Synthesis essay launch — Big6 stage 5 + 5 more Tier-2 Set 17 words

Pair-share: tell your partner your synthesis topic in 1 sentence. What 3 sources are you using?

• Affirm topic and source choices
• Connect: today we launch the synthesis essay arc — this is the term's big piece

Today we launch your synthesis essay — the term's big piece. You'll draft over weeks 5-16; you'll publish in week 17; you'll present at the Symposium in week 18. Today we do two things: (1) apply the BIG6 SYNTHESIS STAGE (stage 5 of the research process you learned in G7-fall) to your 3 sources, and (2) learn 5 more Tier-2 Set 17 words. The Big6 stages: task definition, info-seeking strategies, location and access, use of information, SYNTHESIS, evaluation. You've done stages 1-4 (you have a topic and sources). Now you SYNTHESIZE — combine the 3 sources into a single argument. The synthesis-conversation map (MG-2) is your tool: where do sources AGREE? where do they EXTEND each other? where do they QUALIFY each other? where do they CONTRADICT each other? The 5 new words today: ARTICULATE (express clearly in words); POSIT (put forward as a basis for argument); CONTEND (argue assertively for a position); CONCEDE (acknowledge a point the opponent makes); REFUTE (disprove a claim with evidence and reasoning). Notice these are VERBS — they describe what writers DO. Use them in your prose: 'Adichie posits that...' is stronger than 'Adichie thinks that...'

• Tier-2 verbs are stronger than generic verbs. Use them.

  model 'Adichie articulates the harm of single stories by integrating personal anecdote with cultural observation.' Notice: articulates is more precise than says — it implies clarity and structure.

  prompt Apply ARTICULATE in a sentence about Adichie's argument.
• Concede + contend is a sophisticated They-Say/I-Say move.

  model 'While Coates concedes that progress has been made, he contends that the structural inequities remain.' Notice: CONCEDE marks the acknowledgment; CONTEND marks the persistence of argument.

  prompt Apply CONCEDE in a synthesis sentence.

• Pair-share: tell your partner where 2 of your 3 sources AGREE, EXTEND, QUALIFY, or CONTRADICT each other.
• Cold Call: use POSIT in a sentence.

M-8-F-WR-05-A Chart

MG-2 anchor with 3 named sources and arrows labeled. Print-ready 18x24.

MG-2 Chart

Synthesis-conversation map anchor: 3-source web template. Three circles labeled SOURCE A, SOURCE B, SOURCE C; arrows between them labeled AGREES (green), EXTENDS (blue), QUALIFIES (yellow), CONTRADICTS (red). A central diamond labeled MY ARGUMENT — the writer's synthesis claim sits at the center, drawing on all three sources. Rule at bottom: 'Synthesis means the sources CONVERSE — through your argument. If your essay reads source-A, source-B, source-C in sequence with no cross-talk, you have a literature review, not a synthesis.' Worked example: Adichie + Coates + Wallace-Wells on the danger of single narratives. Print-ready 18x24.

• Fill out the synthesis-conversation map (MG-2) for your 3 sources. Identify at least 2 cross-source relationships (agrees / extends / qualifies / contradicts).

  scaffold MG-2 anchor at desk; sample completed map from teacher exemplar
• Draft your synthesis essay's working thesis — one sentence that captures the synthesis argument emerging from your map. Use at least one Tier-2 verb (articulate, posit, contend, concede, refute, synthesize, integrate, illuminate).

  scaffold Thesis sentence-frame: 'While [source A] [verb] X, [source B] [verb] Y, suggesting that ___.'

M-8-F-WR-05-B Chart

MG-12 anchor: 6 Big6 stages with stage 5 SYNTHESIS highlighted. Shows synthesis as the move where sources combine into one argument. Print-ready 11x17.

• Submit your synthesis-conversation map.
• Submit your working thesis.

• Restate: synthesis is Big6 stage 5 — sources combined into a single argument through the writer's thesis
• Preview lesson 6: gerunds (-ing as noun)

• Refine your synthesis-conversation map. Revise your working thesis if needed. Add 2 Tier-2 Set 17 words to your vocabulary entries (chosen from today's 5).