Topic:
Multimodal Synthesis Project Paper details:
A synthesis is a written discussion that draws on one or mor
e
sources. It follows that your ability to write syntheses depends on your ability to infer relationships among sources – essays, articles, fiction, and also non-written sources, such as lectures, interviews,
obser
vations.
Creating a synthesis will require you to:
look for connections among the ideas in sources you
find for your
chosen topic;
de
velop a thesis statement and main points which make an
informative claim in response to a research question; and
synthesize information from your sources to support and explain your main points.
Students will create a Multimodal Project synthesizing a Disney liveaction film with the original text, focusing on contemporary issues
that in
fluenced k
ey changes, themes, and character de
velopment. It
may ha
ve to do with raising awareness of an environmental or
societal issue, conv
eying socio-political contexts, illustrating
discrimination and equity, rede
fining femininity, exploring disabilities
and mental illnesses, investigating race and ethnicity, examining
authentic culture or histor
y. sur
v
eying mental well-being and
happiness…the sky is the limit.
Pick a primary source as your focus: essentially comparing
thematic content and historical/cultural context in the original tale
with your chosen live-action Disney movie and its animated version.
Choose from any of the following
films and their literar
y
counterparts: Beauty and the Beast, Male
ficent, Lion King, Mulan,
Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Aladdin.
Consider what themes or issues connect your sources together.
Do they present one or different ideas? Is there an aspect i that is
missing? How well do they present the material?
Be selective: Select only the most important points in each
source to highlight in the synthesis. The type of information you
choose to mention should relate directly to the main focus.
Summarize and synthesize: Remember to summarize and
synthesize your sources Recapture important features of your topic, but then synthesize it by rephrasing the significance of
each source and relating it to your ideas/opinions.
Make sure you discuss your stance on each point.
Suggested Organization (for written, audio,
and video mediums):
INTROCUCTION Attention grabber
Background information
Strong thesis statement. Use the following format: Although the
live-action
film _____________ r
e
flects se
veral similar scenes to its
(animated counterpart OR orignal text)_______________, crucial
changes were made to r
e
flect
______________________________________. So for example, “Although the live-action film Maleficent reflects several similar
scenes to its animated counterpart Sleeping Beauty, crucial
changes were made to r
e
flect the changing de
finition of
femininity and the concept of motherhood in toda
y’s society.”
SUMMARY OF WORKS BEING EXAMINEDOrignal Text or Animated Film
Live-Action Film
Remember to follow the same organization for a summary that we
discussed in Module 1.
BOD
Y
Focus on three main points in which to synthesize the sources.
The body of the project would then focus on what speci
fi
c
scenes were changed to r
e
flect the contemporary issues
noted in the thesis statement.
So for example: Then you would talk about three scenes in
Male
ficent that differ from Sleeping Beauty. Think about how
Aroura takes control of her own destiny by riding to the castle
before she is scheduled to appear, and how Male
ficent takes
on the role of mother; indeed, it is the true lo
ve that only a
mother can know that awakens Aurora from her slumber. This relationship is not biological but environmental. There are
se
veral other scenes along these lines.
Begin each point with a topic sentence
Give supporting evidence from your two primary sources
(literature, animation, and/or live-action
film)
Pr
ovide your opinion on the topic (without using 1st person “I”).
CONCLUSION
Sum up k
ey points.
How did you de
velop a deeper insight based on comparing the
sources?
What can your audience learn from your synthesis?
MLA Format
Correct in-text citations including a signal phrase with author
before source and (page numbers) after source, written. If a video
presentation, you must include this information in some way when
using a source.
A Works Cited page listing all sources must be pr
ovided no
matter what medium the project is in.
Note on In-Text Citations: (Hacker and Sommers 451):
Cite e
verything that is NOT your original idea, whether it is a direct
quotation, a paraphrase, or a summar
y. You must also cite graphics
and video clips.