: Re: How can I get my students to better integrate their sources into their writing? A common problem I observe in student papers the use of source material in a sequential as opposed to an integrated

@Heady158

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I had a professor who did a synthesis lecture using fruit. She brought in a brown paper grocery bag and started pulling out produce one at a time. The purpose was to come up with a general rule to determine if something was a fruit or a vegetable.

Apple: Fruit

Peas: Vegetable

Lettuce: Vegetable

Rule 1: Vegetables are green

Carrot: Vegetable

Potato: Vegetable

Rule 2: Vegetables are roots, or green if they grow in the air.

And so forth. By the time she got to avocados (which I've never been able to decide), we had a pretty good rule.

A similar exercise could work for you. By forcing the students to explain why something is a fruit or vegetable in relation to other produce, they have to mix their sources.

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