Synthesis Writing involving The Role of Women & The Scarlet Letter
Conflicting Sources. What does it mean to have students write meaningfully about sources that conflict? In this attached writing prompt, students evaluate Hester Prynne, a character whom Nathaniel Hawthorne posits as strong, capable and independent in chapters 12-15 of the novel. The question is whether or not the students think that she is a strong female character by today's standards. Embedded in this prompt is a problem or controversy that the students have had some interest in addressing, even though the documents are challenging.
Charting an Inquiry. Prior to today's class, students have examined other synthesis prompts together, charting how the sources conflict and setting up how each of them would proceed through them. Today, they were ready to address the prompt independently, so they wrote alone, creating a mock outline of their essays, and we reviewed these together as a group. The important thing is to create a line of inquiry that is the student's own, using the sources as tools to prove the point rather than simply doing a "book report" on the sources.
Interesting Sources (historical docs). These docs come from the Signet version of the book that has a few case studies to accompany the novel. The prompt contains some sources from far before the time of the novel (100 years) and many that are contemporary with the novel, and the prompt is written in AP English Language and Composition style. What is exciting about this is that we are working on key analytical and writing skills for the AP test while still delving into rich literary and historical content.
Link to the mock synthesis prompt
Conflicting Sources. What does it mean to have students write meaningfully about sources that conflict? In this attached writing prompt, students evaluate Hester Prynne, a character whom Nathaniel Hawthorne posits as strong, capable and independent in chapters 12-15 of the novel. The question is whether or not the students think that she is a strong female character by today's standards. Embedded in this prompt is a problem or controversy that the students have had some interest in addressing, even though the documents are challenging.
Charting an Inquiry. Prior to today's class, students have examined other synthesis prompts together, charting how the sources conflict and setting up how each of them would proceed through them. Today, they were ready to address the prompt independently, so they wrote alone, creating a mock outline of their essays, and we reviewed these together as a group. The important thing is to create a line of inquiry that is the student's own, using the sources as tools to prove the point rather than simply doing a "book report" on the sources.
Interesting Sources (historical docs). These docs come from the Signet version of the book that has a few case studies to accompany the novel. The prompt contains some sources from far before the time of the novel (100 years) and many that are contemporary with the novel, and the prompt is written in AP English Language and Composition style. What is exciting about this is that we are working on key analytical and writing skills for the AP test while still delving into rich literary and historical content.
Link to the mock synthesis prompt
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