Portfolio 4: Explanatory Synthesis

Scenario: You and a group of best friends have been together since elementary school and are virtually inseparable. You have been through good times (school trip to England, sweet sixteen parties, and proms) and bad times (death of one member’s mother, car accident that resulted in another’s permanent limp, and one “stealing” another’s boyfriend [in the end, he was a jerk]). Yet the group has pulled together and stayed together; you are family.

Jeannie’s parents have given her the family SUV to drive all of you to a concert one hour away, where your favorite singer/group (_______________ fill in the blank) is performing. Everyone has a good time, and some alcoholic beverages have been consumed, particularly by Jeannie. Just before arriving home with everyone in the vehicle, another car runs a stop sign causing a collision. While no one dies, one person in the other car is injured and needs some moderate medical help; you and your friends are shaken but will be fine.

Because you are so close to Jeannie’s house, her father arrives on the scene before any emergency vehicles. Seeing that his daughter is impaired, Mr. Mason asserts that a better outcome to the situation would be achieved if you say that you were driving at the time of the accident. This is Jeannie’s third accident. Although the accident does not appear to be her fault, Mr. Mason is concerned that Jeannie might be arrested and her license suspended; he also is concerned that his insurance rates will go up again, beyond what he can afford to pay. If you claim to be the driver, your insurance will cover any damages and no points will accrue on your license. Jeannie is like a sister to you and Mr. Mason another father. All of your friends think it is the right thing to do; Jeannie is the best, and family should stick together. You agree.

 

Assignment:

Using the scenario above, write a 750-850 word essay in which you explore and synthesize various ways of looking at the motivation for your decision using articles from the Behrens and Rosen text (i.e., Fromm, Brooks, and Lessing, among others in the section). You are not trying to persuade your audience that your decision is correct or moral; you are trying to represent as accurately and effectively as you can what forces caused you to make that choice. The question you should answer is “Why did I agree to help, based on multiple ways of explaining obedience to authority?” (Avoid explaining what the ethical considerations are, despite those obvious implications.)

Requirements:

Your essay should include the following elements:

650-750 words

Word processed, double-spaced following ALL MLA formatting and style requirements

MLA in-text documentation with works cited as last numbered page

Minimum of three sources from BR text

Organization: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tips:  

Introduce the topic in an interesting way. Briefly explain the issues that surround the problem to provide the audience with some perspective about the issue and end with a thesis (see below).

 

Develop the thesis using a logical, organized structure. Be sure to summarize the points of view of the source material you use.  

Be sure to pay close attention to the details of your explanations—be specific! Remember, the readers are not able to read your mind; they only are able to read the words you put on the page. Make all connections between evidence and conclusions explicit! Say it; don't imply it or ask a rhetorical question as a conclusion.

 

In addition, you are writing both to widen your understanding of the whole conversation and to record your thoughts on the topic. Therefore, you should address both content-oriented and rhetorical questions revolving around possible responses to the problem under consideration.

 

Finally, explanatory syntheses are often dialectical in the sense that they recreate a debate between opposing thoughts, sometimes resulting in a productive synthesis of divergence.