Discourse communities

The discourse community essay is a paper in which you will create a well-supported and original argument that endorses and/or critiques the definition of a discourse community using multiple sources. You will use a discourse community you are part of as one of your sources.

You will begin by comparing and contrasting the sources to infer relationships and connect these relationships to overarching themes that include something new that you develop.

The argumentative piece will be persuading readers that your synthesis claims are valid through evidenced-based reasoning and explanations that connect to your thesis.

You can add something to John Swales’ definition of a discourse community (Maybe you think Swales missed something?) or you can critique an aspect of his definition. Perhaps you think the 1st section of Swales definition is incorrect?

Either way, you will need to support your overall synthesis with clear logic and well chosen examples.

Cover Letter

For this writing project, include a cover letter. The letter will be written to your course instructor and should outline the strengths and weaknesses of the essay. You may also address your process in completing this project as well as a plan for extending this learning.

You also have the option to do a video reflection in place of the written cover letter. The content of the video will be the same as the cover letter. The video will count as a 200 word “credit” towards the word count (2000 words) for this project.

Other Project Details

Use APA style and include an abstract. Remember, the abstract is a summary of your project and should be placed between the title and the full text of the essay.

This writing project should be at least 2000 words. This word count includes the abstract and cover letter.

The Definition and Components information below should be used in conjunction with the Synthesis Rubric to provide guidance and additional details about how your paper will be evaluated.

Definitions:

Argumentative (adj): Using or characterized by systematic reasoning (OED)
Synthesis (noun): The combination of components or elements to form a connected whole (OED). For the synthesis assignment, students will create a new position out of two or more other positions.
An argumentative synthesis assignment, in Maryville University composition courses, is a paper in which students create a strong, well-supported, original argument that explores the relationship between two or more sources. Upon selecting or being assigned the two sources, students will be tasked with comparing the two in order to infer relationships between them and then connect these relationships to overarching themes. The argumentative component of this assignment entails that students will need to persuade readers that their synthesis claims are valid through evidenced based reasoning and explanations that tie back to the thesis.
Your synthesis should be at least 2000 words.
Use APA style.

Components of Synthesis:

Thesis Statement and Development: In an argumentative synthesis, the thesis must accomplish two things. First, it needs to identify the relationships that were inferred from synthesizing the selected sources. Secondly, it needs to analyze the significance of these connections as they relate to theme. The thesis will become the principal claim for the paper, and all sub-claims should be connected back to the theme(s) and claim(s) stated in the thesis.
Textual Relationships or Dialogue: A synthesis paper requires you to compare and contrast their sources with a clear argumentative purpose. Rather than the compare/contrast essay template you may have experienced in high school (A and B, A, B, A, B, A and B), you will be asked to create dialogue between the sources. Rather than isolating each source in separate paragraph blocks, both sources should appear in most paragraphs.
Evidence & Support: As you compare and contrast the sources of your synthesis essay, each comparison made or pattern explored must be supported with evidence from the sources. Each piece of evidence from the sources should be accompanied with explanation to justify how the evidence supports the claim. The reader should never have to infer how a piece of evidence supports the claim. Additionally, the evidence and support should correspond logically and smoothly with the development of the thesis throughout the paper.
Summary: It should not be assumed that the audience is familiar with the sources being synthesized. Throughout the paper, you should include relevant, yet restrained summary to provide context for claims and connections that are made. While the paper is about the two synthesized sources, it should not be overburdened with summary. As you write, think about how to most effectively pair summary of the sources with their explanations of the relationships and patterns. How can summary and synthesis be intertwined to create a clear and supported argument for the reader? This component also includes the summary of your entire project in the abstract at the beginning of your essay.
Theme(s): Many relationships and patterns can be synthesized between two sources, however, in order to create a focus for the paper, it is necessary to have a theme as a lens for the papers’ claims. An ideal theme will move beyond the specific of the sources and form a statement about a greater topic. This theme should be integrated into the thesis, and consequently, throughout the entire paper. An effective paper will develop the theme more with each claim that is made and support, explaining how it connects to the theme or adds complexity.
Organization: Organization is critical when writing a synthesis because the paper has to navigate readers through multiple sources and ideas. The reader should always be able to understand what source and claim is being discussed. To ensure that the reader does not get lost and that the thesis is most effectively supported, it is important to consider the structure of your paper before you begin writing. What order should the ideas be discussed in? How can transitions be used to help the reader understand that a new idea or source is being introduced?
Peer Review(s) and Revisions: Writing is a recursive process, and therefore, it is expected that you engage in this process with your synthesis paper. You will participate in peer reviews, both giving and receiving critiques. You will then use their critiques to make improvements to your own drafts. There should be clear improvement from draft to draft as critiques are addressed and revised as appropriate. This component also includes the cover letter.
Audience Awareness and Style Choices: Whenever you write, it is important to make sure that you are keeping in mind the expectations of your audience. Think about who your audience is, and what are the expectations for grammar and style that this audience would expect? (I.e. Appropriate diction, citation of sources for credibility, transitions for understanding, etc.)