Calendar ENG 102 1096 – 2022 Sprg
Details
Synthesizing Ideas from Sources
Due Wednesday ( Week 11), by 11:59pm
Purpose
By completing this writing assignment, you will be able to:
Identify key terms, ideas, and positions from multiple sources
Identify connections, similarities, and differences on key terms, ideas, and positions across multiple sources
Task
Synthesis is a process of making connections across multiple sources and combining ideas and information from multiple sources in new ways. You can think about synthesis as a conversation across sources– if two sources on a similar topic could “talk” to each other, what would they say? For Writing Project 3, you are synthesizing information from multiple sources to support your position on your research topic. But it is just as important that you synthesize ideas and information from your sources with other sources.
For this assignment, you will write a scriipt that imagines a conversation between two of your sources and your own position. Your scriipt will have three characters: you, Source #1, and Source #2 (feel free to name these sources based on the title, the author, or some other identifying characteristic). You and your sources will have a conversation about your shared topic. Each character will have a different perspective on your research topic, and each character should discuss their perspective and talk to other characters about their positions. Like any conversation, characters may agree or disagree on different points.
Consider the following questions as you write your scriipt:
Who are your characters? Based on the sources, what kind of personality does each character have? (For example, an op-ed source may be a confrontational character without must support, whereas an academic article source may have a logical personality and use advanced vocabulary.)
How do the characters begin talking about the topic? What brings them all together in this conversation?
What is each character’s position on the topic? How do they present their position?
What are the commonalities in the characters’ positions? What do they agree about?
What are the differences in the characters’ positions? What do they disagree about?
How do your characters relate to each other? Are some of the characters friends or enemies? Do they refute, refine, agree, or extend each others’ thoughts?
How do the characters try to convince each other to believe their position? Do they use evidence, and if so, what kind of evidence?
How would the characters try to refute a different position?
How would a conversation with these characters end? Would the conversation end with the characters agreeing with each, agreeing to disagree, or some other resolution?
Your scriipt should be 400-500 words long and include multiple lines of dialogue for each character. Feel free to be as creative as you like with this activity as long as you accurately represent each character’s position and include interactions with the other characters.
