1) "We need a theory-based explanation, one grounded in the findings of the published research on the nature and reasons for our students' problems with writing persuasive researched papers. to understand how to teach students to write such papers, we also need a better understanding of the demands of synthesis tasks."
The author, Margret Kantz asserts her theory for the article and the bases of her research study. That in order for students to understand how to properly research items, they must learn from the teachers. With that, the teacher must know how to teach the students this theory that Kantz found.
2) "The task of writing researched papers that express original arguments presents many difficulties."
Students do not really understand how to find their research until they learn how to interpret the data. We read our studies as narratives instead of finding a firm argument/side to consider in our research paper. But, if you find data with only your side it creates a one-sided paper with no room for the reader to make an opinion. Therefore, research but be open and persuasive.
3) "To write a synthesis, Shirley may or may not need to quote, summarize, or select material from her sources; to evaluate the sources for bias, accuracy, or select material from her original ideas; or to persuade a reader."
Kantz underlines what is included in synthesizing a paper. Basically it is students citing a source to understand their research better. We use the text to back up our arguments while taking a stance in this persuasive research paper. It requires citing, quote, summarizing, paraphrasing, rhetorical reading.
4) "In addition to reading texts as stories, students expect factual texts to tell them 'the truth' because they have learned to see texts statically, as descriptions of truths, instead of as arguments."
We tend to read things as narratives because that is how we have done it all our lives. We think we are reading the truth instead of questioning the author as to whether we believe their statement is factual or an opinion towards the subject.
5) "A convenient tool for thinking about this concept is Kinneavy's triangular diagram of the rhetorical situation. Kinneavy, analyzing Aristotle's description of rhetoric, posits that every communicative situation has three parts; a speaker/writer (the Encoder), an audience (the Decoder), and a topic (reality)."
Kantz uses another subject and author to help scholars better understand where she is coming from. Kantz did her own research as she is telling professors how to teach to students. Kinneavy's triangle basically helps students better understand how to research their articles.
6) "In a rhetorical argument, a fact is a claim that an audience will accept as being true without requiring proof, although they may ask for an explanation. An opinion is a claim that an audience will not accept as true without proof, and which, after the proof is given, the audience may well decide has only a limited truth."
We expect everything to be full of facts(look for evidence) but instead read them as claims. If proof isn't given we shouldn't believe it but even if it is we should explain why we agree with the author and their evidence but if we disagree then we should understand to find evidence that supports opposite of the authors opinion.
7) "If we treat the researched essay as a sequence of assignments instead of as a one-shot paper with a single due date, we can teach our students to build on their drafts, to use what they can do easily as a bridge to what we want them to learn to do."
That breaking down a paper helps students to better understand the concept of the actual paper and what it should consist of.