Synthesis Clarification for Creating Arguments

A good process when creating the eight argument outlines is:

1.)  Start by putting some sources combinations together.  What could I do with Source A, D, and E?

What could I do differently with Source B, C, and A?  Do this a bunch of times.

2.)  Use this visual/organization tool:

•       THESIS: (one sentence which states your claim and your supporting TOPICS.)
• Topic Sentence 1
• Source 1
• Source 2
• Topic Sentence 2
• Source 3
• Source 4
• Topic Sentence 3
• Source 5
• Source 6
• ETC for as many Topic sentences as you need. 

Below, I have created an outline moving backward from a student exemplar(scored an 8) answering the Monolingualism prompt from your deconstruction packet.   

OUTLINE OF AN 8----Even with the classic 5 paragraph arrangement!

THESIS:

Monolingual English speakers are at a disadvantage in today’s world because business practices benefits those who speak multiple languages, they miss out on the culture the rest of the world has to offer, and they don’t benefit from the educational benefits that learning a language offers.

Topic Sentence 1:

 As the globe becomes incredibly intertwined; English speakers who can communicate with those who speak other languages are at a great advantage in their professional lives.

                                Source A

                                Source F

Topic Sentence 2:

 Being multilingual not only helps English speakers in the business world, it also helps them absorb all the world has to offer culturally.

Source F

Source Thomes

Topic Sentence 3:

 Learning languages is also beneficial to the learner in that the act of learning itself has immense educational, personal, and healthy positives.

                                Source A

                                Source D

 STUDENT EXEMPLAR WITH OUTLINE ELEMENTS HIGHLIGHTED. Yellow=Thesis, Blue=Topic Sentence( and restated topic sentences) Green=supporting evidence from Sources. 

The world is increasingly globalizing every day. Companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Uniglo have spread from their original homes to countries half-way around the globe. In this age of globalization, people of different cultures who speak different languages come into contact frequently, but English speakers have lagged behind the rest of the world in learning these other dialects to be able to interact with a wide swath of people. Monolingual English speakers are at a disadvantage in today’s world because business practices benefits those who speak multiple languages, they miss out on the culture the rest of the world has to offer, and they don’t benefit from the educational benefits that learning a language offers.

                As the globe becomes incredibly intertwined; English speakers who can communicate with those who speak other languages are at a great advantage in their professional lives. Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, explained that America needs more practices bilingual speakers in languages beneficial to American aims like Mandarin, Hindi, Korean, and Arabic. These languages help America extend its military and economic influence, and its benefits the speaker themselves by both increasing employability and the strength of the American industries they work for(Source A). The benefits to being multilingual for American business people is not confined, however, to foreign trade or commerce. American, itself, is becoming in a commercial sense, more heterogeneous in terms of language and being multi-cultural can help business people extend their influence. Writer Paul Cohen explained, “the number of native Spanish speakers in the United States has doubled since 1990, and is spoke at home by 37 million people.” Cohen also noted the great resume-booster speaking Spanish is in California or Miami. The same can be said about Chinese in lower Manhattan or Korean in San Francisco’s K-town(Source F). Being multilingual opens up opportunity in the business world for Americans abroad and at home.

                Being multilingual not only helps English speakers in the business world, it also helps them absorb all the world has to offer culturally. Cohen also noted that vast multilingualism of the world in a cultural sense. Outside of the major cities of the world, English will get you nowhere, and inside of them it will only get you so far. For all the culture America and Britain has to offer, English-only speakers miss out on Indian films from famous Bollywood and Asian cultures in Japan and China. While some English is spoken in their countries, Cohen notes, the cultural benefits can only be gained by those who understand the native tongue (Source F). While journalist David Thomes believes that English-only speakers are just fine how they are, a logical fallacy exposes a counter argument toward why multilingualism is so beneficial. Thomes notes that there are 6,900 living languages in the work and “Europe alone has 234…spoken on a daily basis.” This is true, but that doesn’t mean don’t learn any of them. Even if you’d only be able to “speak to a minority of… fellow Europeans in their native tongue,” that minority’s insight opens their door to cultural gain otherwise impossible, especially for native English speakers.

                Learning languages is also beneficial to the learner in that the act of learning itself has immense educational, personal, and healthy positives. Educational writer Russell A. Berman noted learning a second language strengthens one’s ability in their first. Second language acquisition allows one to gain attributes like language grammar, and root-analysis that span educational fields beyond the foreign language (Source A). Ursula Oaks, a trilingual American, explained that writing in her acquired French or speaking in the familial Hungarian provided a workout for the brain, that “afterwards I feel like I’ve had a mental jog on the treadmill”(Source D). This educational and mental benefit comes from the learning and utilizing of a second or third language, proving another benefit of multilingualism for Americans.

                As our globe creates a spider-web of connection in the fields of business, education, and even family, being multicultural is becoming more and more essential. While some rely on English in foreign lands, this reliance leads to a dropping of vital business, cultural, and educational benefits. Multilingualism helps American of all backgrounds in all places, including American itself. (703 words)