ENG 102 Freshman Composition

Arizona Western College / Spring 2018 / DeLaurier

 

PERSUASIVE SYNTHESIS RESEARCH ESSAY

 

For this essay, you will take all the research you have done this semester – the Op-Ed essay and annotated bibliography – and compose an essay in which you combine the research (synthesize) by topic to create a persuasive synthesis research essay.  Persuasive essays try to move the reader to a way of thinking or acting. 

 

Assignment

What is your research question? Once you have done that, you will need to organize your information by subtopic using the synthesis grid we will begin in class today (Thonney p.361; due Tuesday, April 10, 8:00 am).  Following that, you will determine the organization of your paper: how can you best get your information across to your readers?

 

You will need to present a full-sentence outline of your paper, also due on Tuesday, April 10, 8:00 am.  This outline should include a topic sentence for each paragraph.  In doing so, the outline will clearly indicate the organization of your paper.  Beneath each topic sentence, you will need to include a brief statement of what information you will include from which sources.

 

Outcomes

·        Identify a research question and methods of research

·        Identify purposes appropriate to academic writing situations

·        Demonstrate understanding of the genre conventions of persuasive academic

         writing

·        Use writing for inquiry, learning, critical thinking, and communicating

·        Use a process of systematic inquiry, with the understanding that a writing

         assignment is a series of tasks, including locating, evaluating, analyzing, and

         synthesizing appropriate primary and secondary sources

·        Apply research material collected from electronic sources, including scholarly

         library databases, other official databases, and the World Wide Web

·        Use documentation appropriately, and demonstrate an understanding of the logic

         of citation systems

·        Use technology to locate information, evaluate information, and accomplish a

         specific purpose

·        Edit work to reduce mechanical and syntactic errors

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Source Requirements

·        Must quote, integrate, and cite a minimum of twelve sources (including at least   

         six scholarly peer-reviewed articles, one university press book, one credible

         video, one credible non-scholarly newspaper or magazine, and no non-credible

         sources)

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Formatting Requirements

·        2500 words, which may be approx. 9-10 pages in length excluding title page (APA)

         and bibliography

·        APA or MLA format

·        Basic format: 1” margins, 12-pt Times New Roman font, double-spaced, page

         numbers in the upper right corner.  These are just the basics.  Use Purdue Owl

         and/or A Writer’s Resource before submitting your paper to verify that you have

         formatted your paper correctly.