Question
Taking time to Revise: Applying Phase 3 of the writing Process. Synthesis paper with abstract page
Directions for Writing Research Synthesis Paper #1
A synthesis is a written discussion about a topic that draws from multiple sources. In this assignment, your purpose is to analyze what the sources are saying, to draw relationships between these sources, and then to summarize your conclusions about the topic of discussion using these relationships.
Choose your topic from any part of the textbook that you find interesting and that you think you could find information to write a paper on. -Taking time to Revise: Applying Phase 3 of the writing Process.
Topic that was chosen (from reference #1 – The class text (Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2014). Essentials of Business communication (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning): Found on PG -90, Taking time to Revise: Applying Phase 3 of the writing Process.
Please try to ?synthesize? (use information from) at least two of your sources in each paragraph.
This assignment is relatively short: abstract page, three page body. Please use Times New Roman 12 pt font, double spaced, indented paragraphs and one inch margins as per APA writing style guidelines. DO NOT use the word ?I? in your writing.
Required sources for this paper are:
1) The class text (Guffey, M. E., & Loewy, D. (2014). Essentials of Business communication (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
2) Two articles from peer reviewed journals (Articles must be from within the last five years – 2011 or later)
Choose your sources carefully. Because this is a short paper, you should choose a 10 page or even shorter article. Longer articles would be difficult to adequately address all the material.
Sources should be referenced in the APA citation method. At minimum, you MUST include three direct quotations in your paper. When using a direct quotation (the authors? exact words) the entire quote should be placed in quotation marks. You must cite direct quotes. You must also cite when paraphrasing or summarizing the authors? words.
Sample paper
Synthesis Paper with Abstract Page
Abstract
Most people do not know this, but writing is a systematic process. The process of writing is one that requires and uses more basic skills compared to all the other subject areas. Writing is not something that comes naturally even to professional writers. It requires training through various steps in order to develop writing skills that are efficient in all forms of writing. Young writers can be trained on writing through use of direct instruction, conferencing or modelling. Learning the writing process is very important in helping writers to produce materials that are accurate.
The writing process is made up of five phases; pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Pre-writing is defined as “the stage of recovery in the writing process when a person assimilates his subject to himself.” (Rohman, 2012, P. 106). A good writer plans what they want to write about first before putting it on paper. Planning can start with formulating a topic then create a brief outline of the information to include on the chosen topic. When it comes to drafting, here the writer writes down a rough presentation of his ideas for his own use hence does not have to be perfect.
The third phase involves revision of the draft whereby the writer looks at his writing from the audience’s view. Most writers prefer having somebody else revise their work to help identify parts that may not be clear. This way, the writer can be assured that the target audience will benefit from the written material. The next phase is editing which involves paying focus to the language part of the material. The written document should be one that meets the standards of written English. Here, the writer checks on factors such as grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and spelling among others. Finally, after all is done, the writer can complete the process by publishing the document so that it can reach the intended audience. This paper focuses on the third phase of the writing process; revising. The paper will discuss in detail what is involved in revising, why the phase is important and the various forms of revision.
Body
Revision simply means looking at a written document from a fresh and clear perspective. This explains why most writers do their drafts and put them away for a day or two before going back to look at them. Looking at something form a fresh perspective helps identify things that would not be seen before either due to laziness or fatigue that can come from long hour of writing non-stop. Students hear their instructors repeatedly urging them to revise but not many take the advice and those who do, not all do it right (Guffey, 2014)
Revising a document does not imply that you have failed, it simply means that you want to perfect your writing. For the revision phase to be effective, writers need to be honest to themselves. They need to put themselves in the audiences’ shoes and ask themselves if they would want to read or listen to their writing. Looking at the material from that perspective can guide the writer in identifying the necessary changes.
Revision is completely separate from editing although most people tend to take these two things to have one meaning. Revision is all about looking at the draft from a bigger picture not about checking punctuations or sentence structures. Taking these two tasks and performing them simultaneously, though tempting may not give the best end results. “Revision should focus on the organization, content and style used in writing” (Seow, 2012, P.315). These factors help in examining the target audience as well as the writers approach and its effectiveness.
Related: Adler and Van Doren’s “The Activity and Art of Reading”
Organization
Organization refers to the writing arrangement used whether it is in the entire document or in specific paragraphs or sentences. Here, the writer will focus on issues such as whether the document has followed the chosen form throughout. The document should also have all its ideas clearly separated into specific paragraphs for ease of understanding and following through due to the good flow of information. The points presented in the document should also be well balanced by ensuring that all are developed to the same extent.
Content
Content refers to the overall theme of writing. Revising the content involves identifying if the document is written in a way that will fulfill its intended purpose. It is important to start with the larger overall content of the written material then gradually move to the smaller parts until the entire material is revised. To begin with, the purpose of the document should be clearly stated and then maintained throughout the material. In addition, “all the supporting information and sources used in the document should clearly relate to the intended purpose” (Guffey, 2014, P.91). Through revising the content, the writer can be assured that the audience know and understand exactly what he or she mean to say.
Style
Sometimes people may be attracted to something, not because of the content but how the content is delivered. Writers deliver their thoughts through their writing styles. The style employed by a writer shows their personality and shows how the material will either suit the audience or vice-versa. The choice of words, fluency and sentence structure all contribute in creating a certain effect to the written material which makes it either interesting for the audience or boring.
Every writer that aspires to better themselves must accept that it is not always that they will get to keep all the material they come with (Rohman, 2012). They may have to trash some of their material during the revision stage if for one reason or another, it does not align with the intended purpose of the document. Accepting to make this changes is a step closer to coming up with a refined piece of writing that both the writer and the audience will enjoy.
Conclusion
Contrary to the opinions of many, revising a document does not mean that the writer is incompetent or that the material is poor. It simply means the writer wants to improve the document. It is important that writers understand this concept so that they can feel free to revise their work or even have somebody else do it for them. Revising can be easier if it is done from a printed copy which is easier on the eyes.
Reading the paper aloud can also help identify grammatical errors and other issues. In order to ensure that the paper will serve its purpose, the writer should also ask themselves as many questions as possible and ensure they answer them truthfully. A good writer is one who does not get attached to their material because it is the only way they can revise it objectively. What should matter to a good writer is not keeping most of his work but rather the reaction of the target audience.
References
Guffey, M. E. (2014). Essentials of Business Communication. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Rohman, D. G. (2012). Pre-writing the stage of discovery in the writing process. College composition and communication, 106-112.
Seow, A. (2012). The writing process and process writing. Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice, 315-320.
