English 0950
A Multiple-Source (Synthesis) Essay
A Plan for Revision and Commonly Asked Questions
1.) Do you have an introductory paragraph? Does this paragraph attempt to catch the readers' interest? Does this paragraph begin with the "overall theme" of the paper ("Literacy and Power") and narrows down to a more specific theme, a "common thread" among your sources? Does this paragraph end with some kind of thesis statement (a central idea) or some kind of directional statement (a "forecast," a "blueprint," etc.)?
2.) Do all of the body paragraphs begin with a topic sentence which states the main idea of the paragraph?
3.) Do all -- or at least most -- of the body paragraphs contain AT LEAST TWO (2) "sources" from our anthology?
4.) Does each body paragraph do more than simply summarize the sources? Does the paragraph link the sources together in some way? Does the paragraph compare the sources? Does the paragraph contrast the sources? Etc.
5.) Is the writer "present" in each body paragraph? Does the writer include his/her own ideas, thoughts, feelings, opinions, etc. about the sources? Does the writer include her/his personal experiences and observations? Does the writer "wrap up" each body paragraph so that there is a sense of completeness or closure?
6.) Does the essay consider the "audience"? NOTE: the "audience" for this paper is everyone else in the room, including but not limited to the instructor. Hence, everyone has read all of the sources, so you can assume general familiarity with the sources. Thus, do you NOT need to summarize sources at length. Also, you CANNOT assume your audience will remember specific details about a source. Finally, you CANNOT assume your audience will interpret a source the same way you do. Assume that your audience is most interested in what you think about the sources, how you put them together, etc.
7.) When an author's name is used for the first time in the paper, is the FULL NAME used? Is the name spelled correctly?
8.) Thereafter, is only the LAST NAME used? (Using only the first name of an author should NEVER be done.) Is the name spelled correctly?
9.) Are the titles of all the "sources" (essays, articles, poems, memoirs, etc.) presented with "quotation marks"?
NOTE: the title of Frederick Douglass' autobiography should be "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" -- but we can agree to shorten it to "Narrative of the Life."
10.) If the book title is used in the paper, is it underlined or italicized?
11.) Every time a source is presented in the paper, are the facts accurate?
12.) Are all summaries, paraphrases, and quotations accurate? (Any inaccuracies can be considered "plagiarism.")
For example, what is WRONG with the following quotation?
According to Frederick Douglass' master, "If you give a slave an inch, he will take an ell" (1907).
The quotation is actually this:
According to Frederick Douglass' master, "If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell" (1907).
If you don't like to use the "n" word, you can modify a quotation like this:
According to Frederick Douglass' master, "If you give a [slave] an inch, he will take an ell" (1907).
Now, consider the following quotation:
"Now," said he, "if you teach that nigger (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him."
Let's say you want to put that in your essay, but you don't need all the "extras." You can also remove words from a quotation using ellipses dots, like this:
According to Frederick Douglass' master, "Now . . . if you teach that [slave] . . . how to read, there would be no keeping him" (1907).
13.) Are parenthetical citations used appropriately in the essay?
After EVERY quotation.
After any specific reference to a specific part of a source -- even if it is in your own words (summary and paraphrase).
Any specific details taken from a source -- even if it is in your own words (summary and paraphrase).
General references to sources, including overall summaries, do NOT need a parenthetical citation.
14.) Is there a Works Cited page at the end of the essay?