Transcript Writing a Synthesis / Response

Writing a SynthesisResponse
Mr. Wilson – English 506
What are we going to do?
We are going to compare George Orwell’s
novel 1984 to the movie V for Vendetta.
 What are you looking for?
 Similarities
 Inspiration
 Allusions
 Characters
 Themes
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What is a Synthesis-Response?
Synthesizing is the action of “putting your
ideas together.”
 THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS A FORMAL
ESSAY.
 A Synthesis-Response has more to do with
getting your ideas down onto paper in a
semi-unstructured way.
 It does not need an intro-conclusion, but it
does need to be organized into paragraphs
and to answer a general question.

Main Themes or Ideas? (write this down…)

What are some of the main themes we
keep discussing from George Orwell’s
1984?
 Totalitarian
Regimes
 Controlling the media
 Propaganda
 The great Revolution!
 Fear = control
 Love
 Memory
Main Themes or Ideas? (Write this down…)

What are some of the themes from V for
Vendetta?
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Totalitarian regime
Propaganda
Controlling the media
Love
Religion
Vengeance / revenge
Memory
Things to focus on…
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Metaphors? Symbols?

What appears in the movie and the book as a
metaphor or a symbol?

Allusions?
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What are some of the major allusions in the book?
Do they appear in the movie as well?
Characterization?
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Do specific characters have specific roles to play?
What are they and why are they significant?
Your Response
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Your response can be as long as it has to be.
Each paragraph should be at least 4 to 5 full
sentences, with references to the movie and the
book.
You can use the first person, but not too much.
It is fairly unstructured, but your ideas should be
organized into each paragraph.
Lastly
– Make sure you
answer the question!!!
Main Question
Imagine yourself as Winston
Smith at the beginning of 1984.
What would you do to undermine
The Party? After watching the
movie, how would you extricate
yourself from the fate that
awaits you?
MLA Formatting

Standard MLA Formatting
 In
text Author-Page citations
 If the author’s name appears in the
sentence, then just the page number is
necessary.
 But if it is just the quote, then you need to
specify the author and the page number.
 Full bibliographical reference will appear in
your Works Cited page at the end of your
essay.
 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/
557/01/
Examples
Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry
was marked by a "spontaneous overflow
of powerful feelings" (263).
 Romantic poetry is characterized by the
"spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
 Wordsworth extensively explored the role
of emotion in the creative process (263).

Works Cited
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads.
London: Oxford U.P., 1967. Print.
“The Impact of Global Warming in North
America.” GLOBAL WARMING: Early Signs.
1999. Web. 23 Mar. 2009.
<http://www.globalwarming.com>
The Usual Suspects. Dir. Bryan Singer.
Polygram, 1995. Film.
Now start organizing your
thoughts!
(And start writing…)