Synthesis and

Beginning Research
Week 2

Any questions?
Questions about BA1?
Part 1?
Part 2?

Raider Writer Issues

https://raiderwriter.engl.ttu.edu/

St. Martins Handbook Issues

https://redshelf.com/accounts/login/

Weebly Site

http://drazanenglish1302spring2016.weebly.com/

Keep in mind
Better late than a 0.
1-3 days: 5 points off per day
4 or more days: 10 points off per day

If you are turning in an assignment late, then take your time.

Friday is your due date for this class (almost always).

Synthesis Observations

Carefully read the texts.

Make sure that you accurately understand the authors

viewpoint/argument.

Chapter 1/Chapter 2 of First-Year Writing.

Avoid mostly summary.

Focus on similarities and differences that texts share in regard to shared

topic.

Introduction Example
Society as a whole as well as individual people are
always striving to move forward and make progress.
The articles, The New Sovereignty by Shelby Steele,
My Pedagogic Creed by John Dewey, and The
American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson all give
their input on what they believe are areas in which
society can improve. Although they each address a
different scope of society, the authors agree that
progress within their respective area leads to progress
for society as a whole (Alcantar 609).

Body Paragraph Example

Each author provides their solution which they believe will help steer
society back in the right direction so that it may continue to make
progress. Steele states, Integration is anathema to grievance groups
(Steele 456). The only way to get rid of inequality is through integration
and not through collective entitlement. Dewey and Emersons solution is
similar although not the same. Dewey instructs that schools should help
students discover their own interests and help them build on those
rather than students information in hopes that that information will
serve them in the future (Dewey 463). On the other hand Emerson
writes, Books are for the scholars idle times (Emerson 473). He is
stating that rather than just accept information from others or books
written by others, individuals should question the given knowledge so
that they in turn may better understand and create their own
information (Alcantar 609).

Conclusion Example
The authors acknowledge that as society
continues to move forward and strive for
success, mistakes will be made. Each
article illustrates a solution for an area
that the author believes can be improved
in hopes that society will continue to
make progress (Alcantar 609).

Review 1
(Matt Zoller Seitz)

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens is the film that J.J. Abrams was
put on Earth to make, as evidenced by the "Star Wars" echoes in his hit
series "Lost, and the way he kept trying to turn "Star Trek" into "Star Wars."
These tendencies could seem cutesy or irritating elsewhere, but they make
sense in an according-to-Hoyle "Star Wars" movie. This new one, set 30
years after the events of "Return of the Jedi, is funny, touching, and
surprisingly light-footed. It boasts a lot of familiar elements, including
Skywalker family mythology and another Death Star-type weapon, as well as
self-aware lines about how things work in this series. The film ultimately
runs up against the limitations of its own nature: like the James Bond films,
the Star Wars movies are pretty much obligated to revisit certain
elements, to the point where they might feel played out even if they hadnt
been raided by other films, TV shows and books (including Harry Potter). But
its still an exhilarating ride, filled with archetypal characters with plausible
psychologies, melodramatic confrontations fueled by soaring emotions, and
performances that can be described as good, period, rather than "good, for
'Star Wars.'"

Review 2
(James Berardinelli)

If theres a reason to be disappointed withThe Force Awakens, its because of the

lack of originality. Granted,A New Hopewasnt a pinnacle of achievement in that
realm either, but itfeltfresh.The Force Awakensoffers a greatest hits approach
toStar Wars- take all the expected elements and check them off. Its not quite a
remake of the 1977 original but the influences and homages are so strong that at
times it seems like one. I guess the salient question is whetherStar Warsfans want
something unique or whether they want to see variations on a theme. The degree
to whichThe Force Awakensis derivative is at times surprising. Apparently,
writer/director J.J. Abrams is so frightened of messing upStar Wars that he does
the safest (and laziest) thing imaginable: tosses new characters and old ones into
the mix and has them do pretty much the same things we saw inA New
HopeandReturn of the Jedi.

Ironically, the few innovative things Abrams and co-screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan
attempt are among those that work best, leaving open the tantalizing prospect of
whatThe Force Awakensmight have been had the filmmakers not been beholden
to incorporating as manyStar Warstropes as the 135-minute running length would
accommodate. For the most part, however, this is a fusion of moments, ideas, and
plot points fromA New Hope, Return of the Jedi, andRevenge of the Sith.

Group Activity

In groups of 4 to 5, please read both reviews. Note similarities and

differences.

Write a 2-3 sentence introduction.

Next, write 1 body paragraph (4-5 sentences) synthesizing the two

reviewers opinions.

Finally, write a 2-3 sentence introduction.

Once all the groups are done, we will discuss your mini-syntheses together
as a class.

Activity Discussion

What did the two reviewers agree on?

What did the two reviewers disagree on?

How did your group synthesize the two reviews?

Any questions?

Participation Activity
On a separate sheet of paper, please write your name and
answer the following questions:
1. What topic are you interested in writing your literature
review/researched argument about?
2. Why are you interested in that particular topic?
3. What are some related topics that you could also look into?

Beginning Research
Resources:
Library
http://library.ttu.edu/

Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com/

Tips For Finding Reliable Sources

Chapter 5, pages 106-113, in First-Year Writing

Before you leave

Please read the following by February 8:

Chapter 12f, Synthesizing Sources pages 222-224, in the St. Martins

Handbook

Chapter 3, pages 39-68, and Chapter 7, pages 167-174, in First-Year Writing

Also read the following three articles (which you will use for BA2 next
week):

Do You Speak American? by Robert MacNeil (page 306)

Why Good English Is Good For You by John Simon (page 332)

Lost in America by Douglas McGray (page 351)

There will be a reading quiz over the three articles next class (February
8)

Check email for developing researched argument topic handout coming

soon!