Brief Assignment 2: Synthesizing Sources

Your BA2 is due on Friday, February 12 on Raider Writer by 11:59:59 p.m.

Purpose: To demonstrate your ability to synthesize source material.
Description: This assignment will help you prepare for your initial draft of the literature review.
To complete this assignment, you will need to write a thesis-driven synthesis of three articles. In
other words you will want to identify a common theme or idea that you see running through all
of the articles and focus on how each article develops or contributes to the theme. We have
selected the following articles from your textbook for this assignment:
Do You Speak American?" Robert MacNeil 306
"Why Good English is Good for You" John Simon 332
"Lost in America" Douglas McGray 351
Read each article through once so that you understand its scope and the authors argument.
As you begin to read through each article again, note common themes and ideas. What are the
things these authors agree and disagree about? (Hint: You may find it helpful to use an
organizational tool such as a Venn diagram.)
Create a working thesis statement based on one common theme or idea that runs through all
three articles (a statement that will tie all three articles together in some way). There will be
several possible common themes or ideas for you to choose from. Pick the one that you can
develop in the most detail.
Then, write an essay which summarizes and synthesizes these articles. In other words,
describe the common theme, explain how each author develops the common theme, and then
explain how each article relates to the others. What are their similarities and differences? Why
are these similarities and differences important to the theme which you are examining?
Length: 400 - 600 words Format: MLA style for internal citations and works cited.
Format of BA2
Introduction (including working thesis statement)
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Conclusion