Wrtg 391 | WRTG 393 | University of Maryland University College

POST 1

This discussion thread is designed to further help you see how a synthesis of sources essay, or literature review, is organized. 

Please download the sample literature from the 100-level psychology class.

Please note that this literature review is more informal than the one on the CSI effect by Maeder and Corbett that you read last week.  You will notice a level of informality in its tone and language.  In addition, it is not perfect in its synthesis of sources.  Moreover, the author cites only six sources throughout the review.  Overall, this is a literature review written for a 100-level class.  Please keep in mind that you literature review might not be as sophisticated as the one by Maeder and Corbett.  Nonetheless, it provides a helpful demonstration of how one can analyze studies, synthesize sources, and divide a review into categories.

Please answer the following questions:

1. In the introduction, what is the thesis statement for this paper?

2. In the section entitled “Influence of Mood on Eating Behavior,” does the writer ever give her own opinion?  If you think so, point out where she does.

In this section, the author mentions limits to the study by Oliver and Wardle.  What are the limits of this study, according to the writer?

3. Throughout the paper, does the author ever advocate for programs or other steps to be taken for the problem she describes in the paper?

4. In the section “Influence of Eating Behavior on Later Moods,” the writer cites only one source. If you were to give her advice on this section, what advice might you give her to help her develop it more effectively?  Feel free to search in the library databases for articles on this topic or to suggest key words for her to search on.

5. As a result of having read this article, please write a few sentences about what you might have learned about synthesizing sources.

POST 2

WRTG 391 students,

We’re now in our final week of class. 

As you have researched your topic for the annotated bibliography, the four-source essay, the six-source essay, and the multiple-source synthesis essay (literature review), please consider the following questions:

What gaps or unanswered questions do you have about your topic?  In other words, is there an area or are there areas on which you’d like to see more research?

You can write a short paragraph of 100-200 words to answer this question.

Then, please write a response to one of your classmates on their thread, commenting on their research gaps or their research process in one or two sentences.