Transcendentalism Paper

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

MS. GAMZON

TASK: What are the central themes of American Transcendentalism?  After reading the writings of Emerson, Whitman, and Thoreau, write a SYNTHESIS essay of 5-7 pages that defines and explains the central themes of American Transcendentalism.  Support your discussion with evidence from the texts you have read and annotated.  What implications can you draw from these readings that pertain to contemporary society?

DUE: Friday, April 12

Be sure to:

1.     Write an introduction that defines and explains the central themes of American Transcendentalism.

2.     Be sure to have a THESIS STATEMENT that connects a specific theme with a contemporary issue.

3.     Develop the body of your 5-7 page essay with text-specific quotes from your readings. 

4.     Quotes of 3-4 lines should be included in the body text.

Quotes that are 5 lines or longer should be indented and single-spaced.  This is called a block quote.

5.     Use the SYNTHESIS of the ideas of your texts to support your own ideas and writing.  Use quotes appropriately and do not make your paper “quote heavy.”

6.     Be sure to cite the source of your quote (if you have page numbers) in MLA format.  If you are quoting from a handout, cite the author and

essay.  Ex. (Emerson, “Self-Reliance”)  You can also refer to the source of your text in an introductory clause (“As Emerson writes in “Self-Reliance,”  ______________)

7.     Be sure to include a WORKS CITED page in proper MLA format.  This is NOT a bibliography.  It is a WORKS CITED page.

8.     When you have finished the paper, be sure to title it and center the title after your MLA heading.

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Synthesis means putting ideas from many sources together in one essay or presentation. After reading several books, watching movies and participating in a variety of class activities, your task is to organize some of the information around a theme or a question, make generalizations, and then present information (statistics, quotes, examples) in a logical way to support your argument. Remind yourself that a synthesis is NOT a summary, a comparison or a review.Rather a synthesis is a result of an integration of what you heard/read and your ability to use this learning to develop and support a key thesis or argument.

Learning to write a synthesis paper is a critical skill, crucial to organizing and presenting information is academic and non-academic settings.
 Content

1. Pick a topic from the list we put together or choose another topic that lends itself to synthesis

2. Develop a thesis. If you posed a question, present a tentative answer.Begin your paper with the thesis, clearly outlining the ideas you will develop 

3. Identify at least three texts, which we read in this class and address the theme and/or question you chose to focus on. Ideally you can find references, which support your thesis. 

4. Read each of your sources carefully and summarize main ideas 

5. Analyze your sources to identify the similarities and differences or group similar ideas together; generalize from these similar ideas 

6. Assemble the various generalizations in a logical and coherent way 

7. Focus on the ideas, not the authors of those ideas (your essay should not sound like a list of unrelated ideas by unrelated people) 

8. It is highly recommended that you use direct quotes when referring to texts, but make sure you situate your quotes and integrate them into the paper both in terms of content and writing

9. If your thesis/question lends itself to this, you can present and refute arguments, which challenge it

10. Whenever possible, make an effort to pepper your paper with real-world examples, which support your overall argument

11. In conclusion you should summarize your main thesis and outline questions, which remain open or issues that ought to be further explored

Format

1.The length of your paper should be 5-7 typed double-spaced pages with reasonable margins.This does not include your bibliography (or works cited).
 

2.Be consistent in your use of bibliographic references; include page numbers for quotes. List all works you cited at the end of your paper
 

3.As you use quotations to support your ideas, make sure you do not produce a paper of lengthy quotes strung together. If you quote three lines or fewer, the quote should not be set off or indented but integrated into the text of your paper. 
 

4.Do not use first person.
 

5.Connect ideas using linking devices and transitions.
 

6.Spend time outlining, organizing and editing your paper. Ideally, you can find someone else to proof-read your paper (your peer writing partner).
 

7.When you are done editing, think of a title, which best captures your thesis.

Other sources:
http://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/awtech/amertran.html 

http://howlandpowpak.neomin.org/powpak/cgi-bin/article_display_page.pl?id=thomas.williams/american&ar=20 

http://www.enotes.com/transcendentalism/themes