works Cited page, without the numbers obviously):

1. Dweck, Carol. "Chapter 1: The Mindsets." Mindset. Ballantine Books, 2006. 

2. Willink, Jocko and Leif Babin. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. St. Martin’s Press, 2015. (pg. 17 – 31)

Form

Please use MLA format for this essay. You should be an expert on formatting your document according to MLA guidelines by now. Your essay will have as many paragraphs as it takes to accomplish the tasks outlined below. There is not the expectation to adhere to a 5- paragraph format, but I will be looking for logical organization and flow (Introduction, Body with development, Conclusion). This should read like an academic essay, where each paragraph flows into the next. You should not have any numbering, bullet points or section headers, just one cohesive essay.

Your essay should have these major sections:

1. Introduction: Begin with hook or attention grabber. Introduce the two texts and authors you will be discussing. Perhaps give a bit of background information on the overall topic here and/or the authors themselves. Your intro should conclude with a main idea that links all the sources (and in some way indicates your own position – what are you trying to show or prove about the topic through this discussion?) – this is your thesis statement

2. Analysis. Put your sources “in conversation” with one another by noting how they may agree, disagree or vary in opinion. Consider the two very different audiences, purposes, genres for writing here. Yet despite their different rhetorical situations, they still have some elements in common. How do they work together to prove a point about human existence / human learning/ how people cope with failures or advice for coping with failures? Use specific quotes from each text. Orchestrate the conversation by organizing and presenting sources in a way that shows the readers your take on the issue. You are engaging in a scholarly conversation about this topic by reading critically, analyzing the sources and rhetorical situations, and presenting an argument about how these sources are thematically linked and what they have to offer readers.

3. Contribute something to the conversation/Conclude. Essentially, you’re saying “This person has stated this, that person has stated that, and/but my argument is x because of a, b, and c…” Do you align with either (or both) of the perspectives presented here? Why or why not? Did you find some nuggets of truth in these readings that resonated with you personally? Have these readings revealed something noteworthy to you as a learner? Explain.