To Kill a Mockingbird​ Synthesis Writing

(Adapted for Distance Learning)

Three-Part Thesis Construction:

Your claim should take the form of a sentence that combines the ​subject ​you are addressing
followed by both an ​assertion​—a statement of your opinion—and a ​rationale​—a generalized
reason in support of the assertion​.

Example Three-Part Thesis:

Schools should put more money into academics than into athletics because the primary goal of a
school is to educate students, not to train athletes.

TKAM Synthesis Prompt:

Carefully read the following five sources, including the introductory information for each source.
Then synthesize material from at least two of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent,
well-developed thesis and 2-chunk body paragraph response in which you develop a position on
the role, if any, Harper Lee’s ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ should serve in public schools. ​Should it be
taught in public schools?

Three-Part Thesis Statement

(You may type your thesis directly into this chart if you find it to be helpful. Otherwise, feel free to
delete the chart, or provide your response below it).

Subject Harper Lee’s ​To Kill a Mockingbird​ should be taught in only highschools
(topic to be explored) because it uses strong language but it also teaches students valuable
+ information about issues that more or less still occur in this day and age.
Assertion
(statement of opinion)
+
Rationale
(generalized reason in
support of the assertion)
 2-Chunk Body Paragraph Structure
(You may type your paragraph directly into this chart if you find it to be helpful. Otherwise, feel free
to delete the chart, or provide your response below it).

Topic Sentence To expand on this issue, Harper Lee’s award-winning novel should only be taught
in high school-level classes.

Lead into a Betsy Gomes discusses in her article that ​To Kill a Mockingbird ​was “removed
Concrete Detail mid-lesson from 8th grade classrooms in Biloxi, Mississippi” because parents
from a source made “complaints about language in the book”(Gomez 1).
provided

Commentary The 8th graders are too immature to get over the use of certain words in the book
which then made parents get upset about their children getting exposed to the
words.

Commentary In contrast to high school, the kids are more mature and are able to look past the
use of an offensive word and truly understand the importance of the themes of the
book.

Lead into a Landon Stroud provides some insight into the important themes of the book by
Concrete Detail explaining that “If we look past its language, we see situations that really
from a second encourage readers to think critically about how misjudgment can impact the lives
source provided of innocent people”(Stroud 2).

Commentary The themes of the book teach valuable lessons that would have the rightful impact
on more mature students.

Commentary These themes and lessons are very important when teaching kids because it shapes
how they think of situations and helps them develop their morals.

Concluding To conclude, Harper Lee’s ​To Kill a Mockingbird ​should be taught to students at
Sentence the High school level because younger students are unable to handle the explicit
language and because of the powerful message and life lessons the book has to
offer.