University of West Georgia Leading A Vegan Lifestyle Argumentative Synthesis Essay

Assignment Sheet — Essay 3 — Synthesis

Length:

At least 4 pages

Introduction:

Your third essay for this course will be an argumentative synthesis essay. As we discussed, synthesis essays

require you to use information from multiple distinct sources to support some position of your own. For a more in-depth

review of synthesis essays, please refer to the .pdf reading and the PowerPoint.

Assignment:

Write an essay that makes an argument about a topic addressed by any of the readings, films, or clips from

this unit by using both your chosen source text(s) from class and your own outside research. You need

at least three

sources total

, including

at least

two

sources

that you find through your own research.

Remember

:

Though we spend

most of our time talking about food, you are welcome to think creatively for this assignment as long as you are inspired by

our topics in class.

Your essay should seek to be

thorough

,

well-supported

,

organized,

accurate

, and

clear

and will be graded on how well it

accomplishes each of these aims. In addition, as always, your essay will be graded on content, organization, and

presentation.

Content:

Your grade for this essay will be based heavily on the following three major content issues: (1) your claims —

whether you make an arguable claim (your thesis) at the beginning of your essay, and then clearly state all of your smaller,

supporting claims throughout the essay; (2) your grounds — whether you cite specific examples from the source texts to

back up each of your claims; and (3) your warrants — whether you clearly and convincingly

explain

and

defend

how each

of these examples supports your claims — and, finally, your thesis.

Organization:

Open your essay by introducing the topic, the primary source text (if desired), and your thesis (your major

claim).

The body of the essay should be spent supporting and elaborating on your thesis using both the source text and your

secondary source. Again, be sure to explain and defend all assertions (claims) with specific examples from the source texts

(grounds), and to clarify for your readers

how

and

why

each example supports your thesis (warrants).

Your conclusion should sum up your essay succinctly, while re-asserting your thesis (your major claim). It should

not

introduce new ideas or assertions.

Format:

Your essays should conform to MLA style guidelines. For a reminder of what MLA formatting entails, see

The

Owl at Purdue

.

Documentation:

Remember that your summary and paraphrased sections must be documented. Remember also that any

and all quotations must be documented as well, using MLA format. Refer to

The Owl at Purdue

, and your handouts for any

questions about this.

For this essay you will be required to include a Works Cited page. We’ll go over this in class again before

E3 is due, but some of the formatting will be similar to that on the Critique Essay.

Submission:

There is no hard copy submission packet for this essay. Your Final Draft must be submitted to the appropriate

Assignments Folder on Course Den on the day the essay is due before you come to class.

Again

you do not need a hard

copy of the Final Draft for this essay. If it isn’t in by then, you will begin to receive penalties. For further reminders, please

review the

Essay Submission

section of the Course Policies.