Final Synthesis Essays are due on Thursday, 15 December (B Day) and Friday, 16 December (A Day)

2 December 2016

Today we discussed introductions and organization strategies as we continue work on the synthesis essay.

With respect to introductions, there are several strategies for raising the question at issue as an authentic question for the reader, including:

• a shocking statistic or fact that cultivates the question
• a historical example that cultivates the question
• a personal anecdote that cultivates the question
• information from a survey that raises the question
• an example from one of the texts we have read in the unit
• a ripped-from-the-headlines example that raises the question

We also used a sample enthymeme to develop a question-based outline.

At War, At Play: What We're Reading Next

Slides describing the novels in our next unit can be found here.  We'll be checking them out at the end of the week.

30 November 2016

Today we took a closer look at body paragraph structure and the ethical introduction of evidence as we continued drafting the synthesis essay.

Body paragraphs should employ the TRIAC structure. Strong body paragraphs include the following:

• Topic of the paragraph
• Refinement of the topic
• Illustration of the topic (fact, statistic, anecdote, textual evidence)
• Analysis of evidence to connect to topic
• Conclusion (that leads to the next issue)

In order to build credibility as writers, students should provide as much information as possible to precede the evidence, including the following:

• Author's full name
• "Article"/book title
• Context or occasion for the piece/context for the excerpt
• Parenthetical citation of page number (when applicable)

Including this information before the quotation provides clear context for the reader and enhances the clarity of the writing.

The Corporate Nature of American Football

Owen Cooper share these articles with me:

• The Comprehensive Illusion of Football
• The Corporate Appeal of Football

NFL Players Who Won't Let Their Kids Play Football

• The Top 12 NFL Players Who Wouldn't Let Their Kids Play Football
• Some NFL Players Say...
• 9 NFL Players...

NCAA Athletes and Pay

Check out this New Yorker article about NCAA athletes and pay.

Also, New York Times reporter Joe Nocera has numerous pieces on the same issue.

Barely getting by in the NFL

"Scout Teams, Burger Runs, and Even the Occasional Game" documents the difficulties of being a seventh-round draft pick in the NFL. Read it here.

Tackle Football Makes a Comeback

Read the New York Times Magazine article here.