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ENG 105: Composition I Essay Assignment

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Synthesis Essay Assignment

Purpose: By this point in the term, you have read several essays about various topics related to our

experiences in contemporary culture. In this final paper, then, you will write an essay which brings

together ideas and data from multiple sources to inform the audience about a specific topic (listed

below).

Writing this essay will require you to 1) look for connections among the ideas in five assigned essays

from Inquiry; 2) develop a thesis statement and main points which make an informative claim (based on

the assigned essays’ content) in response to your research question; and 3) synthesize information from

your sources to support and explain your main points. Your goal will be to effectively and accurately

synthesize the source material in order to inform your audience. A secondary goal will be to integrate

and document sources correctly.

Topics: Choose one of the following writing prompts:

 Conversations about gender: What messages do we receive about gender, and from where do

they come? How do these messages shape our experiences, identities, and world?

If you decide on this topic, you will want to consider how our environment impacts our

perceptions of gender as well as our experiences. You might consider the perceptions that our

society has regarding gender and how these perceptions compare and/or contrast with the

individual experience. You could investigate the various gender roles that are often cultivated by

society and perpetuated by the media and/or the range of definitions of femininity and

masculinity (including definitions of beauty, strength, power, and weaknesses) found in our

society. Once you have considered these various concerns, you might decide to narrow your

topic to one of these research areas, or you might decide to cover multiple areas.

 Conversations about race and ethnicity: What messages do we receive about race and

ethnicity, and from where do they come? How do these messages shape our experiences,

identities, and world?

If you decide on this topic, you will want to consider how our environment impacts our

perceptions of race and ethnicity as well as our experiences. You might consider the perceptions

that our society has regarding race and ethnicity and how these perceptions compare and/or

contrast with the individual experience. You could investigate various definitions and

stereotypes involving race and ethnicity as well as the way these might shape an individual’s

experience in America. In addition, you may consider how race and ethnicity might influence the

ways in which individuals navigate and interact with various American institutions and networks

(places of employment, educational institutions, social media platforms, etc.). Once you have

considered these various concerns, you might decide to narrow your topic to one of these

research areas, or you might decide to cover multiple areas.

ENG 105: Composition I Essay Assignment

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 Conversations about class: What messages do we receive about economic class, and from

where do they come? How do these messages shape our experiences, identities, and world?

If you decide on this topic, you will want to consider how our environment impacts our

perceptions of class as well as our experiences. You might consider the perceptions that our

society has regarding class and how these perceptions compare and/or contrast with the

individual experience. You could investigate various definitions and stereotypes involving class

as well as the way these might shape an individual’s experience in America. In addition, you may

consider how class influences the ways in which individuals navigate and interact with various

American institutions and networks (places of employment, educational institutions, social

media platforms, etc.). Once you have considered these various concerns, you might decide to

narrow your topic to one of these research areas, or you might decide to cover multiple areas.

 Conversations about social responsibility: In what ways might we engage in or avoid civic

action, and how might these actions shape our experiences, identity, and world?

If you select this topic, you will consider the extent of our social responsibilities as individuals.

You may consider the ways in which our behaviors and attitudes might contribute to the health

of our planet, the health of humankind, the empowerment and/or oppression of individuals, the

strengthening and/or weakening of communities, etc. You could investigate how business and

marketing practices as well as the practices of established institutions influence our decisions as

consumers and citizens as well as impact the fate of our planet, our health, and our identity.

Once you have considered these various concerns, you might decide to narrow your topic to one

of these research areas, or you might decide to cover multiple areas.

 Conversations about technology: How does technology shape our experiences, identity, and

world?

If you select this topic, you will investigate various technological advances as well as their

influences upon our lives. You might consider how technology impacts and/or shapes education,

personal relationships, individual identities, communication practices, perceptions of reality,

consumption practices, news and information, entertainment, etc. Once you have considered

these various ideas, you might decide to narrow your topic to focus on one research area, or you

might decide to cover multiple areas regarding technology.

 Conversations about education: What does it mean to be educated, and how does education

shape our experiences, identity, and world?

If you select this topic, you might consider the qualities that contribute to a “good” education as

well as the purpose of an education. You could investigate who does and does not have access

to education as well as what and how we learn about ourselves and the world when we become

ENG 105: Composition I Essay Assignment

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“educated.” How does being “educated” influence the ways in which individuals navigate and

interact with various American institutions and networks (places of employment, educational

institutions, social media platforms, etc.)? Once you have considered these various concerns,

you might decide to narrow your topic to one of these research areas, or you might decide to

cover multiple areas concerning education.

Content:

 Introduction: Your introduction should follow the inverted triangle model in your textbook and

should provide a context for the rest of your essay by providing some background of the cultural

situation which has precipitated the “conversation” regarding the issue about which you’re

writing. That is, it should lead us into the topic as well as provide a context for the topic by

explaining the cultural problem to which the academic “conversation” is responding.

 Thesis: Your thesis statement should avoid making a persuasive opinionated claim, and instead

should make an informative claim which represents the ideas you’ve encountered in your

sources. It should acknowledge agreed-upon components of the academic conversation but also

make mention of diverging views (when appropriate). You might use one of the following

templates:

o Although scholars do not agree upon ______________, they largely agree that

_______________.

o Despite widespread agreement among cultural critics about ____________, they cannot

agree upon ______________ .

o Scholars widely agree ______________________ and all point to research which

supports the belief that ________________________________________.

o Experts tend to agree that _________________________ impacts ___________ as they

work together to present a view that _____________.

o Scholars agree that through _________________________________, the

_____________ impacts individuals in a ________________ manner.

Body: This section of your essay should provide any additional background necessary and should lay out

the major claims in support of your thesis. Your goal here is NOT to merely summarize each of your

sources. Instead, you need to have topic sentences which put forward a point and then use information

from multiple sources to help explain and support that point. That is, your topic sentences will put

forward overarching areas of agreement or contention you’ve seen across multiple sources (or

conclusions about the issue you’ve come to through reading all of your sources), and your paragraph

content should explain the topic sentence through providing your own discussion as well as information

synthesized from your sources.

ENG 105: Composition I Essay Assignment

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Conclusion: Your conclusion should bring appropriate closure to your essay, tying together the claims

made in the body, reinforcing the thesis, and perhaps even commenting on the potential further-

reaching implications of this issue for culture.

Additional Content: Either in the body or as part of the conclusion, you might choose to briefly explore

issues, counterarguments, or implications the sources failed to address or overlooked.

Source Requirements: Refer to the “Topic Choices and Reading Assignments” handout.

Documentation: Your essay should follow MLA documentation guidelines, including source integration

methods, in-text citations, and a Works Cited page.

Formatting: Please use twelve-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and MLA formatting.

Length: 5-7 pages, double-spaced (not including the Works Cited page)

© Kameo Cragoe and Indian Hills Community College