· 3 page essay discussing an issue that people can disagree about, or see from different points of view, with a thesis that states what I think about this issue, informed by your conversation with at least three sources.
· “Synthesis” means putting several sources together and using them to get a bigger perspective on a topic. · A synthesis is organized by ideas: an umbrella idea that describes the bigger perspective on the topic, and supporting ideas. It is not organized by going through sources one by one. Analyze the umbrella idea, breaking it down into smaller parts, and go through the parts one by one. Bring in readings as they are relevant to each supporting idea.
The thesis will be based off my idea: pot should be legalized. From my claim it will be backed up using evidence and logic (plus sources).
Your body paragraphs will go through important parts, aspects, or supporting points that relate to your main topic/umbrella idea. As you describe these supporting ideas, use whatever sources are relevant to that particular aspect of the main idea. Use them for evidence or examples of reasoning, and then explain what the evidence or reasoning means.
Cite sources by author and page number (Name 42). If a source does not have a named author, use its title (“Title of a Thing” 51). If it is online and has no page numbers, number the paragraphs and cite which paragraph your idea or quote comes from (Name para. 5). As Jane Schmoe argues, after mentioning a name (or title) in your sentence, you can leave it out of the parenthetical citation (22). If you use several citations from the same source in a row, you only need to include the name once (26).
The topic for this synthesis paper is about legalizing marijuana. You are to use these sources I have:
The Federal Government Should Decriminalize Marijuana:
Marijuana:
Drug Legalization:
What Jeff Sessions doesn’t understand about medical marijuana: