Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate how you have harnessed the writing skills we’ve been learning including summary, quoting, analysis, and synthesis. Specifically, you will gain the following knowledge and skills that are essential to your future career as a critical thinker and communicator in any fields.
Knowledge You Will Gain
Current and past conversations on biodiversity and sustainability, with a focus on trees.
Skills You Will Gain
Summarizing, quoting, analyzing, and advanced synthesizing skills.
Critically selecting texts (of all modes) to form an intellectual conversation and to craft your own argument.
Task
This assignment asks you to write an advanced synthesis essay using skills of summarizing, quoting, analyzing, and synthesizing on the TEDxTalk “How Trees Talk to Each Other” by Suzanne Simard and selected chapters Download selected chapters from Peter Wohlleben’s The Hidden Life of Trees. You can find below for the structure of a synthesis essay:
1. Introduction: The foundational ideas of your essay are expressed in the introductory paragraph. You will address the general landscape of ideas around your topic, introducing some of your sources. You will also introduce the argument to be made through a thesis statement–advanced synthesis, which succinctly states your primary argument in a sentence or two. The thesis statement typically comes at the very end of your introductory paragraph. [Checklist: Strategic summaries of both texts; connection between the texts; an advanced synthesis based on your analysis of the connection between the texts]
2. Body: The body of your synthesis essay is usually about three-five paragraphs long. Expand your synthesis into a few different focuses/perspectives you gain analyzing the two texts together. You should have each paragraph expressing a focus/perspective using an effective topic sentence, support the focus with relevant quotes from the texts, analyze the quotes in detail and in depth, and conclude the paragraph by explaining how the focus/perspective contributes to/connects to your advanced synthesis. Repeat this paragraph structure–MEAL (Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, Link) 3-5 times with different perspective/quotes/analyses relevant to the synthesis. [Checklist: Selected perspectives/key ideas from both texts; selected quotes to illustrate the selected perspectives/key ideas; detailed and in-depth analyses; concluding statements reiterating the main focus/perspective of the paragraph and connecting to the synthesis]
3. Conclusion: The conclusion of your synthesis essay reiterates the argument that you’ve made throughout your essay. It may emphasize how each of the points you made and the texts you’ve cited substantiate your point. You can restate the why your synthesis is important (“So What?” and “Who Cares?”) in a particular context (state the context). You can also provide a prospect to suggest how your reader can continue to explore the topic in different ways or with different texts. [Checklist: Reiteration of the synthesis and main points; the implications of your synthesis in a bigger picture (“So What?); your main target audience and what you want them to take away (“Who Cares?”); concluding sentences on the significance of your topic and a prospect (if any)]
4. A separate Works Cited page: Check Purdue OWL website for the MLA Works Cited page guide to learn how to cite the genres of texts you choose and cite both of the texts in the MLA style on this page.
Criteria for Success
Use this checklist to make sure your completed work is successful.
You can use what you’ve written for the Synthesis Assignment as part of this essay.
Use and demonstrate your learned skills of summarizing, quoting, analyzing, and synthesizing effectively and successfully on the targeted texts (see above).
Use MEAL plan structure for every paragraph in your essay. (Main idea/focus/perspective, Evidence (quotes supporting the main idea), Analysis (I Say–> your explanation and viewpoints on the quotes), Link (connect your analysis to explain how it contributes to your advanced synthesis).
Formatting requirement: 12pt font size, Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 1-inch margin all around
Length: 4 (full)-5 pages, excluding the Works Cited page. The header and the title are part of the first page.
Save your essay in a Word/PDF doc and title the file as ” (Name)_Major Essay #2″ before submitting the assignment.
To earn 2.0 for this class, your Major Essays need to earn an average of 6.5 points. You will be able to revise your Major Essays in your portfolio to update your grades.
Generative AI Statements:
In this course, students shall give credit to AI tools whenever used, even if only to generate ideas rather than usable text or illustrations. When using AI tools on assignments, add an appendix showing (a) the entire exchange, highlighting the most relevant sections; (b) a description of precisely which AI tools were used (e.g. ChatGPT private subscription version or DALL-E free version), (c) an explanation of how the AI tools were used (e.g. to generate ideas, turns of phrase, elements of text, long stretches of text, lines of argument, pieces of evidence, maps of the conceptual territory, illustrations of key concepts, etc.); (d) an account of why AI tools were used (e.g. to save time, to surmount writer’s block, to stimulate thinking, to handle mounting stress, to clarify prose, to translate text, to experiment for fun, etc.). Students shall not use AI tools when composing major essays unless explicitly permitted and instructed. Overall, AI tools should be used wisely and reflectively with an aim to deepen understanding of subject matter.
It is a violation of the College’s Academic Integrity policy to misrepresent work that you submit or exchange with your instructor by characterizing it as your own, such as submitting responses to assignments that do not acknowledge the use of generative AI tools. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have about the use of generative AI tools before submitting any content that has been substantially informed by these tools.
Make sure you have a header on the top of the first page as shown below:
Your Full Name
ENGL&101 Spring 2024
Instructor: Dr. Hsinmei Lin
Major Essay #2
5/27/2024
(A title that serves as a metacommentary of your essay)
Link of the ted talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other?language=en
