Week 6: Synthesis Peer Review; Inquiry and Research Questions
Week of Mon, Sep 21 · week closes Fri, Sep 25 · 15 points
This week's items
- Synthesis Essaydue Fri, Sep 25 · 15 pts
Exact due times are in Canvas. Late out-of-class assignments accepted up to one week past the original due date. In-class process work and Discussion Board assignments cannot be made up.
Know these cold
- In Tuesday's synthesis peer review, focus on the higher-order concerns first: Is the thesis arguable and specific? Does each body paragraph follow a MEA(L) structure? Are sources synthesized or just listed back-to-back?
- Peer reviewers look for 'quote dumping' — paragraphs that are mostly quotations with little analysis between them. Flag any paragraph where the source's words outnumber the writer's words.
- After peer review, revise before the Friday deadline. Address the feedback that improves your argument most significantly first; save grammar and formatting for last.
- Inquiry begins with curiosity: What do you genuinely want to understand? Good research questions emerge from noticing a gap, a contradiction, or a problem in what you already know.
- A research question must be specific enough to answer within the scope of one essay, but broad enough to require multiple sources. Avoid questions with yes/no answers.
- The difference between a topic and a research question: a topic (immigration) is a category; a research question specifies an issue, a population, a time frame, and opens a path for argument.
- Open-ended research questions lead to arguable theses. A question like 'What are the effects of X on Y?' will eventually lead to a thesis that makes a specific claim about that relationship.
- The Synthesis Essay is due Friday by 11:59 PM. Before submitting, verify: thesis is arguable, all body paragraphs follow MEA(L), at least two sources are in conversation, MLA format throughout, Works Cited page included.
Discussion and forum — how to show up
Discussion post
- Write a one-sentence research question on a topic you care about. Exchange it with a partner: Is it specific enough? Is it open-ended? Can it be answered in one essay?
- After peer review, what is the single most important revision you plan to make to your Synthesis Essay, and why?
Netiquette from the syllabus: address ideas, not people. Complete sentences, correct spelling. Personal matters go to email, never the board.
Meerk's quiz — open the Week 6 gate
10 questions, no time limit. 85% on your first attempt in a 24-hour window opens the gate. Retakes inside the window are practice — they help you learn, they don't count. Work alone; the point is to know it, not to have seen it.
Dinner Table Question
Ask at home: What is something you believed for a long time that new information changed your mind about? That moment of change is what a good research question investigates.
En español: ¿Hay algo en lo que creías firmemente y que nueva información te hizo cambiar de opinión? Ese momento de cambio es lo que investiga una buena pregunta de investigación.