What is heavy use and what are the most egregious negatives that affect the personal/social lives of young adults. For example, does heavy social media use decrease happiness, or is heavy social use increases impatience, anxiety

To promote mature academic thinking; to practice using quotations and paraphrases; to develop and practice summarizing and synthesizing. In addition, the explanatory synthesis gives the reader a broader but grounded understanding of the issue(s) at hand. Hence, the title of this type of research prewriting implies “to explain”.

Assignment: Write an explanatory synthesis (aka literature review) using three credible sources from your research; ideally, you will use the sources from the Annotated Bibliography I assignment. Your task is to identify and explain the similarities and differences of sources, i.e., the author’s main claim and supporting ideas. [See assignment support material in Canvas, to better understand the explanatory process.]
In other words, you will compare-contrast the “conversation” between the source authors. In addition, the writing process of explaining the “conversation” will help you narrow the research question (RQ) and/or working thesis. Furthermore, this writing exercise helps the writer to “see” what others are saying about your topic and helps you to arrange the “conversation” in a logical organized pattern of text, which can later be used in a research paper. Your chosen sources are your greatest tool in presenting information to the readers, so it is important to choose sources wisely.

As you analyze your sources, identify passages from your sources that you believe are worth quoting. We choose quotations based on how important the information is and how well-said it is.
As you draft, use transition phrases such as “…in contrast to…”, “…in other cultures, however….”, “…similar to the …” etc. These transition phrases are simple, but when used well they give the essay coherence (aka “flow”) and a professional quality.

After drafting your essay think about a thesis and an introduction. Since this is an explanatory synthesis, not an argument, your thesis will describe or explain what you will do in the essay. Your thesis might sound something like this: In this essay, I will describe how X is viewed from various conversations surrounding the topic of Y.
Tip Four: For your conclusion, think about what we learn when we compare and contrast the material in your essay. Compare/contrast syntheses always need a point, and a conclusion is a great place to make it. However, you may also include it in the thesis paragraph. The point of the comparison/contrast is the new understanding we get when we put some information next to other information in new ways. In the conclusion you can move away from your sources and into your own perspective about the importance of the material.

Revise and develop your draft. Edit your draft. Proofread your draft. Please note that those three things are all different stages in the writing process.
Grading criteria and essay goals:
Does the essay demonstrate an accurate understanding of the sources?
Is the organization a true synthesis of material and not a source-by-source summary of information?
Are the paragraphs well-focused and coherent with useful transition phrases?
Does the introduction contain a descriptive thesis?
Does the conclusion usefully wrap up the material?
Are the sentences basically clear?
Are the quotations and summaries effective? For example, does the essay use a variety of signal verbs? Is the documentation accurate? Is the summary complete, avoiding plagiarism? Are the quotations relevant and usefully framed?