The Science Of Scientific Writing    Synthesis Exercise

Course Home

How to do it

 

PART I: Paragraphs and Sentences

SET A: Paragraphs: One Main Sentence

SET B: Paragraphs: With an Introduction

SET C: Paragraphs: Main Sentence Last

 

PART II: The Paper and its Sections

Introduction

SET 1: Argument Parts

SET 2: Indicator Words

SET 3: Refining Claims

SET 4: Locating Arguments in Prose

SET 5: Rationale's Essay Planner

SET 6: Evidence in Arguments: Basis Boxes

SET 7: Assessing

SET 8: More on Assessing

SET 9: Analysis Maps

SET 10: Assessing Again

Synthesis 1: Position-Early Paragraphs

Synthesis 2: Position-Final Paragraphs

Synthesis 3: Writing a Discussion I

Synthesis 4: Writing a Discussion II


Applying your new skills to paragraph construction

Each week your final exercise will involve writing up a short text, applying new ideas from the class. To start with we will focus on the paragraph, because they are miniature texts that need to function similarly to multi-paragraph texts. In fact it is a very interesting and helpful feature of all levels of writing (sentence/paragraph/section/whole text) that readers expect similar patterns of organisation. Writing has a fractal quality.

As yet, we have not covered enough to know how to write a really good paragraph, but argument mapping can help us to satisfy the SINGLE most important feature that readers look for in a paragraph (and a sentence and the text-as-a-whole).

Readers expect that all paragraphs, whether argumentative or descriptive, will be focussed on a SINGLE point.

In an argument the single point is of course the main claim or position. Everything else in the paragraph must bend to the demands of addressing (supporting/countering) that position. If any extra, non-argumentative material (e.g. a joke, anecdote, quip) is introduced, then its parenthetical nature needs to be made clear - often by literally putting it in parenthesis!

How can we make the reader aware of our main position?

You already know what your main position is -it's embedded in your brain - but you must proceed on the assumption that your audience has a very sparing representation of mind-readers! The main position must be made obvious to the reader. One blatant strategy is metadiscourse, for example you could preface your position statement with:

"The main point I want to make is......"

More subtly, you can isolate the position statement: devote a whole sentence to it and it alone, so that its impact is not diluted with secondary information.

Location, location, Location

But the most important way to highlight the position statement in your paragraph is to put it in one of the two locations where readers expect a positin statement to be. Readers expect that the main point of any paragraph will be stated either:

  • at the very end (position-final)
  • near the beginning (position-early)

If you hide your point in the middle of a paragraph, readers will be very confused. Remember that most people don't read in a very thorough manner - they do a lot of scanning and when they are doing this they often, unconsciously, zero in on the areas of the text where they expect the most important information. When working at speed, or in a casual manner, they default to using whatever is in those locations as candidate points. As they read on, they may become aware that their decision was wrong. But without knowing where they went wrong, there will be no easy way to set things right. They may just give up.

First or last?

In later weeks we will look at when it is more appropriate to use the position-final or position-early structure within a text. For the moment, we will focus on the easier paragraph pattern, i.e. position-early. Below you will be asked to construct your own argument map and then write it up in text form. Here is a small map, which is written up in position-early style (in two different ways) below.

First, we have a very straightforward version (with indicators words in bold; positions in italics)

"I believe that cats are far better pets than dogs. First, they cost less to keep, on account of the fact that they eat less than dogs and their accessories are smaller and cheaper. Second, cats require less time to maintain than dogs, because they don't need to be walked every day, and they wash themselves."

Note that not only is the position-early pattern present in the paragraph as a whole, but also within its sentences. For example in:

"First, they cost less to keep, on account of the fact that they eat less than dogs and their accessories are smaller and cheaper."

the reasons follow the position statement. The same hold true for the third sentence.

 

Paragraphs can have a mix of point-location patterns

Sub-sections of a paragraph do not always have to follow the pattern of the paragraph as a whole. Consider this more stylish version of the cat-dog debate below:

"Cats are far better pets than dogs. Over and above everything else they don't take so much time to look after because, wonder of wonders, they wash themselves! Not having to walk them helps with this too, and then there is the fact that their tiny appetites and bargain accessories make them cheap to keep."

 

Note that the final clause:

'and then there is the fact that their tiny appetites and bargain accessories make them cheap to keep

is position-final.

 

Point-early does not always mean point-first

Point-early paragraphs need not always express their point straight-up. Often the first sentence, or first two sentences, will provide some introductory, lead-in information. But research into readers' habits tells us that readers expect the position to be delivered no later than the third sentence!! We will examine this in more detail next week. Below is a typical lead-in:

"Over the centuries people have always kept pets, with cats and dogs at the top of everyone's list. Almost as much fun as having one of these creatures, is arguing with your friends as to which species is the superior companion. I think myself that there's no argument: cats are the far better pet. Over and above everything else they don't take so much time to look after because, wonder of wonders, they wash themselves! Not having to walk them helps with this too, and then there is the fact that their tiny appetites and bargain accessories make them cheap to keep."

 

Your exercise

On the workspace, construct an argument map that argues the affirmative case on some issue of your choice. It should have the following features:

  • It must be a debatable point.
  • There should be at least one objection
  • All objections should have at least one rebuttal.
  • The map should be extensive enough to generate a paragraph at least 7 sentences long (you can always come back and add to the map if need be)
  • You should write your claims according to the suggestions made in the exercises today, in particular:
    • Each claim should be a complete sentence.
    • Each claim should be simple and should not include any reasoning within it.

Next you should write this map up in paragraph form, with the following features:

  • It should be at least seven sentences long
  • It should be in point-early format.
  • When dealing with any objections, try to avoid letting them obscure your main line of thinking (more on this in later weeks).

I would suggest using the SCRATHPAD feature of the Rationale TEXT PANEL (click on tab, bottom RHS) to do the writing, but when you're finished paste the text it into a yellow NOTE on the workspace below your map.

Then Upload the File on the Moodle WebSite, named in this format:

yourname_essay1

 

That's all folks!