Read an excerpt from Susan Casey’s The Wave. The Wave discusses the complexity of wave science and the challenges we have in understanding and predicting them. This can be connected to the complexity of the immigration debate. Just like waves “seem to be a simple thing,” immigration is also “mind-meltingly complex.” As waves in the ocean are “a field of constant, seething interactions between waves and wind and gravity,” so too is immigration a complicated symphony of people, values, positions, cultures, and much more. The next essay will be a Synthesis essay where you will draw connections between the complexity of the immigration conversation by taking multiple news articles on one aspect of the debate. This is practice in synthesis. You can, for example, examine some of the perspectives on the Syrian or Venezuelan refugee crisis, or family separation at the border, the overwhelmed immigration judicial system, or many other instances. These are only a few examples of what you can do in the essay.
Getting started: First, conduct research to find sources reporting the issue you identify. This is not an in-depth research process, but rather a gathering of representative news pieces. Ideally, you will have 3-4 news articles to read and cite/summarize in writing your paper. Avoid using only one news outlet, instead collect documents from a variety of sources. Our library has great databases which you may use to facilitate your research. Refer to your notes from class.
Drafting: You may choose to analyze the arguments that each article is making. What is the overall point? What types of appeals are they using? How are they showing the information? From here, draft a thesis in which you show who has the stronger argument, and prove why in the body of your paper. You can show the thesis, rhetorical strategies, the classic argument structure, etc, to prove which writer has the strongest argument. Your paper could discuss the similarities and differences in the material. Ultimately, show who has the strongest argument, not necessarily the argument you agree with personally.
