Analysis/Synthesis Essay

Purpose: To write an in-depth analysis/synthesis essay about a famous painter and one of his or

her paintings.

Audience: Educated adults who are not necessarily familiar with the painter and/or painting.

Detailed Instructions:

Your essay should consist of 2 ½ – 3 typed, double-spaced pages.

Include these parts in your essay:

Title

 Catch the reader’s attention with a creative, relevant phrase.

 Avoid creating a too general title (e.g., “Beauty”) or using the painting’s title or the painter’s name as your title.

Introduction paragraph

 Begin with an attention-getting “hook.”

 Introduce the painter and the painting: You don’t have room for a biography, but do provide the painter’s birth and death years along with a couple of interesting facts about him or her. (If you

use anything that would not fall under “common knowledge,” you must include an in-text citation

and Works Cited entry for the information.)

 Provide your initial thoughts about the painting and why you were attracted to studying it.

First body paragraph

 Introduce an in-depth article about the painter or painting: First provide its author, title and main idea.

 Share some ideas from the article that you find most interesting and explain why you find them illuminating, surprising (or even shocking), disturbing, inspiring, or any other adjectives that fit

your reactions. About half of the paragraph should be your own ideas.

Second body paragraph

 Introduce another in-depth article about the painter or painting: First provide its author, title and main idea.

 Share some ideas from the article that you find most interesting and explain why you find them illuminating, surprising (or even shocking), disturbing, inspiring, or any other adjectives that fit

your reactions. About half of the paragraph should be your own ideas.

Final (Conclusion) Paragraph

 Discuss your thoughts about the painting after reading the two articles. For instance, did any ideas from one or both of the articles deepen your understanding or appreciation of the work?

Did you change any of your opinions about the painting after reading the articles? Did you find

one of the articles more helpful than the other and, if so, why?

MLA documentation for all quoted and paraphrased information

 Use sources responsibly. For help, review pages 546-560 in your textbook, “Skill 22.2: Know When and How to Use Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation.”

 Add attributive tags to separate your ideas from an author’s.

 Include in-text citations and a Works Cited page. For help, review pages 561-566 in your textbook, “Skill 23: Citing and Documenting Sources.”

Tips and Reminders:

 Use the Detailed Instructions in this assignment sheet as a checklist for your essay.

 Use scholarly or professional articles, not Wikipedia or other undergraduate students’ work.

 Punctuate, capitalize, and format all titles correctly.

 Go into depth. Push yourself to get beyond obvious points.

 Use the format stated in the syllabus.

 You may use “I” in this essay when needed, but do not use “I” as in “I think that …,” “In my opinion …,” “I believe …”.

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