Essay 2 will require you to synthesize ideas from two or more of the texts in our unit, so the suggested process for planning Essay 2 will begin by finding places where the texts relate. We will begin by doing this at the detail level, rather than the general level.
Step 1
Using the topic you have in mind, find several details from two or more texts. Select details and add them your working document (Word or Google Drive). Record them as direct quotations, with quotation marks, or as paraphrases. Be sure to label them with the author’s name so that you remember which texts they come from. For instance, thinking about language in context, we might record this quote from Kathryn Hymes:
Hymes: “We speak differently in different settings—this is no surprise—depending on whom we’re talking to and what the purpose is. Whether the formalities of a work presentation for colleagues or awkward small talk on a first date, our language shifts as the context and audience change.”
Record as many passages as you can find from our six texts that relate to the topic you have in mind. For your essay, you will need a minimum of six passages from at least two different texts. At this early stage of pre-writing, though, I recommend that you gather more passages than you might end up using. This puts you in a position to make wise choices about what to include later in your essay.
Step 2
Begin to pair passages together. Select two or more passages from those you recorded in Step 1 and pair, or group them. Base your groupings on your observation that the passages relate to each other in some way. Each pair or group should have details from at least two different texts, and you will need three to five groups at this stage. Each grouping represents the supporting details for one body paragraph of your essay. So, if you end up with four groupings, then you are planning an essay with four body paragraphs.
For example, still thinking about language in context, we might pair the Hymes quote we selected above with a quote from Sarika Bansal’s essay:
Hymes: “We speak differently in different settings—this is no surprise—depending on whom we’re talking to and what the purpose is. Whether the formalities of a work presentation for colleagues or awkward small talk on a first date, our language shifts as the context and audience change.”
Bansal: “To be sure, there are several instances when jargon is acceptable — and even preferred.” However, “using jargon” … “can [cause you to] lose your audience.”
Step 3
Reflect on each set of details. As you do, try to decide what the related details say to you about your topic when you place them together. What big idea can you take from these related details, or what conclusion do you reach when considering the details in relation to each other?
For example, looking at the details above, we might note:
For language to communicate effectively, speakers must be aware of whom they are speaking to and in what context.
Write a general statement, like the one above, for every grouping of passages. Make sure that these are complete sentences, not just topics. These sentences are your tentative topic sentences for the essay that you will write. They are tentative in that they are preliminary, and they may change. Because they may change, don’t aim for perfection at this stage. It is more important that you write sentences that are clear, that show your understanding of what the paired passages say, and that represent an idea related to your topic.
Step 4
Once you have several big ideas, you are ready to develop one over-arching idea that contains, or allows, for your several general statements. Look at your general statements as a group and decide what they say, collectively, about your topic. This idea is, in effect, the insight or realization that the texts, when synthesized, left you with. You might see this idea as a kind of conclusion to your reading and analysis. Oh, and this big idea is the tentative thesis statement for the essay you will soon write.
In last week’s instructional pages, we worked through a process for Essay 2. If you worked through that process, you should have a working thesis, topic sentences, and source material from at least two different texts for each body paragraph. Our plan for Paragraph Development gave you an idea of how to draft your body paragraphs. You might review the Introductory Paragraphs and Concluding Paragraphs pages from earlier in the semester for ideas of what to do with those paragraphs in this essay. Remember to place your thesis at the end of your introductory paragraph.
Essay Topic
Write a three-page synthesis essay on the topic of language in relation to one of the following topics:
Language and Identity (individual)
Language and Identity (group)
Language in Context
Private v. Public
Social Context
Cultural Context
Offensive or Inappropriate Language (or uses of language)
Evolution of Language
Ownership or Control of Language
Language and Inclusion
Language and Exclusion
Your essay must draw source material from at least two of our unit texts, though may use as many of our unit texts as you’d like, and use no additional outside sources.
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