The required number of sources in a synthesis essay
Three
The speaker's mood in a piece of writing
Tone
The opposing argument
Counter argument
"Give me liberty or give me death!"
Patrick Henry
Can you use personal pronouns in synthesis?
Rhetorical appeal based on reasoning and logic
Logical appeal
Quotes, facts, or statistics, for example
Evidence
"We have been here two weeks and I haven't felt like writing, since that first day. I'm sitting by the window now, up in this atrocious nursery..."
The Yellow Wallpaper
How do you cite your quotes in synthesis?
Source letter or last name of the author
The speaker's historical moment
Context
The sentence that states the main argument of your essay
Thesis statement
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Ronald Reagan, Berlin Wall Speech
Most common phrasing in a prompt
"Take a position on..."
The speaker's immediate reason for speaking/writing now
Exigence
The "R" in REHUGO
Readings
"I was a coward. I went to the war."
Tim O'Brien, On the Rainy River"
Evidence and Commentary score if you DO NOT use the required number of sources
One, for a grand total of only two on the essay
Referring to something that is not named, but assumed that all readers know
Allusion
The "O" in REHUGO
Observations
"I went into the woods because I wish to live deliberately."
Henry David Thoreau