Writing Assignment #3
The Multiple-Source Synthesis Essay: Literature Review
Summary of Assignment
·Task: The multiple-source essay asks you to synthesize the arguments of at least 10 sources
·Length: 2000-3000 words
·Format: APA ·Sources: a total of at least 10 sources, all of which should be from scholarly journals or credible trade journals. You should find your sources through library searches. If you cite sources from websites or popular journals, these sources should be in addition to the 10 sources you have cited from scholarly or trade journals.
·Topic: Please use the same topic that you used for writing assignments #1 and #2. It is recommended that you focus on or expand on the essay that you wrote for writing assignment #2. You will continue with the topic you have selected and will conduct additional searches in the library databases, hopefully, focusing on the topic more, and determining the 10 or more sources to use in this essay. Please note that this is a review of the literature on a topic. It is not a persuasive essay using sources to support a point. Rather it is an overview of the current research on a topic.
Integration of Sources: At least eight sources must be cited in the body of the essay. You may cite sources in your introduction to help you define terms, and you may cite sources in your conclusion to help you direct the reader to further inquiry. However, the body of the essay should synthesize at least 8 sources.
Strategies for Developing the Topic for this Essay
Up to this point in the semester, you have completed an annotated bibliography on your chosen topic. You have also incorporated and synthesized six sources into writing assignment #2. The work you have completed for these assignments provides a solid foundation for writing assignment #3. In this assignment, you will synthesize the ideas of at least 10 sources in a synthesis essay, or literature review. For your annotated bibliography, you selected a topic based on your interests and, potentially, your major. You constructed a list of five references and summarized and critically analyzed them in 150-200 words each. You then completed the six-source essay and synthesized sources. Through this process, you may have seen patterns in the scholarly literature in the topic on which you conducted research.
For example, consider the following:
•You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.
•·You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories.
•·You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance.
•·You may have researched articles on environmental management and found studies on climate change. You noticed that various demographic factors influence whether individuals believe in climate change and, if so, whether they believe it is caused by human activity.
In the Multi-Source Literature Review, you will focus your research efforts in a particular area, as a response to what you found while writing the annotated bibliography and in constructing the six-source essay. You will then conduct more research and synthesize your findings in this literature review.
Please note that the annotated bibliography and the six-source essay represent a journey in your research.
You might decide to disregard several of the articles you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography or in the following essay because they do not speak to the specific area on which you have decided to write your multiple-source literature review. You might select one article that you analyzed in the critical annotated bibliography, look up the articles cited in that article, and “snowball” your research in that way.
In other words, this process is a recursive one. You might find reasons to hone in on and narrow your topic even further after you have written the annotated bibliography.
For these reasons, you are strongly encouraged to write on the same general topic on which you wrote writing assignment #2. You might focus on the topic more for writing assignment #3. Or you might expand on the topic for writing assignment #3.
Ethical Use of AI in the Research and Writing Process
The use of AI tools such as ChatGPT, library chatbots, citation generators, and grammar checkers can support your research and writing—but only if used ethically. You must remain the primary researcher and writer. Using AI ethically when writing means treating it as a supportive tool rather than a substitute for your own thinking and writing. It’s appropriate to use AI to brainstorm ideas, organize your thoughts, or clarify complex concepts, but the actual writing and synthesis should come from you. The purpose of a synthesis essay is to showcase your ability to analyze and connect ideas across multiple sources, so your voice and perspective should be at the center of the work. Using A.I. to help you to understand a source, or suggesting how the ideas in sources might relate is one way to use the tool. However, remember that the interpretations, synthesis, and writing should be your own. If you use AI to find sources, it’s essential to verify the information yourself, since AI can produce inaccurate or made-up details . Always read and cite the original articles you include in your essay. Transparency is also key, so be clear about how you’ve used A.I.. If AI use is limited or restricted, make sure to follow the guidelines provided. Finally, remember that copying AI-generated text or using AI to paraphrase source material without proper citation can still be considered plagiarism. Ethical use of AI means using it to support your learning, not bypass it.
Follow these guidelines:
Acceptable (Ethical) AI Use
· Using AI to:
· Brainstorm possible categories or themes for organizing your literature review.
· Get help rephrasing awkward sentences you have already drafted.
· Clarify APA formatting rules (e.g., in-text citations, reference list).
· Practice summarizing and paraphrasing (with your own words used in the final paper).
· Generate search terms for use in library databases.
Note: If you use AI to help generate summaries or paraphrases of sources, you must still read and understand the original articles yourself and ensure that the final writing is entirely in your own words.
Unacceptable (Unethical) AI Use
· Submitting AI-generated content as your own without substantial revision.
· Asking AI to write the entire draft or full sections of the paper for you.
· Using AI to fabricate or hallucinate sources.
· Submitting AI-generated summaries of sources you have not read yourself.
· Relying on AI tools to replace engagement with library databases or scholarly research.
How to organize the Multi-Source Literature Review
You will divide the essay into categories. Each category will be labeled with a heading. For you to see this concept with a real-life example, you can access a sample synthesis or literature review from a psychology student that you can find in Week 7 Content/Resources under PSYCHSample_LitReview.
The student authors her paper on the following topic: Emotional Eating: The Perpetual Cycle of MoodFood Influence. She divides her literature into the following categories, which are used as headings throughout the paper:
•Influence of Mood on Eating Behavior
•Gender Differences
•Influence of Eating Behavior on Later Moods
•Chronic Stress Response Network
Notice how she synthesizes and integrates the research into distinct categories, labeled by headings.
Strategies for Developing Categories
When you have focused on your topic, determine how you will divide the literature. In other words, consider the following examples we described above:
You may have researched studies in criminal justice and found that there are varying opinions on how to respond to criminal behavior among youth.
You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction Body
· ·Category 1: “A” view on responding to criminal behavior.
· ·Category 2: “B” view on responding to criminal behavior.
· ·Category 3: “C” view on responding to criminal behavior.
· ·Category 4: “D” view on responding to criminal behavior. Conclusion
You may have researched studies in psychology and found that counseling strategies for victims of domestic abuse tend to fall into four categories. You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction Body
· ·Category 1: “A” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
· ·Category 2: “B” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
· ·Category 3: “C” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse
· ·Category 4: “D” counseling strategy for victims of child abuse Conclusion
You may have researched articles on gerontology and found studies that answered three basic questions on how older adults respond to training for physical performance. You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction Body
· ·Question 1
· ·Question 2
· ·Question 3 Conclusion
You may have researched articles on environmental management and found studies on climate change. You noticed that various demographic factors influence whether individuals believe in climate change and, if so, whether they believe it is caused by human activity. You might divide the paper as follows:
Introduction Body
· ·Political affiliation and its impact on belief in climate change
· ·Socio-economic status and its impact on belief in climate change
· ·Religious and other influences on belief in climate change Conclusion
Point of view
For this essay, you will use a third-person point of view. Please do not use the first-person point of view (e.g., “I,” “me,” “we”) in writing this essay. In addition, please do not use a
second-person point of view (“you” or “your”) in writing this essay. For example, instead of “Smith argues that, as a director, you have a duty to coordinate cybersecurity efforts…” you would write, “Smith argues that directors have a duty to coordinate cybersecurity efforts…”
APA Style
The paper should be formatted in APA style. The link “APA 7th edition example student paper” from Week 3 will be a helpful resource. In summary, you should observe the following:
· Use one-inch margins.
· Double space.
· Use size 12 Times New Roman font.
· Include a running head.
· Include page numbers.
· Include a title page.
· Include a “References” page on which you list the articles in APA style
· Include working links to all sources, or copies of pdfs of all sources
· Include acknowledgment of any AI/LLM use. Describe how the tool was used.
· Do not include an abstract. This paper is not long enough to warrant an abstract.
Submitting the assignment:
You will submit an initial draft of the essay to the assignment folder. The first draft will not be graded. The instructor will provide comments on it. After receiving comments from the instructor, you will submit a revised draft. The final draft will be graded.
Helpful Resources:
·Graff, G. and Birkenstein, C., They Say / I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. This chapter is in the Learning Resources in our class. It mentions various techniques to apply when stating what an author said and your response to an author.
Revision Plan for an Essay
Task: Choose the Six Source Essay or the Multi-Source Literature Review, and write a revision plan which either discusses the changes that you made from the Six Source Essay to the Multi-Source Literature Review, or outlines the changes you will make to the Multi-Source Literature Review and the reasons why you will make those changes.
This document should be finished prior to turning in the final draft of the Multi-Source Essay. Please incorporate feedback from the instructor and one other reader. Length: 500 words (2 double-spaced pages)
Format: APA 7 Point of View:
The revision plan will use the first-person point of view.
One of the mistakes that new writers make is rushing to the end of the writing process. There is a reason that writers turn in drafts of their work. There is a reason that writers revise. Writing is a recursive process.
A writer may return to a draft more than once to add, refine, eliminate, and polish it. Furthermore, revision is more than an editing process. It is more than addressing sentence-level errors, typos, and awkward sentences. Revising asks a writer to “re-see” the work on the page, to think about it critically, and to alter the work in a substantial way. Having a plan to revise can streamline the process of revising the essay. Here are some suggestions to help a writer to develop a revision
plan: 1. When developing a revision plan, a writer should develop detailed notes on the feedback received on the initial draft. A writer might develop a plan based on revising multiple specific aspects of the essay, including, for example, the thesis statement. So, deciding to revise a thesis statement might involve a discussion of the feedback given to the writer about the thesis, a description of what the thesis says and does in the current draft, and how the thesis might improve. A good plan might involve all those ideas. It is a good idea to look at as many aspects of the current draft as possible when developing a
revision plan. 2. A writer should carefully evaluate the feedback on the first draft.
The paper is the creation of the writer. While targeted feedback is often essential to developing drafts, it is a writer’s choice which feedback is useful. Discerning which feedback will be incorporated into a new draft is part of developing as a writer. 3. A writer should create specific solutions for problems with the draft. So, if a draft receives feedback that the thesis of the draft was unclear, that more evidence was necessary, and that the draft was disorganized, the writer will create a detailed plan about the steps needed to correct these issues.
Helpful Resources:
