Question Writing Assignment #4 The Multiple-Source Synthesis Essay:

 

 

 

Writing Assignment #4

The Multiple-Source Synthesis Essay:

Literature Review

 

 

 

Summary of assignment

 

• Task: The multiple-source essay asks you to synthesize the arguments of at least 10 sources

 

• Length: 2000-3000 words

 

• Format:  APA

 

• Sources: a total of at least 10 sources, all of which should be from scholarly journals or credible trade journals. You should find your sources through library searches.

 

o If you cite sources from websites or popular journals, these sources should be in addition to the 10 sources you have cited from scholarly or trade journals.

 

• Topic: Please use the same topic that you used for writing assignment #3. It is recommended that you focus on or expand on the essay that you wrote for writing assignment #3. You will continue with the topic you have selected and will conductadditional searches in the library databases, hopefully focus the topic more, and determine the 10 or more sources to use in this essay.

 

• Integration of Sources: At least eight sources must be cited in the body of the essay. You may cite sources in your introduction to help you define terms, and you may cite sources in your conclusion to help you direct the reader to further inquiry. However, the body of the essay should synthesize at least eight sources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategies in Developing the Topic for this Essay

 

 

Up to this point in the semester, you have completed an annotated bibliography. You have also incorporated and synthesized four sources into writing assignment #2 and six sources into writing assignment #3. The work you have completed for these assignments provides a solid foundation for writing assignment #4. In this assignment you will synthesize the ideas of at least 10 sources in a synthesis essay, or literature review.

 

For your annotated bibliography, you selected a topic based on your interests and, possibly, your major. You constructed a list of five references and summarized and critically analyzed them in 150-200 words each. You then completed the four-source essay and the six-source essay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Through this process, you may have seen patterns in the scholarly literature in the topic on which you conducted research. For example, consider the following examples:

 

·You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.

 

·You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories.

 

·You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance.

 

·You may have researched articles on environmental management and found studies on climate change. You noticed that various demographic factors influence whether individuals believe in climate change and, if so, whether they believe it is caused by human activity.

 

 

In the synthesis essay, you will focus your research efforts in a particular area, perhaps as a response to what you found while writing the annotated bibliography and in constructing the four-source and six-source essays. You will then conduct more research and synthesize your findings in this literature review.

 

Please note that the annotated bibliography, the four-source essay, and the six-source essay represent a journey in your research.

 

You might decide to disregard several of the articles you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography or in the following two essays because they don’t speak to the specific area on which you have decided to write your multiple-source literature review. You might select one article that you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography, look up the articles cited in that article, and “snowball” your research in that way.

 

In other words, this process is a recursive one. You might find reasons to hone in on and narrow your topic even further after you have written the annotated bibliography.

 

For these reasons, you are strongly encouraged to write on the same general topic on which you wrote writing assignment #3. You might focus the topic more for writing assignment #4. Or you might expand on the topic for writing assignment #4.

 

 

 

 

How to organize the multiple-source essay:

 

 

You will divide the essay into categories.  Each category will be labelled with a heading.

 

In order for you to see this concept with a real-life example, you can access a sample synthesis or literature review from a psychology student by clicking here. The student writes her paper on the following topic: Emotional Eating: The Perpetual Cycle of Mood-Food Influence. She divides her literature into the following categories, which are used as headings throughout the paper:

 

·Influence of Mood on Eating Behavior

 

·Gender Differences

 

·Influence of Eating Behavior on Later Moods

 

·Chronic Stress Response Network

 

Notice how she synthesizes and integrates the research into the different categories, labelled by headings.

 

 

 

 

 

Strategies in Developing Categories

 

When you have focused on your topic, determine how you will divide the literature. In other words, consider the following examples we described above:

 

You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.

 

You might divide the paper as follows:

 

Introduction

 

Body

 

·Category 1: “A” view on responding to criminal beha vior.

 

·Category 2: “B” view on responding to criminal beha vior.

 

·Category 3: “C” view on responding to criminal beha vior.

 

·Category 4: “D” view on responding to criminal beha vior.

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories.

 

You might divide the paper as follows:

 

Introduction

 

Body

 

·Category 1: “A” counseling strategy for victims of    child abuse

 

·Category 2: “B” counseling strategy for victims of    child abuse

 

·Category 3: “C” counseling strategy for victims of    child abuse

 

·Category 4: “D” counseling strategy for victims of    child abuse

 

Conclusion

 

 

You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance.

 

You might divide the paper as follows:

 

Introduction

 

Body

 

·Question 1

 

·Question 2

 

·Question 3

 

Conclusion

 

You may have researched articles on environmental management and found studies on climate change. You noticed that various demographic factors influence whether individuals believe in climate change and, if so, whether they believe it is caused by human activity.

 

You might divide the paper as follows:

 

Introduction

 

Body

 

·Political affiliation and its impact on belief in climate change

 

·Socio-economic status and its impact on belief in climate change ·Religious and other influences on belief in climate change

 

Conclusion

 

 

 

 

Point of view

 

For this essay, you will use third-person point of view.

 

Please do not use first person point of view (e.g., “I,” “me,” “we”) in writing this essay.

 

In addition, please do not use second-person point of view (“you” or “your”) in writing this essay. For example, instead of “Smith argues that, as a director, you have a duty to coordinate cybersecurity efforts…” you would write, “Smith a rgues that directors have a duty to coordinate cybersecurity efforts…”

 

 

APA Style

 

The paper should be formatted in APA style. The video How to format your paper according to

 

APA style might be helpful to watch.  In summary, you should observe the following:

 

• Use one-inch margins.

 

• Double space.

 

• Use size 12 Times New Roman font.

 

• Include a running head.

 

• Include page numbers.

 

• Include a title page.

 

• Include a “References” page on which you list the a rticles in APA style

 

• Do not include an abstract.  This paper is not long enough to warrant an abstract.

 

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