In-class and Homework for Monday: Read the handout below and the example  AP Lang and Comp Synthesis Prompt by Monday, March 6. Also, start researching possible topics/debatable current issues (and consider how you would frame them as a debatable question) and think about whether you are going to work alone or with a partner(s).   

Read this handout

Wesley 3AP Social Issue Research and AP Synthesis Project:

Creating an AP Synthesis Prompt, Source Packet, and Paper

 “Come in to your research in ignorance, as long as you don’t come out that way.” 

Katherine Boo, author of the book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, winner of the National Book Award,

Point Value: 200 points total

(100 points for synthesis prompt & materials; 70 points for essay response; 30 points for hitting due-dates, etc.)

Due Date: March 17, 2017: (detailed schedule will be provided on Monday, March 6 )

Assignment Background:   Having just finished discussing the social implications of The Great Gatsby, and in anticipation of reading Beloved and preparing to take the AP Language and Composition exam, this project merges three topics of pertinent study: social problems, research, and AP synthesis essay writing. This project will help us hone our research skills, become more aware of current social issues, consider possible solutions, and prepare for and practice writing a synthesis essay.

Assignment

Congratulations! The national AP test writers have nominated this class to write their next synthesis prompts. Yessss!!!!

Will I be given an example? Abso-freakin-lutely! While writing, use the AP packets (both the source packet and the student essay packets) to help guide you. These are your models!

Can I work with a partner? You betcha! You may work with a partner (of course you don’t have to…some people work better alone).

What do we do?                    

1)     Identify a current (in the news in the last two years), important, and debatable state, national or international issue.  Your issue must meet all of these criteria.

2)     Research that issue, problem, challenge.

3)     Develop a writing prompt/question that is debatable and offers an opportunity for a variety of responses.  You will need to write a prompt which invites the reader to consider at least two possible views of how to best deal with/improve the problem.

4)     Research – and select - a balanced mix of source documents which address the issue from different perspectives, thereby providing material to help foster a fair and balanced debate about possible responses or solutions.

5)     You will write your own summary and analysis of each of your sources, providing some perspective on why you chose them and how they support one response or another (e.g., pro vs con) to the prompt. Doing this summary and analysis of each source will help you later when you write an essay response to your own prompt.

6)     Write a synthesis essay in response to your prompt.

Intellectual Honesty:  I am aware that many of you have done research projects in the past, (e.g., last year in Global Studies), or are currently doing one for another class. That’s great. But I must stress that with this project I want you to research something new, not simply repackage another research project. Your topic must be a new for you and your partner. So, to be clear…you may not recycle, reuse other research projects (or parts of other projects). Learn something new – it’s good for you.

Also, although you might end up asking a question or writing a prompt that is similar to one found on a current events and/or debate-centered site like the New York Times Room for Debate page, you must find original source documents (and read them and extract excerpts from them)   You may not simply repackage debates and sources from other sources or from students in other classes. That is plagiarism. So while you may consult and use source materials from a variety of places, your questions and sources must not be plagiarized from sites that are doing something very similar to what I am asking you to do in this project.  Those sites might inspire you, make you aware of current issues and debates, but you are not allowed to simply use their exact prompt or all of their source materials (that would be plagiarism). I will, however, allow you to use a total of one source from a debate-centered site/book.

Topics that are not eligible for this project because they have been done too often (these leapt to mind)

Abortion

Gun control

Legalization of marijuana

Should schools require PE

Should schools provide free breakfast/lunch

Note: All topics/prompts are subject to approval by Mr. Wesley.

How to get started:

Brainstorm with people you know regarding complex, compelling issues/problems that exist in our state, nation or world.  What conflicts and challenges are out there now or looming in the future? What have you seen in the news? What have you talked about in classes (e.g., when we read 1984)? What have you discussed with family and friends?

Consult a variety of news sites and magazines to see what is being discussed and debated.  The following is a mix of centrist, conservative and liberal sources (in no particular order) which might help you get started. This is a good list, but only a partial list; there are many more out there: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, PBS Frontline, BBC, The Guardian, Slate, The National Review, Mother Jones, The Economist, Popular Science, National Geographic, The Week, Huffington Post, Reason.

Also check out sites that specialize in social justice issues such as United Nations (UN) website (issues/campaigns), HumanRights.org, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, to name a few.

Questions to help your explore your issue further…Who, What, Where, When, Why? The following questions will help you find important background.

Who is being effected by this issue?

What are the major reasons that this issue/conflict exists?

Where is this issue or conflict happening?

When did this issue or conflict begin?

What solution(s) might exist and what information needs to be considered in assessing which is best and/or practical?

Step one: You choose the topic (example—Syrian refugees).

Step two: This topic is too generic, but it is a great starting point.  Once you have the topic, begin to create a specific angle that leads to a clear question (this may take some research and searching)-examples:  Who are the Syrian refugees?  Why are they refugees? Why are they leaving Syria? Where are they going? What, if anything, should be done to help them? Who should help them? How can they be helped?

Step three: Formulate a guiding question—make sure that it is clear and specific— which could be turned into a synthesis prompt. A suitable question might be “Should the United States take in Syrian refugees and why?” Your prompt must invite a student to take a position in the debate (e.g., the essayist might choose a pro or con position on accepting Syrian refugees).

Step four: Although student essay should stake out a position on the question raised in the prompt, as the writer of the prompt, you should attempt to remain neutral and be fair and balanced in framing the issue.  Therefore, find six sources which present balanced mix of source materials for the reader/writer to consider. For example, if you have a pro/con type of question/prompt, three sources should more clearly support one side of the argument (pro) while three other sources should more clearly support the other side of the argument (con); however, you may also include up to two sources which are neutral/objective. Also, remember that one of your six sources must be a visual source.  What is important is that overall your mix of sources provide balanced support more than one side of the issue, not weak sources for one side and strong for the other.  Also, remember what I said about using sources from debate-centered sites: you may only use one source from that type of website (or book).

Source analyses: Once you have selected your six sources, you must do a clear and concise paragraph analysis each source.  Explain which position (pro, con, objective) you believe the source best supports and why. These write-ups should be clear and concise: a well-developed paragraph which immediately states whether the source is best described as pro, con, or neutral, and then uses embedded quotes, paraphrase, and sound reasoning to explain why your team believes it best fits the pro, con, or neutral category.

IMPORTANT POINT: Your sources should be non-fiction, however, you have the option to replace one (but no more than one) of your written non-fiction pieces with an excerpt from a piece of fiction (e.g., 1984) we have read this year.

Also, please be sure to label each source as source A-F.  This label should be at the top of the page.

Finally, create an AP style rubric (1-9 scoring) tailored specifically to your prompt.

Final product:

• You will have a prompt page that contextualizes the topic and contains the synthesizing prompt.

• You will have five to six sources—one source per page.

• You will create an AP-style rubric (scored on 1-9 scale) for your prompt.

• Attached as an appendix, you will submit a pro, con, objective source write-ups (one per source).

Once you have completed your prompt and supporting materials, you will write an in-class essay in response to your prompt. 

Source A Write-Up

Matthew Crawford’s “The Case for Working With Your Hands” best supports the “con” argument that college might not be worth the cost. While Crawford does not directly address the cost of college nor overtly oppose college or the white collar professions that typically follow, he eloquently reminds the reader that hands-on careers should not automatically be seen as less worthy or desirable. Furthermore, his articulate and well-reasoned argument establishes credibility with New York Times readers (and AP test takers), the vast majority of whom do have college degrees (or soon will).  In short, he reminds people that a “pure information economy” – the one which favors the college educated – has not come to pass, as “now as ever, somebody has to actually do things: fix our cars, unclog our toilets, build our houses.” And, of course, many of these trades do not necessarily require a four-year college degree; they do, however, require skill.  This leads to his next point: working with your hands should not feel like a last resort.  He exposes the often condescending attitude towards manual labor: “When we praise people who do work that is straightforwardly useful, the praise often betrays an assumption that they had no other options.” This is part of his overall strategy to get us to question our underlying assumptions and attitudes towards manual labor/arts; if we view these as lesser options in terms of their effect on our intellectual reputation, our ego will drive us towards college as the only respectable option for a smart person. If we begin to question these assumptions, we might begin to rationally assess whether college – especially with astronomical tuitions – is always the best choice, even for smart students who have a track record of academic success. Finally, this article makes an economic argument for working with your hands; many of those jobs can’t be outsourced, so they provide a stability which some information-based jobs can’t provide. Quoting Princeton professor Alan Binder, he reminds us that “’You can’t hammer a nail over the Internet,’” and then Crawford adds “Nor can the Indians fix your car. Because they are in India.” In summary, this source will help the high school reader question whether college is worth it; “If the goal is to earn a living, then, maybe it isn’t really true that 18-year olds need to be imparted with a sense of panic about getting into college.”

Grading: 100 points                                        Student Names:  _________________________________

AP Synthesis Project Rubric:

A (8-9)  The prompt is mature, meaningful, and well-written, providing a compelling and debatable American issue. The prompt is supported by a balanced (pro, con, neutral) mix of polished, very well-chosen/written, and properly cited (MLA) source documents. Conventions and formatting of the entire packet is all-but-perfect and it is combined into one Word document. The rubric is tailored to the prompt, well-worded and free of errors. The sources chosen are balanced and supported by thoughtful, thorough, fair, and well-written write-ups appended to the end of the assignment. The entire package is essentially ready for printing and use as an AP exam quality prompt. 

B (6-7)  Though perhaps not quite as mature, meaningful, and/or well-written as the best prompts and sources, the document provides a legitimate and debatable American issue. The prompt is supported by a balanced (pro-con) mix of fairly well-chosen/well-written sources, though they might not be as apt in selection or well-written as those found in the best document packets. The source documents are properly cited (MLA). Conventions and formatting is all-but-perfect, and the packet is combined into one Word document. The rubric is tailored to the prompt, fairly well-worded and free of errors. Though they do not necessarily reveal the quality of analysis or polished writing found in the best write-ups, these write-up are good, reasonable, and balanced and they clearly convey why the source falls into the category it fits into. While not yet an AP quality prompt, with some improvements to question, content and formatting, it could be.

C (5) They demonstrate an attempt to create a AP exam style synthesis prompt and packet, but it may have a vague or less compelling prompt and/or have mediocre or unbalanced source content. Source write-ups are adequate but the explanations are not especially precise, insightful, well-written. Alternatively, they may be relatively strong in terms of prompt and source content but are poorly formatted, contain typos, or have other distracting errors. The rubric is generic (not tailored specifically to that prompt) or in some other way is adequate at best.

D (3-4) Team creates an AP style synthesis prompt and packet, but the subject of the prompt is either not very important or the prompt itself is not compelling. The overall quality of the materials is substandard, in some way incomplete, or reads/looks more like a draft than a finished product. Source write-ups are present but the explanations/analysis is underdeveloped, superficial and/or poorly written. Alternatively, they may be relatively strong in terms of prompt and source content but are poorly formatted, contain typos, or have other distracting errors. The rubric is generic (not tailored specifically to that prompt) or in some other way is adequate at best.

F (1-2)  They are realllllyyyy deficicient!