- Strong arguable thesis that is easy to locate
- Flow and cohesion: effective transitions between paragraphs and ideas
- Demonstrating credibility of sources
- Synthesis of sources and ideas
- Addressing counter-arguments
- Definition through multiple media
- Ensuring clear distinction between ideas of sources and author
- Use of ethos, pathos and logos
Out of all of the projects I completed for Writing 5, synthesis of information was perhaps most important in the literature review because the paper consisted entirely of neutrally-presented information. In my first draft that was submitted for peer review, there was already some effective synthesis. Of the sixth paragraph in this draft, one peer reviewer wrote, “I find this paragraph to be especially effective. It integrates two different sources, gives examples of attempts at halting ISIS through hacking, and expresses the viewpoint of the source’s author – as a literary review should.” Professor McIntyre noted on the conference draft, however, that most paragraphs after the third page of the paper make use of only one source and suggested supplementing these paragraphs with sources espousing similar ideas.
For my final draft, I focused on including more than one source in each body paragraph wherever possible. This is so important because showing that multiple sources agree on a particular viewpoint greatly enhances the credibility of that viewpoint. For example, in paragraph nine of the final draft, I cite three sources in my discussion of the positive effects of suspending the Twitter accounts of ISIS users. Each source contributes something slightly different to the discussion: Berger and Morgan provide quantitative data to suggest the suspensions are harming ISIS, Gladstone provides a quote from a member of one of the hacking groups carrying out the suspensions who speaks to the same effect, and Berger suggests that suspensions are occurring at such a rate as to outpace the re-creation of lost accounts by ISIS. Taken together, information supplied by these sources paints a clear picture of what result the suspensions are having and speaks to their effectiveness. Synthesis proves to be a powerful writing strategy here, especially, because there are also those who believe the suspensions have little impact. These three sources, however, provide very powerful and compelling evidence to suggest otherwise.
Synthesis also played a crucial role in the case study project. Though its role may have been somewhat less central as the focus of this project shifted from simple presentation of information to creating an argument, the argument nonetheless needed to be effectively supported. I think this paper actually did a better job of synthesis than the first paper because I learned from the mistakes I made while writing the first paper (not using more than one source per paragraph). By integrating sources from the beginning, I think the paper flowed better from the outset. For example, in the tenth paragraph of the peer review draft, I integrated the perspective of a psychologist, an academic scholar and the Chief Information Officer of a security consulting firm to discuss the effect of publicizing the violence of ISIS. The information from these sources included psychological and quantitative analysis and the opinion of a credible authority, respectively.
To improve upon the earlier drafts of the case study, I focused on a slightly different kind of synthesis: integration of media. Professor McIntyre commented on the conference draft that using images and figures could be an effective way to convey information. Because the paper addresses the effectiveness of the ISIS social media presence as part of the case study section, I felt it would add much to the paper to actually provide a visualization of some of the social media strategy employed by ISIS, rather than simply discuss it. I accomplished this by including Figure 1 in the introduction section. The image is striking. Brightly colored lettering stands out against a dark background. There is no pixilation and the image is high-quality. It supports the assertion that ISIS uses digital technology to great effect. I also synthesized another visualization with textual evidence in my use of Figure 2, a chart that demonstrates the large percentage of online discussion thread users who view the U.S. State Department outreach efforts negatively. Again, this information is best communicated through a medium other than just text, so I combined the chart with a brief text description to round it out.
In the third project, synthesis issues did not come up in the conference comments. My optimistic interpretation of this is that my ability to synthesize information has increased throughout the course. The definitional text portion of the project involves synthesis of several media: statistics, charts and graphs, images, written word, icons, a poster, a cartoon, videos and quotations. I think that the ties that bind these varied media together were the brief textual descriptions that accompanied the icons and other portions, as well as the quick take in the beginning. It was important to include different types of media because of the complexity of the definition. For example, the cost of the War on Terror was best represented by a chart that can display quantitative data. The gravest danger of the War on Terror, conversely, is represented by a quotation on the last block of the text. By placing the various media side by side when the information they relay is related, they are effectively synthesized.
Also in the third project, besides types of media, I synthesized sources. Similarly to the second project, qualitative and quantitative data both provided important pieces of the definition. This meant that varied sources were included, as certain types of organizations and individuals tend to produce more of either quantitative or qualitative data.
Overall, I see a positive trend in my synthesis work. With each project, it felt easier and became more natural to synthesize sources and information. I believe synthesis is a crucial writing skill because it allows for elegant presentation of complex ideas and I am thankful to be able to take it with me and incorporate it into my future writing.