AP Language and Composition: Synthesis and Argument Notes

Definition: Jim Jordan defines synthesis as a position paper that functions as a miniature research argument requiring the blending of material from multiple sources.
Requirements: Students must use material from at least $3$ sources to support a well-considered perspective on an issue.
Prompt Types: - Direct Argument: Developing a position on a specific claim. - Factors-Based: Identifying and weighing considerations stakeholders must evaluate (e.g., factors for regulating food trucks/museum curating).
Perspective: Students should identify the stakeholder perspective requested (e.g., city manager, government official) to avoid a generic "rant" mode.

Synthetic Reading: Instead of summarizing sources individually, students should look for concepts and claims that emerge across multiple sources.
Conversations of Sources: This involves linking sources within the same paragraph to show how they interact, agree, or disagree regarding a specific point.
Meaningful Citation: Beth Hall emphasizes the importance of clear citations and using fragments or snippets of quotes (under $13$ words) rather than long blocks of text.
Pre-Reading: Students should examine the titles, author credentials, and the italicized context sentence to understand the source's position before reading the body text.

Context: An essay where students assert a position on an abstract concept or quote without provided source material.
Evidence Frameworks: - CHORES: Current Events, History, Outside Knowledge, Sports/Pop Culture, Reading, Science. - $S^3$ : Subject (school subjects), Society (media/pop culture), and Self (personal experience).
Evidence Quality: The reasoning/commentary is more vital than the evidence category. Sophisticated arguments can be made using personal anecdotes (e.g., sports, family stories) if the analysis is deep.
Avoiding Hypotheticals: Real-world examples are preferred over purely speculative or hypothetical scenarios.

Practical Connectives: Expand commentary by using the words "because," "in order to," "typically," "thus," or "implies."
The "Why" Factor: Commentary should explain how the evidence supports both the sub-claim (topic sentence) and the overall thesis.
Inference Building: Commentary serves to articulate the inference made from the evidence, essentially combining known experience with new knowledge.

Varying Claims: To achieve sophistication, Jim Jordan recommends varying the stasis of claims throughout the essay: - Claims of Fact: Often related to cause and effect. - Claims of Value: Evaluating if something is good, bad, or dangerous. - Claims of Policy: Providing a call to action or a solution.
Structural Choices: Effective writers often open with a claim of value and conclude with a claim of policy (a call to action) rather than a summary conclusion.
Variance: Avoiding formulaic repetition and utilizing intentional transitions, colons, and dashes to strengthen the force of the argument.

How to cite properly? Beth Hall notes that while readers try to match un-cited quotes to sources, explicit citation makes the process much more reliable for scoring.
Is it okay to use a quote from a source that generally disagrees with your point? Jim Jordan explains that you can use specific segments of a complex source as long as you do not misrepresent the source’s overall stance.
What about faking evidence? While readers do not fact-check under the timed pressure of the $40$ minute task, misrepresenting well-known historical facts or being overly dramatic can hurt student credibility (Ethos).
Time management? While $40$ minutes is recommended, students can take more time to plan and outline, as a $35$ minute draft with a plan is often superior to a $40$ minute draft without one.
Proper Nouns and Contacts mentioned: - Speakers: Tim Freaddis (Garden of English), Beth Hall (Coach Hall Writes), Jim Jordan (Sacred Heart San Francisco). - References: Dr. Brandon Abden, Dr. Mary Newton, Alexi Dart (Moderator). - Events: AP Exam on May $13$ , Reading in Cleveland.