Synthesis Essay Prewriting (Fall 2021—Online) Name All sections must be completed to receive approval. I will not allow you to write on your chosen topic until you’ve filled this worksheet and I’ve given you the OK to write about the topic. If you do not have a good source to support your idea, I will ask you to find another source or choose another topic. Remember the Following When Choosing a Topic: • Choose to do Option 1 and Option 2: o Option 1: Write your synthesis essay about a topic that relates to your field of study. . In your final essay (not this essay), you will be asked to write about a career-specific topic. You will be making an argument about a particular claim that is related to your field of study. Since the synthesis essay is written in the explanatory style, you can write about the same topic for the synthesis essay and the final argumentative essay. If you choose to write your synthesis essay about a career-specific topic, you can use the same research for your final essay. o Option 2: Write your synthesis essay about a cultural, ethical or social issue that interests you (and may not relate to your field of study). For this option you would choose a topic that stands out to you and you’d like to compare points of view. This does not have to relate to your future career and/or field of study. The only downside to doing Option 2 is that you may not be able to re-use your research. • If you are unsure what to write about, look over the topic lists posted on Moodle: “1000 Prompts for Students” from New York Times, The “Agree or Disagree List,” or the Intelligence Squared Debates. • Try to narrow your topic down to a claim or defining question. We might say our topic is “High school education.” That would be the general topic you would focus on. If we looked more carefully at a defining question, we might say “Should high schools open earlier?” A claim might state it as “High schools in America should open at 8:30am.” That is more defined. Questions: 1.) What is your topic? Why do you want to do this for your synthesis essay? Write at least 100 words. 2.) State Your Topic as a Claim: First name the topic you’d like to research. Next, narrow this topic down to a claim or a defining question. 3.) Provide One Source: This essay is focused around finding two sources for you to compare and contrast. Find one credible source that you could consider to use for your synthesis essay. Copy and paste one URL to the source that you have chosen which is related to your chosen topic. Write at least 100 words. 4.) Plan B for Synthesis Essay: When writing——-always have a Plan B. If this process did not work out, what would be your second choice for the synthesis essay? You must have a Plan B. Write at least 150 words about what your Plan B is.