This document provides guidelines for an explanatory synthesis essay assignment. Students are instructed to write a synthesis essay integrating at least six sources on the topic of urban renewal/gentrification. The essay must have an introduction with a clear thesis, topic sentences supporting the thesis, well-integrated textual evidence from the sources, and a conclusion. It must be 1000 words or more and follow MLA format guidelines. A draft is due for a one-on-one conference, and the final version is due by the specified date.

1. ENG 102 Brentar Explanatory Synthesis Evaluation
Name:
Focus and Organization (7.5 pts.)
Clear and focused thesis statement
Avoidance of argument/stance
Transitions within and between paragraphs
Total
Development (7.5 pts)
Synthetic elements: sources demonstrated as interrelated
Total
Grammar, Mechanics, Formatting, and Citation (5
pts.)
Total
Total (20 pts).
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:
Comments:

2. Consistent, focused discussion around the thesis
Overall development and length
Paragraph unityand coherence
Mainideas
Overall unityand coherence
Clear, focused topicsentences/main points
Logical organizational pattern
Supporting ideas/evidence
ENG 102 - BRENTAR - ESSAY #2 -
EXPLANATORY SYNTHESIS (MWF)
What's a Synthesis?
A synthesis is “a written discussion that draws
on two or more sources. It follows that
your ability to
writesyntheses depends on your ability to infer
relationships among sources” (Behrens and Rosen
81). As
compositionist Katherine Ackley adds, “A synthesis
draws conclusions from, makes observations
on, or shows
connections between two or more sources…by
extracting information that is relevant to your

3. purpose” (51).
An explanatory synthesis is built on the ideasthat
you select from your group of sources, fits
the
purpose, occasion, subject and audience of your essay,
states then develops an informative thesis
that
presents for the reader the biggest possible picture
of the issue, contains well-chosen textual
support (quotes,
summaries, and paraphrases), and includes a “Works
Cited” page.
Keepin mind that your audience is college-educated
adults, but instead of reading the original
texts for
themselves, they are relying on your essay for
their information.
Yoursynthesis will be evaluated on how well you
develop, state and maintain an informative thesis
synthesizing the works of otherwriters, how clearly
you establish your main points of synthesis that
support
your thesis, how accuratelyyou summarize the original
texts (as needed), how you integrate your source
material into the essay, how you organize, develop,
and present your essay, and, most importantly,
how well
you maintain the focus on the ideaspresented in
the sources and not on your own personal
reactions to them.
To that end, remember to make sure that you do

4. not evince any stance of your own whatsoever.
This
essay must not make an argument. As
Behrens and Rosen note, an Explanatory
Synthesis is like reportage:
the writer of an Explanatory Synthesis will report
only the salient ideassurrounding the issue,
which may
include the stances of those being cited,
but will not opine about the issuehim or
herself.
The Assignment
For the assignment, you will use the following articles
focusing on urban renewal/gentrification from
the Engaged Reader: Short, 299; McGuigan, 309;
Szeman, 321; Piiparinen, 341; Williams, 345;
Davidson, 349;
Older, 357; Slater, 361; and LaCroix, 401. In
your synthesis essay, you must integrate and then
cite on your
Works Cited page at least SIX of the readings.
This is not a research essay, per se;
however, if you do conduct
research and use any research materials, you must cite
them appropriately.
Remember that your purpose determines not only
which sources you will use but also which
information you plumb from them and how you will
relate them to one another.
Here are the general parts/elements of a synthesis
that should be apparent in your essay:

5. • Introduction/statement of the essay’s subject and
purpose (at somepointindicating the
essays/sources considered for synthesis)
• A clear thesis that controls the essay and
presents the “big picture” about the issueat
hand
• Clear topicsentences that support the thesis (each
topicsentence will relate a “big idea”
inherent in
the issue)
• Well-chosen and well-synthesized textual support
• Logical organization (remember that explanatory
syntheses are organized according to ideas, not
sources)
• Effective transitions
• An effective conclusion
• Use of your own words
• Use of third-person voice and present tense
Essay Submission Guidelines
You will submit your draft in hard copy in one-on-
one conference. You will submit your revision
electronically on Blackboard; therefore, please follow
theseguidelines:
• For the revision, do not cut and pasteyour document
into the submission box. You must submit it
as

6. an attachment at the Essay #2 assignment
page.
• The file should be named in this fashion:
Yourlast name, followed by the name of
the assignment and
the word “revision”
o Thus, if I were a student submitting my
explanatory synthesis, the file name would be
Brentar
Explanatory Synthesis Revision. Capitalize every
word in the file name, and do not introduce
underscores instead of spaces in the file name.
• Finally, if you are a user of Microsoft Word,
Pages, Open Office Write, or
WordPerfect, I will have no
trouble opening your attachment. If, however,
you are a user of Microsoft Works, you must
save a
copy of your work and send it in Rich Text Format
(documents saved in this format have the
extension “rtf”), or I will be unable to open
your attachment successfully.
If you do not abide by the above procedures,
I retain the right to refuse your submission.
The finished
submitted synthesis should be between at least 1000
words (4 pages, double-spaced). There
is no upper limit
to length.
Please follow MLA essay format guidelines.

7. You may refer to the sample Explanatory
Synthesis as a
model for how your paper should be formatted.
• The only paper size you should be using is
US Letter. Do not use A4.
• Use one-inch margins on all sidesof the page,
double-space, and include, on the first page of
text only,
include your name, my name, course number
(ENG 102), and date in the upper left-
hand corner of the
first page, followed by the title, centered.
• Butdo include, on every page, in the upper
right hand corner, one-half inch from the top of
the page,
your last name, followed by a space and the
page number, without the word “page” or a
“p.”
• Do not introduce horizontal or vertical lines in this
area (called the header). Also, do not
introduce
shaded boxes in this area. The font should be
identical to the font in the text of the essay.
• Finally, please use for your font 12 pointCourier
New. You may refer to the sample essays
as a model
for how your paper should be formatted.

8. Due Dates
• Draft Due: In conference (2/22, 2/24,2/26)
• Final Version Due: 3/7/2016, by 11:59 p.m.