Transcript Synthesis Prompt Review (1)

Synthesis Prompt Review
Reminders and Tips
Tip 1: What is the prompt asking?
• Frame the prompt as a question.
Practice…
“Then synthesize information from at least three of
the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, wellwritten essay that develops a position on the extent to
which government should be responsible for fostering
green practices.”
“How much should the government be responsible for
fostering green practices?”
More Practice
• “Then synthesize information from at least three of
the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, welldeveloped essay that argues a clear position on
whether the USPS should be restructured to meet
the needs of a changing world, and if so, how.”
• “Then, in a well-organized essay that synthesizes at
least three of the sources for support, examine the
factors a group or agency should consider in
memorializing an event or person and in creating a
monument.”
Possible Questions
• Should the U.S. Post office be restructured? How
should it be restructured?
• What factors should an agency consider when
memorializing an event or individual and
creating a monument?
Tip 2: Create a thesis statement.
• Read the sources before finalizing your thesis.
• Make sure your thesis fits the prompt (see step
1).
• While it’s important to consider the sources,
don’t let the sources become your entire
argument- the sources should SUPPORT your
argument
Practice!
• “Then, in a well-organized essay that synthesizes at least three of the
sources for support, examine the factors a group or agency should
consider in memorializing an event or person and in creating a
monument.”
• Your Sources:
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A: Monuments must be in historically significant areas
B: A photo of a monument in a park with trees around it
C: An article about how Mount Rushmore is an insult to local Indians
D: An article about a cemetery possibly being sold to a new development
E: An article concerning controversy about the location and design of the
Holocaust Museum
▫ F: An article about a statue of a fisherman that was moved around and
eventually destroyed
▫ G: An article about the Vietnam Memorial design and how it was
designed to work with its landscape
Possible Thesis
• Before creating a monument to memorialize an
event or person, an agency should consider the
cultural significance of possible locations and
the functionality of possible designs.
Tip 3: Create an outline
• Each paragraph should have a clear focus
revealed by a clear topic sentence
• Paragraphs should use more than one source as
much as possible
• Paragraphs may contain other examples of your
own creation—remember, it’s an argument first!
My Outline
Introduction
• Body Paragraph 1: Location is crucial in
designing a memorial because of both cultural
and practical considerations.
• Body Paragraph 2: Along with location, the
actual design of the memorial needs to be
functional and attractive.
Conclusion
Tip 4: Use the sources effectively
• DON’T use them in your topic sentences
• Use both indirect and direct references
• Use both in-text and parenthetical citations
• EXPLAIN how the source fits your thesis (give a
long explanation for at least one source- if time
is short you can briefly mention others)
Practice: Stitch and weave the following quote to
support the “functionality of design” paragraph.
“The idea of destroying the park to create
something that by its very nature should
commemorate life seemed hypocritical, nor was it
in my nature. I wanted my design to work with the
land, to make something with the site, not to fight
it or dominate it. I see my works and their
relationship to the landscape as being an additive
rather than a combative process.”
My Try
• When agencies create the design for a memorial,
they need to consider the impact on the
environment. As Source G states, the relationship of
a memorial to nature should be “an additive rather
than a combative process.” If a memorial harms the
environment, it will lose some of its nostalgia and
importance because visitors may be focused on this
destruction rather than the significance of the
memorial. In contrast, when a memorial works with
its landscape, such as the Vietnam War Memorial
mentioned in Source G, this harmony only adds to
the majesty of the monument.
Practice again: Paraphrase this source
to support the location paragraph.
“It is not surprising that immediate and intense
controversy erupted when plans were publicized to
build a Holocaust museum on The Mall in
Washington, D.C. The controversy grew from Jewish
and non-Jewish communities, primarily due to the
fact that a museum dedicated to the memory of the
Holocaust would be built in the United States, who
did little to stop the Holocaust from occurring, or as
one protester said, “Imagine a Holocaust museum in
the town whose political sages refused to lift a finger
to halt the Holocaust or open our shores to the few
survivors! How offensive to any informed individual!”
My Try
“The initial controversy surrounding the location
of the Holocaust Museum shows how sensitive
this topic can be (Source E). If an agency is taking
the time to create a memorial, then the person or
event it will represent must hold emotional
significance to people. When emotions run high,
any small controversy surrounding location will be
magnified, as was the case with the Holocaust
Museum.”
Practice Again: Use both of these sources in
one paragraph (about any topic).
“I have to admit: Mount Rushmore bothers me. It was bad
enough that white men drove the Sioux from hills they still
hold sacred; did they have to carve faces all over them too?
It’s easy to feel affection for Mount Rushmore’s strange
grandeur, but only if you forget where it is and how it got
there. To me, it’s too close to graffiti.” (Source C)
“[T]he public monument speaks to a deep need for
attachment that can be met only in a real place, where the
imagined community actually materializes and the
existence of the nation is confirmed in a simple but
powerful way. The experience is not exactly in the realm of
imagination or reason, but grounded in the felt connection
of individual to collective body.” (Source A)
My Try
• The location of a monument must fit its historical
significance and allow visitors to feel connected to the
past. As Source A states, the best memorials are
“grounded in the felt connection of individual to
collective body.” The Gettysburg Memorial is so powerful
because visitors stand where the battle was fought. When
the historical significance of a location is not considered,
a memorial can seem out of place or even offensive.
Mount Rushmore seems to be a strange place to
celebrate the presidents, especially since the people
native to the area were treated so poorly by early
Americans (Source C). With no history to honor in that
area, the monument loses its power and can even
become “close to graffiti” (Source C).