Your last timed-write for this semester is on Friday, 22 January. If you know in advance that you are going to be absent, make arrangements to take this timed-write prior to Friday.
Since the directions indicate that 15 minutes should be spent reading the Source documents and 40 minutes should be spent writing your essay (total of 55 minutes-our band is only 52 minutes-so what do we do?), I will provide the prompt ahead of time-with the WARNING THAT YOU ARE NOT TO RESEARCH THE TOPIC AHEAD OF TIME. This is actually futile because you are required to use a minimum of three of the source documents provided and furthermore, you will not be given the opportunity to know in advance the topic of the Synthesis Essay to conduct any research of a specific topic.
This will enable you to immediately begin reading the SOURCE documents. If you introduce outside "sources," your grade will be reduced. Review the rubric for this essay to understand what the AP Readers will be looking for.
Introduction: In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that burning an American flag in protest is a form of speech protected under the First Amendment, and thus overturning a Texas law. Since that time, there have been calls from various quarters to amend the U.S. Constitution to authorize Congress to prohibit the "desecration" of the flag. The proposed Amendment has been approved by the House of Representatives on several occasions, but it has never garnered the necessary two-thirds majority in the Senate. Is burning or otherwise desecration the American flag a form of speech meriting protection under the First Amendment? Or is flag -burning an offensive, unpatriotic action that should be prohibited under the Constitution?
Assignment: Read the following sources (including any introductory information) carefully. Then, in an essay that synthesizes at least three of the sources for support, take a position that defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim that the U.S. Constitution should be amended to provide for the prohibition of desecrating the American flag.
