Essay 2: Explanatory Synthesis
 
Essay Format:  at the top of the page, please place the following:

Your Name
Ms. Pense
English 101
Date

“Title of Your Explanatory Synthesis” (You should make up a title for your essay.)

Note on Length:  Your synthesis should be about 8 paragraphs, or 4 double-spaced pages.

Essay Content:

1. Does your introduction include a thesis statement? Have you identified the key features to understand about your topic? Have you explained to your reader why he or she should care about this issue?

2. Have you selected a theme-based format for the body of your synthesis?

3. Do your body paragraphs flow in logical order? Do you have good topic sentences and good transition sentences leading from one paragraph to the next?

4. Do you include at least 5 quotations and accompanying in-text citations?


5. Does your conclusion reiterate why the particular features you selected are important for an understanding of your topic?

6. Do you have a Works Cited page (the last and fifth page of your paper) in which you include proper citation information on five articles (or articles and books)?

Essay Structure:

1. Are there at least 8 paragraphs in this essay?

2. Can you identify the topic sentence for each of your paragraphs? Does the topic sentence have a governing idea, indicate an attitude, and set direction?

3. Have you underlined a balanced, periodic, loose sentence AND a strategic short sentence?