explanatory synthesis essay

Unit 3 & 4 ENG 120

Explanatory Synthesis Essay

Due: 11:59 PM EST Sunday

The Explanatory Synthesis will require your new skills in summary and critique to choose your readings to incorporate into the essay and to form

your own thesis. After reading through the pieces about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants and how to write an Explanatory Synthesis, choose

three or more of the required readings (listed below) to incorporate into your essay. The essay will be two to three pages in length and employ APA

format.

Follow these guidelines to write your Explanatory Synthesis:

 The Explanatory Synthesis should be two to three pages in length and include at least three of the following articles:

o “How Does the web Make Youth Feel? Exploring the positive digital native rhetoric”

o “Digital Natives: Rise of the Social Networking Generation”

o “Digital Books for Digital Natives”

o “Debunking the Digital Natives”

o “Are Adult Educators and Learners Digital Immigrants?

o “New Technology, New Methodology: The Digital Native and Digital Immigrants Debate”

o “No More Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants”

 Include an APA title page

 Include APA in-text citations wherever you reference the text.

 Include a reference page in APA format.

 Be objective and avoid using “I”, “you”, and “we”.

Students: Be sure to read the criteria, by which your paper/project will be evaluated, before you write, and again after you write.

Explanatory Synthesis Rubric

Unsatisfactory – 1 Developing – 2 Proficient – 3 Exemplary – 4

Organization

The synthesis lacks an

effective introduction and

conclusion and does not offer

explanations of material.

The synthesis contains an

effective introduction and

conclusion but does not offer

reasonable explanations of

material.

The synthesis contains an

effective introduction and

conclusion but some

explanations require more

information.

The synthesis begins with a

well thought-out, cohesive

introduction, includes

effective explanations, and

ends in a summative

conclusion.

Explanations

It is difficult for the reader to

know which text is being

discussed. Explanations are

insufficient

Explanations of material are

unclear and haphazard. Student

provides too much or too little

information.

Explanations of material could

be more clear and succinct.

Ideas are not explicitly related

to the thesis.

Each text used is explained

clearly and succinctly with

ideas that relate to the thesis.

Synthesis

No connection is made

between texts, no similarities

or differences are noted, the

reader cannot see how the

texts are related, and the

essay is more summary than

synthesis.

There is little connection

between texts, similarities and

differences seem to be randomly

selected, and it is difficult for

the reader to see how the texts

are related.

The points of comparison and

references to the texts could

be more specific and explicit,

although the reader can see

how the texts are related.

The student uses well-selected

points of comparison and

references to the texts and

clearly explains how the texts

support the thesis statement.

APA

Format

There is no evidence of

proper APA style anywhere

in the synthesis.

The synthesis contains more

than seven APA errors in title

page, objective tone, citation,

and active voice.

The synthesis contains four to

six errors in APA style title

page, objective tone, citation,

and active voice.

The synthesis contains fewer

than three errors in APA style

title page, objective tone,

citation, and active voice.

Grammar,

Mechanics

Errors in mechanics make the

synthesis difficult to

understand.

There are seven or more errors

in mechanics, usage, grammar,

or spelling.

There are four to six errors in

mechanics, usage, grammar,

or spelling.

There are fewer than three

errors in mechanics, usage,

grammar, or spelling.

20 = 100% 16 = 90% 12 = 79% 8 = 70%

19 = 98% 15 = 87% 11 = 77% 7 = 68%

18 = 96% 14 = 84% 10 = 75% 6 = 66%

17 = 93% 13 = 81% 9 = 73% 5 = 64%

*A zero can be earned if the above criteria are not met.