A Sequence for Academic Writing  focuses on the key strategies that any academic writer needs to know — summary, synthesis, analysis, and critique.

Practical advice for academic writing

Summary, synthesis, analysis, and critique

General Interest, Improving Writing

1. Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation

What Is a Summary?

Can a Summary Be Objective?

Using the Summary

The Reading Process

How to Write Summaries

Demonstration: Summary

            The Future of Love: Kiss Romance Goodbye, It’s Time for the Real Thing, Barbara Graham

            Read, Reread, Underline

            Divide into Stages of Thought

            Write a One- or Two-Sentence Summary of Each Stage of Thought

            Write a Thesis: A One- or Two-Sentence Summary of the Entire Passage

            Write the First Draft of the Summary

Summarizing a Narrative or Personal Essay

            Dreams of Patagonia, Bruce Chatwin

Summarizing Figures and Tables

Paraphrase

Quotations

            Choosing Quotations

            Incorporating Quotations into Your Sentences

Avoiding Plagiarism

Writing Assignment: Summary

            The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin

2. Critical Reading and Critique

Critical Reading

            Question 1: To What Extent does the Author Succeed in His or Her Purpose?

            Writing to Inform

            Writing to Persuade

            We Are Not Created Equal in Every Way, Joan Ryan

            Persuasive Strategies

            Writing to Entertain

            Question 2: To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree With the Author?

Critique

            How to Write Critiques

Demonstration: Critique

            What Is the Author’s Purpose in Writing?

            Does He or She Succeed in This Purpose?

            To What Extent Do You Agree or Disagree with the Author? Evaluate Assumptions

            Model Critique: A Critique of Joan Ryan’s “We Are Not Created Equal in Every Way,” Eric Ralston

            Discussion

Writing Assignment: Critique

            With No Boys to Ogle, We Had Time to Learn, Christine Flowers

3. Explanatory Synthesis

What is a Synthesis?

Purpose

Using Your Sources

Types of Syntheses: Explanatory and Argument

How to Write Syntheses

The Explanatory Synthesis

Demonstration: Explanatory Synthesis–The Car of the Future?

            The Vanishing Mirage of Saudi Oil: Dwindling Reserves May End the Petroleum Age, Michael T. Klare

            The Fuel Subsidy We Need, Ricardo Bayon

            Putting the Hindenburg to Rest, Jim Motavalli

            Sustainable Energy: Fuel Cells, New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development

            Using Fossil Fuels in Energy Process Gets Us Nowhere, Jeremy Rifkin

            Renewable Energy and Fuel Cells, Donald F. Anthrop

            Do Hybrids Really Pay Off?, Jim Mackinnon and Dave Scott

            Lots of Hot Air about Hydrogen, Joseph J. Romm

            Consider Your Purpose

            Formulate a Thesis

            Decide How You Will Use Your Source Material

            Develop an Organizational Plan

            Summary Statements

            Write the Topic Sentences

            Write Your Synthesis

            Model Paper: The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car, Janice Hunte

            Discussion and Suggestions for Revision

            Revise Your Synthesis: Global, Local, and Surface Revisions

            Revised Model Paper: The Car of the Future?, Janice Hunte

4. Argument Synthesis

What Is an Argument Synthesis?

            The Elements of Argument: Claim, Support, and Assumption

            The Three Appeals of Argument: Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Demonstration: Developing an Argument Synthesis–Volunteering in America

            A New Start for National Service, John McCain and Evan Bayh

            A Time to Heed the Call, David Gergen

            Volunteering in the United States, Bureau of Labor Statistics

            AmeriCorp Mission Statement

            National Service, Political Socialization, and Citizenship, Eric B. Gorham

            Calls for National Service, Roger Landrum, Donald J. Eberly, and Michael W. Sherraden

            The Moral Equivalent of War, William James

            Crito, Plato

            Keeping Alive the Spirit of National Service, Richard North Patterson

            Rumsfeld: No Need for Draft; ‘Disadvantages Notable,’ Kathleen T. Rehm

            Politics and National Service: A Virus Attacks the Volunteer Sector, Bruce Chapman

            Consider Your Purpose

            Making a Claim: Formulate a Thesis

            Decide How You Will Use Your Source Material

            Develop an Organizational Plan

            Argument Strategy

            Draft and Revise Your Synthesis

            Model Synthesis: Keeping Volunteering Voluntary

            Discussion

Developing and Organizing the Support for Your Arguments

            Summarize, Paraphrase, and Quote Supporting Evidence

            Provide Various Types of Evidence and Motivational Appeals

            Use Climactic Order

            Use Logical or Conventional Order

            Present and Respond to Counterarguments

            Use Concession

            Avoid Common Fallacies in Developing and Using Support

The Comparison-and-Contrast Synthesis

            Organizing Comparison-and-Contrast Syntheses

            A Case for Comparison-Contrast: World War I and World War II

            Model Exam Response: Key Similarities and Differences between World Wars I and II

            Discussion

Summary of Synthesis Chapters

5. Analysis

What Is an Analysis?

Demonstration of Analyses

            The Plug-In Drug, Marie Winn

            Model Paper: The Coming Apart of a Dorm Society, Edward Peselman

How to Write Analyses

            Consider Your Purpose

            Locate an Analytical Principle

            Formulate a Thesis

            Develop an Organizational Plan

            Draft and Revise Your Analysis

            Attribute Sources Appropriately

Writing Assignment: Analysis

            A Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham H. Maslow

Analyzing Visual Media

Writing Assignment: Analyzing Visual Media

            Advertisement: Fancy Feast Cat Food

            Advertisement: [title to come]

            Advertisement: GE Monogram Appliances

            The Appeal of the Democracy of Goods, Roland Marchand

            Elements of an Effective Layout, Dorothy Cohen

Analysis: A Tool for Understanding

6. Writing as a Process

Writing as Thinking

Stages of the Writing Process

Stage 1: Understanding the Task

            Papers in the Academic Disciplines

Stage 2: Gathering Data

            Types of Data

Stage 3: Invention

            Choosing and Narrowing Your Subject

            Invention Strategies

Stage 4: Drafting

            Strategies for Writing the Paper

            Writing a Thesis

            Writing Introductions and Conclusions

Stage 5: Revision

            Characteristics of Good Papers

            The Reverse Outline

Stage 6: Editing

            Editing for Style

            Editing for Correctness

            The Final Draft

Writing Assignment: Process

7. Locating, Mining, and Citing Sources

Source-Based Papers

The Research Question

Locating Sources

Preliminary Research

            Consulting Knowledgeable People

            Encyclopedias

            Overviews and Bibliographies in Recent Books

Focused Research

            Electronic Databases

            The Benefits and Pitfalls of the World Wide Web

            Evaluating Web Sources

            Periodicals: General

            Periodicals: Specialized

            Books

            Biographical Indexes

            Dictionaries

            Other Sources/Government Publications

            Interviews and Surveys

Mining Sources

The Working Bibliography

            Note-Taking

            Evaluating Sources

            Arranging Your Notes: The Outline

Citing Sources

In-Text Citation

Full Citations

MLA Style

            In-Text Citation

            Examples of MLA Citations in Works Cited List

APA Style

            In-Text Citation

            Examples of APA Citations in References List

Writing Assignment: Source-Based Paper

8. A Case Study in Academic Writing

The Assignment: A Comparative Analysis

The Sources

            From All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque

            Death in Victory, John Singer Sargent

            John Singer Sargent’s Murals, Mary Crawford Volk

            Cemetary Symbolism, Pam Reid

            Cemetary Symbols: The Palm, Richard Reisem

The Outline

The Paper: “Death in War: A Comparative Analysis of John Singer Sargent’s Death and Victory and Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front.”

Discussion

9. Practicing Academic Writing

The Assignments.

            Summary.

            Paraphrase.

            Critique.

            Explanatory Synthesis.

            Argument Synthesis.

            Analysis.

The Readings

            The Curse of Nepotism, The Economist

            May the Best Man or Woman Win, Miriam Shulman

            Legacy Admissions are Defensible, Debra Thomas and Terry Shepard

            Time to Bury the Legacy, Robert DeKoven

            The History of Legacy Policies, Cameron Howell and Sarah E. Turner

            Getting In: The Social Logic of Ivy League Admissions, Malcolm Gladwell

            So Your Dad Went to Harvard, Mark Megalli

            End Special Privilege, John Edwards

            Preserve Universities’ Right to Shape Special Community, USA Today

            Admissions Confidential: An Insider’s Account of the Elite College Selection Process, Rachel Toor

            Making Ethical Decisions, Gerald Cavanagh