Argument Synthesis
6 pages minimum (typed double-spaced; Times New Roman –12point font)

Your argument synthesis will address one or more of the following:
1. In her book The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson quotes Black Boy in which Richard Wright wrote, on arriving in the North: “I had fled one insecurity and embraced another” (p. 242). What unique challenges did black migrants face in the North, East and West? How did these challenges affect the lives of Ida Mae Gladney, George Starling, and Robert Foster? How were Gladney, Starling and Foster’s experiences representative of the experiences of millions of African American migrants who left the South during the Great Migration? What was the significance of the Great Migration in America? What impact did it have on the North? What impact did it have on the South? Moving forward into the future, what do you expect to be the ultimate outcome of this great period in America’s history?

2. Near the end of the book, Wilkerson asks: “With all that grew out of the mass movement of people, did the Great Migration achieve the aim of those who willed it? Were the people who left the South—and their families—better off for having done so? Was the loss of what they left behind worth what confronted them in the anonymous cities they fled to?” (p. 528). How does Wilkerson answer these questions? How would you answer them based on what you read in the book and what you know of life for African Americans today? Why do you think as you do about the situation? Use evidence from the book and your knowledge of current events to support your argument. What is the continuing impact of the Great Migration on America in general; on relations between blacks and whites in America? Moving forward into the future, what do you expect to be the ultimate outcome of this great period in America’s history?

3. At a neighborhood watch meeting in Chicago’s South Shore, Ida Mae listens to a young state senator named Barack Obama. In what ways is Obama’s presidency an indirect result of the Great Migration? In answering this question your will need to discuss how the Great Migration not only affected the lives of Gladney, Starling, Foster, and other African Americans like them, but also how it changed the North. Do you think that Obama’s election as the first African American President of the United States indicates a complete change in America with regards to the black/white racial situation of the inequality? Why do you think so? Does inequality affect other racial groups in America? What more can be done or should be done? If there is more work to be done, should it be the work of the government or the work of individuals, or both? Explain with suggested courses of action. Don’t simply say things like, “We should all just get along.” Instead explain, how we may be able to learn to get along.

A well-structured argument synthesis has the following components:

A. Introduction
a. gives background of the subject and lays out the issue to be discussed in essay
b. contains your thesis (assertion, opinion, stance, claim, proposition, etc. related to the issue. Your thesis in this case can come from an opinion related to questions posed for above writing options 1, 2, or 3.
B. Body offers your evidence to support or prove your thesis— This will come in the form of information from The Warmth of Other Suns addressing questions posed for above writing options 1,2, or 3. And it will come from your own knowledge of current events.
C. Conclusion—may contain your strongest proof for your thesis;
*can suggest a next step course of action related to the Great Migration and the current issues within the African American communities;
*can discuss the significance of the Great Migration in American history;
*can make inferences about the ultimate effects of the Great Migration;
*can address possible future effects of the urbanization of the majority of the African American population that resulted from the Great Migration;
*can address question–in what sense might Ida Mae Gladney’s life, and the lives of George Starling and Robert Foster as well, serve as models for how anyone can persevere and overcome tremendous difficulties?

ARGUMENT SYNTHESIS
For this critique paper, you are to synthesize and evaluate two short stories (Stephen King’s “The Man in the Black Suit” and Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”). In synthesizing the sources, you want to determine how they relate to one another. Your thesis needs to present an argument about one or both of the stories. Remember that the point of an argument synthesis is to logically present your point of view (in this case in regard to one or both stories) and to support your point of view with facts (references to the two stories).

It might be helpful to think of this paper in two parts or in terms of your analysis of the two texts. First, you will be analyzing King’s short story. Consider your responses to it. What did you like or not like? Why? Are there particular ideas or themes that stand out as important to you? Is there a technique (or techniques) that King employs that you think he uses particularly well (or poorly)? Think about narrative, characterization, description and detail, and pacing. Next, examine Oates’ story considering the same questions. Also, ask yourself some questions about the two stories in relation to each other. Which do you like better? Why? What do the authors do differently? What do they do similarly? Your responses to the questions will help you to focus on an argument that you will make about the texts. Hopefully, you can see how this process will build on what you did in Paper One.

Your central argument for the paper can take a number of different forms. If you get stuck, consider the following questions for ideas, but bear in mind that they are pretty broad questions:

• Which story more effectively represents evil? Obviously, this is a subjective opinion. Your responses will vary based upon your view of evil and what is it like. For instance, is one manifestation of evil more frightening? Why?
• What effective techniques do the two authors use in the story and how do those techniques and their use influence the stories and their effect on readers?
• To what extent does the gender of the main character affect the story and how readers will engage with it? Does it alter how the protagonist and antagonist relate to each other? How?
• What impact does the difference in the structure and narrator of each story have on readers and/or the stories success or failure?

In writing this synthesis and evaluating the materials assigned, you should keep the following in mind:

• In addition to presenting your thesis and essay map, your introduction should include the authors and titles of the two stories.
• AVOID simple summaries. You can assume that the audience is familiar with the stories. Don’t fall into the summary pit!
• Do NOT use first person (i.e. “I” or “we”) in the essay.
• References to the stories will support your stance. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE CONCLUSION TO ANALYZE AND PRESENT YOUR VIEW.
• Your conclusion should, as always, review what you have said and tie everything together.
• Cite your sources whenever you quote and paraphrase. Do not take credit for another’s ideas; this is plagiarism. If necessary, consult the handout over MLA citation or Harbrace Essentials—or me for that matter.
• Include a “Works Cited” page at the end of your paper. A sample can be found in MLA chapter of Harbrace Essentials.

After you have drafted the entire paper, revise it first in terms of content and organization and then in terms of grammar and punctuation. Remember to make sure what you are saying is clear and makes sense to the reader. The suggested length of this assignment is four to six pages (around 1000-1500 words),

please find in the attachment stories that you will work on

ARGUMENT SYNTHESIS
For this critique paper, you are to synthesize and evaluate two short stories (Stephen King’s “The Man in the Black Suit” and Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”). In synthesizing the sources, you want to determine how they relate to one another. Your thesis needs to present an argument about one or both of the stories. Remember that the point of an argument synthesis is to logically present your point of view (in this case in regard to one or both stories) and to support your point of view with facts (references to the two stories).

It might be helpful to think of this paper in two parts or in terms of your analysis of the two texts. First, you will be analyzing King’s short story. Consider your responses to it. What did you like or not like? Why? Are there particular ideas or themes that stand out as important to you? Is there a technique (or techniques) that King employs that you think he uses particularly well (or poorly)? Think about narrative, characterization, description and detail, and pacing. Next, examine Oates’ story considering the same questions. Also, ask yourself some questions about the two stories in relation to each other. Which do you like better? Why? What do the authors do differently? What do they do similarly? Your responses to the questions will help you to focus on an argument that you will make about the texts. Hopefully, you can see how this process will build on what you did in Paper One.

Your central argument for the paper can take a number of different forms. If you get stuck, consider the following questions for ideas, but bear in mind that they are pretty broad questions:

• Which story more effectively represents evil? Obviously, this is a subjective opinion. Your responses will vary based upon your view of evil and what is it like. For instance, is one manifestation of evil more frightening? Why?
• What effective techniques do the two authors use in the story and how do those techniques and their use influence the stories and their effect on readers?
• To what extent does the gender of the main character affect the story and how readers will engage with it? Does it alter how the protagonist and antagonist relate to each other? How?
• What impact does the difference in the structure and narrator of each story have on readers and/or the stories success or failure?

In writing this synthesis and evaluating the materials assigned, you should keep the following in mind:

• In addition to presenting your thesis and essay map, your introduction should include the authors and titles of the two stories.
• AVOID simple summaries. You can assume that the audience is familiar with the stories. Don’t fall into the summary pit!
• Do NOT use first person (i.e. “I” or “we”) in the essay.
• References to the stories will support your stance. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE CONCLUSION TO ANALYZE AND PRESENT YOUR VIEW.
• Your conclusion should, as always, review what you have said and tie everything together.
• Cite your sources whenever you quote and paraphrase. Do not take credit for another’s ideas; this is plagiarism. If necessary, consult the handout over MLA citation or Harbrace Essentials—or me for that matter.
• Include a “Works Cited” page at the end of your paper. A sample can be found in MLA chapter of Harbrace Essentials.

After you have drafted the entire paper, revise it first in terms of content and organization and then in terms of grammar and punctuation. Remember to make sure what you are saying is clear and makes sense to the reader. The suggested length of this assignment is four to six pages (around 1000-1500 words),

please find in the attachment stories that you will work on