English 11 Synthesis Writing
Before we get into the details of synthesis writing, you might consider this link. It's one of the most thorough, detailed resources on synthesis writing you can keep with you through high school and university. Keep in mind, it is copyrighted material.

Ok here goes!

THE ARGUMENT SYNTHESIS: The purpose of an argument synthesis is for you to present your own point of view - supported, of course, by relevant facts, drawn from sources, and presented in a logical manner. The thesis of an argumentative essay is debatable. It makes a proposition about which reasonable people could disagree, and any two writers working with the same source materials could conceive of and support other, opposite theses.

HOW TO WRITE SYNTHESIS ESSAYS

1. Consider your purpose in writing. Read the topic assignment carefully. What are you trying to accomplish in your essay? How will this purpose shape the way you approach your sources? 
2. Select and carefully read your sources, according to your purpose. When rereading, label or underline the passages for main ideas, key terms, and any details you want to use in the synthesis. 
3. Formulate a thesis. Your thesis is the main idea that you want to present in your synthesis. It must be expressed as a complete sentence and include a statement of the topic and your assertion about that topic. Sometimes the thesis is the first sentence, but more often it is the final sentence of the first paragraph. 
4. Decide how you will use your source material and take notes. How will the information and the ideas in your sources help you to fulfill your purpose? Re-read your sources and write down the information from your sources that will best develop and support your thesis. 
5. Develop and organizational plan, according to your thesis. How will you arrange your material? 
6. Write the first draft of your synthesis, following your organizational plan. Be flexible with your plan, however, and allow yourself room to incorporate new ideas you discover as you write. 
7. Revise your synthesis. Insert transitional words and phrases where necessary. Integrate all quotations so they flow smoothly within your own sentences. 

TECHNIQUES FOR DEVELOPING SYNTHESIS ESSAYS
SUMMARY: The simplest - and least sophisticated - way of organizing a synthesis essay is to summarize your most relevant sources, one after the other, but generally with the most important source(s) last. The problem with this approach is that it reveals little or no independent thought on your part. Its main virtue is that it at least grounds your paper in relevant and specific evidence.

Summary can be useful - and sophisticated - if handled judiciously, selectively, and in combination with other techniques. At some time you may need to summarize a crucial source in some detail. At another point, you may wish to summarize a key section or paragraph of a source in a single sentence. Try to anticipate what your reader needs to know at any given point of your paper in order to comprehend or appreciate fully the point you are making.

EXAMPLE OR ILLUSTRATION: At one or more points in your paper, you may wish to refer to a particularly illuminating example or illustration from your source material. You might paraphrase this example (i.e., recount it, in some detail, in your own words), summarize it, or quote it directly from your source. In all these cases, of course, you would properly credit your source.

TWO (OR MORE) REASONS: The "two reasons" approach can be an extremely effective method of development. You simply state your thesis, then offer reasons why the statement is true, supported by evidence from your sources. You can advance as many reasons for the truth of your thesis as needed; but save the most important reason(s) for last, because the end of the paper is what will remain most clearly in the reader's mind.

STRAWMAN: When you use the strawman technique, you present an argument against your thesis, but immediately afterward you show that this argument is weak or flawed. The advantage of this technique is that you demonstrate your awareness of the other side of the argument and show that you are prepared to answer it. The strawman argument first presents an introduction and thesis, then the main opposing argument, a refutation of the opposing argument, and finally a positive argument.

CONCESSION: Like the strawman, the concession technique presents the opposing viewpoint, but it does not proceed to demolish the opposition. Instead, it concedes that the opposition has a valid point but that, even so, the positive argument is the stronger one. This method is particularly valuable when you know your reader holds the opposing view.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST: Comparison and contrast techniques enable you to examine two subjects (or sources) in terms of one another. When you compare, you consider similarities. When you contrast, you consider differences. By comparing and contrasting, you perform a multifaceted analysis that often suggests subtleties that otherwise might not have come to your attention.

(Copyright Cassie Carter with significant edits / MSU, 2018)

English 11
Thesis statements. Check out these links:
Good and Bad Thesis Statements



English 9 SPECTRUM
Greetings SPECTRUM! It is time for one of the most challenging poetic forms: The Shakespearean Sonnet. Let's have a look:

--- Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; 
      So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
      So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 
---

Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
Sometimes we write them as 3 stanzas with a rhyming couplet at the end, but usually we write it as a single, large stanza. Each quatrain reveals a problem - so there will be 3 problems in all, while the rhyming couplet resolves all 3 problems in a single utterance. One may suggest that each quatrain reveals a certain aspect of a bigger problem while the rhyming couplet resolves that problem.

Here's what I'll be evaluating:

1. The form of the sonnet - rhyme scheme, iambic pentameter, and indented rhyming couplet.
2. Purpose of the sonnet - present 3 aspects of a problem, or 3 similar problems, and resolve it within the rhyming couplet.

English 10
Cask of Amontillado
Check out these questions - Do #3, #4, #6.

Once those are done, consider this one:
Evaluate the rationale for Montresor's revenge. How can we interpret COA that suggests that the narrator is just? How might we interpret his actions as unjust?

Which of these two do you believe is correct? Explain.

Greetings English 10!
As we begin to hand in our projects and DEJs for Animal Farm it's time for some reflection! On a separate page, answer these questions:

1. Why did you decide one type of project over another? (blog or newspaper)
2. How did you decide which news items were "newsworthy"?
3. Did you try to embellish the facts? Why or why not?
4. Your work will have bias in your reporting. What point of view were you focusing on? In what way did you write that supported this view?
5. Explain the persuasive techniques you used in your propaganda.

Embellish: Make more interesting by adding details that may not be true.

Bias: prejudice or favour towards a group, person, or idea. 

Good Day English 10!
It's becoming clear that the Old Major's dream is going awry in Animal Farm. Many of you have read beyond chapter 5 for the sake of your DEJ, Blog, and/or Newspaper. The pigs, and especially Squealer, have become very good at persuading the other animals that everything is going well, and that Napoleon is always right. As a devoted supporter, or usurper of this radical change, think about how you might use propaganda to persuade other animals to your way of thinking.

As we gradually move towards essay writing, we need to begin looking at persuasive techniques. These are little tricks you can use to persuade your audience to do what you want them to do. Take a look at some persuasive techniques and how you might use them to get what you want.

If you want a straight forward list of techniques you could use for your propaganda, check out this link. This is a list used in World War 2 propaganda, and it should work perfectly for our purposes.

Here's some more detail on the criteria for your assignment:

Newspaper

1. Each author should produce 2-5 articles. They may vary in length - but a single paragraph never constitutes an interesting article.
2. All newspaper features should be present: Headlines, subtitles, images, date. Follow a template - make it look like a newspaper.
3. Include a variety of articles ranging from major news items, gossip, weather, and sports. You can decide what kind of articles to include. You could include a section on "Letters to the Editor". 
4. 3+ pages in length.
5. For more details, check the role descriptions below.

Blog

1. The blog should have 8-12 news articles from Animal Farm. If you are solo, that means a lot more writing!
2. No more than 3 members (roughly 3 or 4 articles each)
3. Use an online blog software - like blogspot/blogger or wordpress.
4. Decide on newsworthy items to include.
5. Use images frequently.
6. Each article should be 350 words+
7. Check below for more details.

ELL 1/2 Social Studies
Today we'll be making summaries of our article. Please follow the guide during class time.