synthesis essay meatless monday

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On Its 20th Anniversary, Meatless Monday is More Relevant Than Ever

Sid Lerner discusses Meatless Monday.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of Meatless Monday —the revolutionary public health campaign that continues to grow in influence, relevance, and importance. As we reflect on its extraordinary evolution, we are reminded of the mounting reasons that meat reduction must be front and center on our public health agendas.  

Meatless Monday was created by Sid Lerner, who was a legendary marketing executive (one of advertising’s original “mad men”) and a passionate public health advocate. The Bloomberg School helped launch the Meatless Monday campaign, with technical assistance from our Center for a Livable Future (CLF) . From the beginning, the message was simple: One day a week, cut out meat for the health of people and the health of the planet. The ongoing success of the campaign is rooted in its simple approach—it’s an accessible, achievable action that individuals, families, communities, or organizations can take on.  

Over the past two decades, Meatless Monday has proven to be remarkably versatile and adaptable, growing steadily into a global movement that has advocacy and communication support across many sectors. Meatless Monday has been embraced by high-profile chefs, food systems writers, and celebrities and adopted by a range of organizations and institutions worldwide, including schools, municipalities, restaurants, NGOs, and corporations in more than 40 countries. And Meatless Monday isn’t alone in its push for reductions in meat consumption: The call has been echoed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the World Health Organization, the World Economic Forum, the American Heart Association, the National Kidney Foundation, and countless others. 

We are proud of CLF for its continued role in Meatless Monday, particularly as the evidence supporting the benefits of reducing meat consumption expands and grows stronger every year. There are numerous interrelated, public health threats that share high meat diets as an important contributor: 

High meat diets are linked to increased chronic disease burdens. Chronic diseases are currently the leading causes of death globally and are accompanied by enormous health and productivity costs. Diets high in red and processed meat and lower in whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruit are associated with higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. A 2023 analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease study found that global deaths attributable to diets high in red meat increased by nearly 30% between 1999 and 2019.  

High meat diets are destructive to planetary health. Climate change and other disruptions to Earth’s natural systems are crisis multipliers, with profound implications for our ecosystems and human health. The animal agriculture system enabling high meat diets is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and other planetary health concerns. According to the IPCC, food systems are responsible for between 23–42% of global greenhouse gas emissions; of this, the IPCC estimates that meat production accounts for approximately 60% of those emissions.  

High meat diets drive the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance. Global deaths from resistant infections recently surpassed mortality from HIV/AIDS and malaria, according to a 2022 report in The Lancet. The routine use of medically important antibiotics in industrial food animal production is a contributor, as the practice has been shown to select for bacterial pathogens that can cause infections in humans that are extremely challenging to treat. These use of these antibiotics in animal agriculture has been recognized as a key driver of antimicrobial resistance; uses for livestock accounted for an estimated 72% of total global antimicrobial sales in 2017 and are projected to increase by 8% over this decade.  

The urgency of these issues is clear, and Meatless Monday is continuing to evolve to help meet the growing challenges ahead. In 2024, Meatless Monday will be launching a new open access, web-based resource center hosted by the School and curated by CLF. I look forward to sharing this new tool when it’s available, and we will continue to draw on Meatless Monday as an effective public health approach and valuable resource.  

The Meatless Monday movement has made a powerful impact and continues to make significant contributions, but it can also serve as an inspiration to raise our ambitions and set new goals. As members of the public health community, we must find new ways to incorporate meat reduction into our work, as we continue to build evidence and develop interventions to address the numerous, interrelated public health threats fueled by high meat diets.  

Research shows that Monday is the day of the week when people are most open to making positive change. I hope that on this Monday in particular—and on Mondays throughout October—we can truly harness that feeling, embrace the joy and purpose of a meatless meal, and continue to think of ways we can individually and collectively work toward a healthier future for our planet and ourselves.  

  Sincerely,  

Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD ’79, ScM ’75  Dean  Bloomberg Distinguished Professor 

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Vegan — Meatless Monday: Promoting Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness

Meatless Monday: Promoting Sustainability and Environmental Consciousness

• Categories: Consciousness Vegan

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Published: Feb 7, 2024

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Table of contents

Health benefits of a plant-based diet, environmental impact of meat consumption, ethical considerations of meat consumption, implementation of meatless monday, criticisms of meatless monday.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write a perfect synthesis essay for the ap language exam.

Advanced Placement (AP)

If you're planning to take the AP Language (or AP Lang) exam , you might already know that 55% of your overall exam score will be based on three essays. The first of the three essays you'll have to write on the AP Language exam is called the "synthesis essay." If you want to earn full points on this portion of the AP Lang Exam, you need to know what a synthesis essay is and what skills are assessed by the AP Lang synthesis essay.

In this article, we'll explain the different aspects of the AP Lang synthesis essay, including what skills you need to demonstrate in your synthesis essay response in order to achieve a good score. We'll also give you a full breakdown of a real AP Lang Synthesis Essay prompt, provide an analysis of an AP Lang synthesis essay example, and give you four tips for how to write a synthesis essay.

Let's get started by taking a closer look at how the AP Lang synthesis essay works!

Synthesis Essay AP Lang: What It Is and How It Works

The AP Lang synthesis essay is the first of three essays included in the Free Response section of the AP Lang exam.

The AP Lang synthesis essay portion of the Free Response section lasts for one hour total . This hour consists of a recommended 15 minute reading period and a 40 minute writing period. Keep in mind that these time allotments are merely recommendations, and that exam takers can parse out the allotted 60 minutes to complete the synthesis essay however they choose.

Now, here's what the structure of the AP Lang synthesis essay looks like. The exam presents six to seven sources that are organized around a specific topic (like alternative energy or eminent domain, which are both past synthesis exam topics).

Of these six to seven sources, at least two are visual , including at least one quantitative source (like a graph or pie chart, for example). The remaining four to five sources are print text-based, and each one contains approximately 500 words.

In addition to six to seven sources, the AP Lang exam provides a written prompt that consists of three paragraphs. The prompt will briefly explain the essay topic, then present a claim that students will respond to in an essay that synthesizes material from at least three of the sources provided.

Here's an example prompt provided by the College Board:

Directions : The following prompt is based on the accompanying six sources.

This question requires you to integrate a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. Refer to the sources to support your position; avoid mere paraphrase or summary. Your argument should be central; the sources should support this argument .

Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.

Introduction

Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960's. But just what is this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made elections fairer and more accessible, or has it moved candidates from pursuing issues to pursuing image?

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 television has had a positive impact on presidential elections.

Refer to the sources as Source A, Source B, etc.; titles are included for your convenience.

Source A (Campbell) Source B (Hart and Triece) Source C (Menand) Source D (Chart) Source E (Ranney) Source F (Koppel)

Like we mentioned earlier, this prompt gives you a topic — which it briefly explains — then asks you to take a position. In this case, you'll have to choose a stance on whether television has positively or negatively affected U.S. elections. You're also given six sources to evaluate and use in your response. Now that you have everything you need, now your job is to write an amazing synthesis essay.

But what does "synthesize" mean, exactly? According to the CollegeBoard, when an essay prompt asks you to synthesize, it means that you should "combine different perspectives from sources to form a support of a coherent position" in writing. In other words, a synthesis essay asks you to state your claim on a topic, then highlight the relationships between several sources that support your claim on that topic. Additionally, you'll need to cite specific evidence from your sources to prove your point.

The synthesis essay counts for six of the total points on the AP Lang exam . Students can receive 0-1 points for writing a thesis statement in the essay, 0-4 based on incorporation of evidence and commentary, and 0-1 points based on sophistication of thought and demonstrated complex understanding of the topic.

You'll be evaluated based on how effectively you do the following in your AP Lang synthesis essay:

Write a thesis that responds to the exam prompt with a defensible position

Provide specific evidence that to support all claims in your line of reasoning from at least three of the sources provided, and clearly and consistently explain how the evidence you include supports your line of reasoning

Demonstrate sophistication of thought by either crafting a thoughtful argument, situating the argument in a broader context, explaining the limitations of an argument

Make rhetorical choices that strengthen your argument and/or employ a vivid and persuasive style throughout your essay.

If your synthesis essay meets the criteria above, then there's a good chance you'll score well on this portion of the AP Lang exam!

If you're looking for even more information on scoring, the College Board has posted the AP Lang Free Response grading rubric on its website. ( You can find it here. ) We recommend taking a close look at it since it includes additional details about the synthesis essay scoring.

Don't be intimidated...we're going to teach you how to break down even the hardest AP synthesis essay prompt.

Full Breakdown of a Real AP Lang Synthesis Essay Prompt

In this section, we'll teach you how to analyze and respond to a synthesis essay prompt in five easy steps, including suggested time frames for each step of the process.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

The very first thing to do when the clock starts running is read and analyze the prompt. To demonstrate how to do this, we'll look at the sample AP Lang synthesis essay prompt below. This prompt comes straight from the 2018 AP Lang exam:

Eminent domain is the power governments have to acquire property from private owners for public use. The rationale behind eminent domain is that governments have greater legal authority over lands within their dominion than do private owners. Eminent domain has been instituted in one way or another throughout the world for hundreds of years.

Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize material from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies the notion that eminent domain is productive and beneficial.

Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to develop your argument and explain the reasoning for it. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the descriptions in parentheses.

On first read, you might be nervous about how to answer this prompt...especially if you don't know what eminent domain is! But if you break the prompt down into chunks, you'll be able to figure out what the prompt is asking you to do in no time flat.

To get a full understanding of what this prompt wants you to do, you need to identify the most important details in this prompt, paragraph by paragraph. Here's what each paragraph is asking you to do:

• Paragraph 1: The prompt presents and briefly explains the topic that you'll be writing your synthesis essay about. That topic is the concept of eminent domain.
• Paragraph 2: The prompt presents a specific claim about the concept of eminent domain in this paragraph: Eminent domain is productive and beneficial. This paragraph instructs you to decide whether you want to defend, challenge, or qualify that claim in your synthesis essay , and use material from at least three of the sources provided in order to do so.
• Paragraph 3: In the last paragraph of the prompt, the exam gives you clear instructions about how to approach writing your synthesis essay . First, make your argument the focus of the essay. Second, use material from at least three of the sources to develop and explain your argument. Third, provide commentary on the material you include, and provide proper citations when you incorporate quotations, paraphrases, or summaries from the sources provided.

So basically, you'll have to agree with, disagree with, or qualify the claim stated in the prompt, then use at least three sources substantiate your answer. Since you probably don't know much about eminent domain, you'll probably decide on your position after you read the provided sources.

To make good use of your time on the exam, you should spend around 2 minutes reading the prompt and making note of what it's asking you to do. That will leave you plenty of time to read the sources provided, which is the next step to writing a synthesis essay.

Step 2: Read the Sources Carefully

After you closely read the prompt and make note of the most important details, you need to read all of the sources provided. It's tempting to skip one or two sources to save time--but we recommend you don't do this. That's because you'll need a thorough understanding of the topic before you can accurately address the prompt!

For the sample exam prompt included above, there are six sources provided. We're not going to include all of the sources in this article, but you can view the six sources from this question on the 2018 AP Lang exam here . The sources include five print-text sources and one visual source, which is a cartoon.

As you read the sources, it's important to read quickly and carefully. Don't rush! Keep your pencil in hand to quickly mark important passages that you might want to use as evidence in your synthesis. While you're reading the sources and marking passages, you want to think about how the information you're reading influences your stance on the issue (in this case, eminent domain).

When you finish reading, take a few seconds to summarize, in a phrase or sentence, whether the source defends, challenges, or qualifies whether eminent domain is beneficial (which is the claim in the prompt) . Though it might not feel like you have time for this, it's important to give yourself these notes about each source so you know how you can use each one as evidence in your essay.

Here's what we mean: say you want to challenge the idea that eminent domain is useful. If you've jotted down notes about each source and what it's saying, it will be easier for you to pull the relevant information into your outline and your essay.

So how much time should you spend reading the provided sources? The AP Lang exam recommends taking 15 minutes to read the sources . If you spend around two of those minutes reading and breaking down the essay prompt, it makes sense to spend the remaining 13 minutes reading and annotating the sources.

If you finish reading and annotating early, you can always move on to drafting your synthesis essay. But make sure you're taking your time and reading carefully! It's better to use a little extra time reading and understanding the sources now so that you don't have to go back and re-read the sources later.

A strong thesis will do a lot of heavy lifting in your essay. (See what we did there?)

Step 3: Write a Strong Thesis Statement

After you've analyzed the prompt and thoroughly read the sources, the next thing you need to do in order to write a good synthesis essay is write a strong thesis statement .

The great news about writing a thesis statement for this synthesis essay is that you have all the tools you need to do it at your fingertips. All you have to do in order to write your thesis statement is decide what your stance is in relationship to the topic provided.

In the example prompt provided earlier, you're essentially given three choices for how to frame your thesis statement: you can either defend, challenge, or qualify a claim that's been provided by the prompt, that eminent domain is productive and beneficial . Here's what that means for each option:

If you choose to defend the claim, your job will be to prove that the claim is correct . In this case, you'll have to show that eminent domain is a good thing.

If you choose to challenge the claim, you'll argue that the claim is incorrect. In other words, you'll argue that eminent domain isn't productive or beneficial.

If you choose to qualify, that means you'll agree with part of the claim, but disagree with another part of the claim. For instance, you may argue that eminent domain can be a productive tool for governments, but it's not beneficial for property owners. Or maybe you argue that eminent domain is useful in certain circumstances, but not in others.

When you decide whether you want your synthesis essay to defend, challenge, or qualify that claim, you need to convey that stance clearly in your thesis statement. You want to avoid simply restating the claim provided in the prompt, summarizing the issue without making a coherent claim, or writing a thesis that doesn't respond to the prompt.

Here's an example of a thesis statement that received full points on the eminent domain synthesis essay:

Although eminent domain can be misused to benefit private interests at the expense of citizens, it is a vital tool of any government that intends to have any influence on the land it governs beyond that of written law.

This thesis statement received full points because it states a defensible position and establishes a line of reasoning on the issue of eminent domain. It states the author's position (that some parts of eminent domain are good, but others are bad), then goes on to explain why the author thinks that (it's good because it allows the government to do its job, but it's bad because the government can misuse its power.)

Because this example thesis statement states a defensible position and establishes a line of reasoning, it can be elaborated upon in the body of the essay through sub-claims, supporting evidence, and commentary. And a solid argument is key to getting a six on your synthesis essay for AP Lang!

Step 4: Create a Bare-Bones Essay Outline

Once you've got your thesis statement drafted, you have the foundation you need to develop a bare bones outline for your synthesis essay. Developing an outline might seem like it's a waste of your precious time, but if you develop your outline well, it will actually save you time when you start writing your essay.

With that in mind, we recommend spending 5 to 10 minutes outlining your synthesis essay . If you use a bare-bones outline like the one below, labeling each piece of content that you need to include in your essay draft, you should be able to develop out the most important pieces of the synthesis before you even draft the actual essay.

To help you see how this can work on test day, we've created a sample outline for you. You can even memorize this outline to help you out on test day! In the outline below, you'll find places to fill in a thesis statement, body paragraph topic sentences, evidence from the sources provided, and commentary :

• Present the context surrounding the essay topic in a couple of sentences (this is a good place to use what you learned about the major opinions or controversies about the topic from reading your sources).
• Write a straightforward, clear, and concise thesis statement that presents your stance on the topic
• Topic sentence presenting first supporting point or claim
• Evidence #1
• Commentary on Evidence #1
• Evidence #2 (if needed)
• Commentary on Evidence #2 (if needed)
• Topic sentence presenting second supporting point or claim
• Topic sentence presenting three supporting point or claim
• Sums up the main line of reasoning that you developed and defended throughout the essay
• Reiterates the thesis statement

Taking the time to develop these crucial pieces of the synthesis in a bare-bones outline will give you a map for your final essay. Once you have a map, writing the essay will be much easier.

Step 5: Draft Your Essay Response

The great thing about taking a few minutes to develop an outline is that you can develop it out into your essay draft. After you take about 5 to 10 minutes to outline your synthesis essay, you can use the remaining 30 to 35 minutes to draft your essay and review it.

Since you'll outline your essay before you start drafting, writing the essay should be pretty straightforward. You'll already know how many paragraphs you're going to write, what the topic of each paragraph will be, and what quotations, paraphrases, or summaries you're going to include in each paragraph from the sources provided. You'll just have to fill in one of the most important parts of your synthesis—your commentary.

Commentaries are your explanation of why your evidence supports the argument you've outlined in your thesis. Your commentary is where you actually make your argument, which is why it's such a critical part of your synthesis essay.

When thinking about what to say in your commentary, remember one thing the AP Lang synthesis essay prompt specifies: don't just summarize the sources. Instead, as you provide commentary on the evidence you incorporate, you need to explain how that evidence supports or undermines your thesis statement . You should include commentary that offers a thoughtful or novel perspective on the evidence from your sources to develop your argument.

One very important thing to remember as you draft out your essay is to cite your sources. The AP Lang exam synthesis essay prompt indicates that you can use generic labels for the sources provided (e.g. "Source 1," "Source 2," "Source 3," etc.). The exam prompt will indicate which label corresponds with which source, so you'll need to make sure you pay attention and cite sources accurately. You can cite your sources in the sentence where you introduce a quote, summary, or paraphrase, or you can use a parenthetical citation. Citing your sources affects your score on the synthesis essay, so remembering to do this is important.

Keep reading for a real-life example of a great AP synthesis essay response!

Real-Life AP Synthesis Essay Example and Analysis

If you're still wondering how to write a synthesis essay, examples of real essays from past AP Lang exams can make things clearer. These real-life student AP synthesis essay responses can be great for helping you understand how to write a synthesis essay that will knock the graders' socks off .

While there are multiple essay examples online, we've chosen one to take a closer look at. We're going to give you a brief analysis of one of these example student synthesis essays from the 2019 AP Lang Exam below!

Example Synthesis Essay AP Lang Response

To get started, let's look at the official prompt for the 2019 synthesis essay:

In response to our society's increasing demand for energy, large-scale wind power has drawn attention from governments and consumers as a potential alternative to traditional materials that fuel our power grids, such as coal, oil, natural gas, water, or even newer sources such as nuclear or solar power. Yet the establishment of large-scale, commercial-grade wind farms is often the subject of controversy for a variety of reasons.

Carefully read the six sources, found on the AP English Language and Composition 2019 Exam (Question 1), including the introductory information for each source. Write an essay that synthesizes material from at least three of the sources and develops your position on the most important factors that an individual or agency should consider when deciding whether to establish a wind farm.

Source A (photo) Source B (Layton) Source C (Seltenrich) Source D (Brown) Source E (Rule) Source F (Molla)

In your response you should do the following:

• Respond to the prompt with a thesis presents a defensible position.
• Select and use evidence from at least 3 of the provided sources to support your line of reasoning. Indicate clearly the sources used through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Sources may be cited as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the description in parentheses.
• Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
• Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

Now that you know exactly what the prompt asked students to do on the 2019 AP Lang synthesis essay, here's an AP Lang synthesis essay example, written by a real student on the AP Lang exam in 2019:

[1] The situation has been known for years, and still very little is being done: alternative power is the only way to reliably power the changing world. The draw of power coming from industry and private life is overwhelming current sources of non-renewable power, and with dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, it is merely a matter of time before coal and gas fuel plants are no longer in operation. So one viable alternative is wind power. But as with all things, there are pros and cons. The main factors for power companies to consider when building wind farms are environmental boon, aesthetic, and economic factors.

[2] The environmental benefits of using wind power are well-known and proven. Wind power is, as qualified by Source B, undeniably clean and renewable. From their production requiring very little in the way of dangerous materials to their lack of fuel, besides that which occurs naturally, wind power is by far one of the least environmentally impactful sources of power available. In addition, wind power by way of gearbox and advanced blade materials, has the highest percentage of energy retention. According to Source F, wind power retains 1,164% of the energy put into the system – meaning that it increases the energy converted from fuel (wind) to electricity 10 times! No other method of electricity production is even half that efficient. The efficiency and clean nature of wind power are important to consider, especially because they contribute back to power companies economically.

[3] Economically, wind power is both a boon and a bone to electric companies and other users. For consumers, wind power is very cheap, leading to lower bills than from any other source. Consumers also get an indirect reimbursement by way of taxes (Source D). In one Texan town, McCamey, tax revenue increased 30% from a wind farm being erected in the town. This helps to finance improvements to the town. But, there is no doubt that wind power is also hurting the power companies. Although, as renewable power goes, wind is incredibly cheap, it is still significantly more expensive than fossil fuels. So, while it is helping to cut down on emissions, it costs electric companies more than traditional fossil fuel plants. While the general economic trend is positive, there are some setbacks which must be overcome before wind power can take over as truly more effective than fossil fuels.

[4] Aesthetics may be the greatest setback for power companies. Although there may be significant economic and environmental benefit to wind power, people will always fight to preserve pure, unspoiled land. Unfortunately, not much can be done to improve the visual aesthetics of the turbines. White paint is the most common choice because it "[is] associated with cleanliness." (Source E). But, this can make it stand out like a sore thumb, and make the gargantuan machines seem more out of place. The site can also not be altered because it affects generating capacity. Sound is almost worse of a concern because it interrupts personal productivity by interrupting people's sleep patterns. One thing for power companies to consider is working with turbine manufacturing to make the machines less aesthetically impactful, so as to garner greater public support.

[5] As with most things, wind power has no easy answer. It is the responsibility of the companies building them to weigh the benefits and the consequences. But, by balancing economics, efficiency, and aesthetics, power companies can create a solution which balances human impact with environmental preservation.

And that's an entire AP Lang synthesis essay example, written in response to a real AP Lang exam prompt! It's important to remember AP Lang exam synthesis essay prompts are always similarly structured and worded, and students often respond in around the same number of paragraphs as what you see in the example essay response above.

Next, let's analyze this example essay and talk about what it does effectively, where it could be improved upon, and what score past exam scorers awarded it.

To get started on an analysis of the sample synthesis essay, let's look at the scoring commentary provided by the College Board:

• For development of thesis, the essay received 1 out of 1 possible points
• For evidence and commentary, the essay received 4 out of 4 possible points
• For sophistication of thought, the essay received 0 out of 1 possible points.

This means that the final score for this example essay was a 5 out of 6 possible points . Let's look more closely at the content of the example essay to figure out why it received this score breakdown.

Thesis Development

The thesis statement is one of the three main categories that is taken into consideration when you're awarded points on this portion of the exam. This sample essay received 1 out of 1 total points.

Now, here's why: the thesis statement clearly and concisely conveys a position on the topic presented in the prompt--alternative energy and wind power--and defines the most important factors that power companies should consider when deciding whether to establish a wind farm.

Evidence and Commentary

The second key category taken into consideration when synthesis exams are evaluated is incorporation of evidence and commentary. This sample received 4 out of 4 possible points for this portion of the synthesis essay. At bare minimum, this sample essay meets the requirement mentioned in the prompt that the writer incorporate evidence from at least three of the sources provided.

On top of that, the writer does a good job of connecting the incorporated evidence back to the claim made in the thesis statement through effective commentary. The commentary in this sample essay is effective because it goes beyond just summarizing what the provided sources say. Instead, it explains and analyzes the evidence presented in the selected sources and connects them back to supporting points the writer makes in each body paragraph.

Finally, the writer of the essay also received points for evidence and commentary because the writer developed and supported a consistent line of reasoning throughout the essay . This line of reasoning is summed up in the fourth paragraph in the following sentence: "One thing for power companies to consider is working with turbine manufacturing to make the machines less aesthetically impactful, so as to garner greater public support."

Because the writer did a good job consistently developing their argument and incorporating evidence, they received full marks in this category. So far, so good!

Sophistication of Thought

Now, we know that this essay received a score of 5 out of 6 total points, and the place where the writer lost a point was on the basis of sophistication of thought, for which the writer received 0 out of 1 points. That's because this sample essay makes several generalizations and vague claims where it could have instead made specific claims that support a more balanced argument.

For example, in the following sentence from the 5th paragraph of the sample essay, the writer misses the opportunity to state specific possibilities that power companies should consider for wind energy . Instead, the writer is ambiguous and non-committal, saying, "As with most things, wind power has no easy answer. It is the responsibility of the companies building them to weigh the benefits and consequences."

If the writer of this essay was interested in trying to get that 6th point on the synthesis essay response, they could consider making more specific claims. For instance, they could state the specific benefits and consequences power companies should consider when deciding whether to establish a wind farm. These could include things like environmental impacts, economic impacts, or even population density!

Despite losing one point in the last category, this example synthesis essay is a strong one. It's well-developed, thoughtfully written, and advances an argument on the exam topic using evidence and support throughout.

4 Tips for How to Write a Synthesis Essay

AP Lang is a timed exam, so you have to pick and choose what you want to focus on in the limited time you're given to write the synthesis essay. Keep reading to get our expert advice on what you should focus on during your exam.

Tip 1: Read the Prompt First

It may sound obvious, but when you're pressed for time, it's easy to get flustered. Just remember: when it comes time to write the synthesis essay, read the prompt first !

Why is it so important to read the prompt before you read the sources? Because when you're aware of what kind of question you're trying to answer, you'll be able to read the sources more strategically. The prompt will help give you a sense of what claims, points, facts, or opinions to be looking for as you read the sources.

Reading the sources without having read the prompt first is kind of like trying to drive while wearing a blindfold: you can probably do it, but it's likely not going to end well!

Tip 2: Make Notes While You Read

During the 15-minute reading period at the beginning of the synthesis essay, you'll be reading through the sources as quickly as you can. After all, you're probably anxious to start writing!

While it's definitely important to make good use of your time, it's also important to read closely enough that you understand your sources. Careful reading will allow you to identify parts of the sources that will help you support your thesis statement in your essay, too.

As you read the sources, consider marking helpful passages with a star or check mark in the margins of the exam so you know which parts of the text to quickly re-read as you form your synthesis essay. You might also consider summing up the key points or position of each source in a sentence or a few words when you finish reading each source during the reading period. Doing so will help you know where each source stands on the topic given and help you pick the three (or more!) that will bolster your synthesis argument.

Tip 3: Start With the Thesis Statement

If you don't start your synthesis essay with a strong thesis statement, it's going to be tough to write an effective synthesis essay. As soon as you finish reading and annotating the provided sources, the thing you want to do next is write a strong thesis statement.

According to the CollegeBoard grading guidelines for the AP Lang synthesis essay, a strong thesis statement will respond to the prompt— not restate or rephrase the prompt. A good thesis will take a clear, defensible position on the topic presented in the prompt and the sources.

In other words, to write a solid thesis statement to guide the rest of your synthesis essay, you need to think about your position on the topic at hand and then make a claim about the topic based on your position. This position will either be defending, challenging, or qualifying the claim made in the essay's prompt.

The defensible position that you establish in your thesis statement will guide your argument in the rest of the essay, so it's important to do this first. Once you have a strong thesis statement, you can begin outlining your essay.

Tip 4: Focus on Your Commentary

Writing thoughtful, original commentary that explains your argument and your sources is important. In fact, doing this well will earn you four points (out of a total of six)!

AP Lang provides six to seven sources for you on the exam, and you'll be expected to incorporate quotations, paraphrases, or summaries from at least three of those sources into your synthesis essay and interpret that evidence for the reader.

While incorporating evidence is very important, in order to get the extra point for "sophistication of thought" on the synthesis essay, it's important to spend more time thinking about your commentary on the evidence you choose to incorporate. The commentary is your chance to show original thinking, strong rhetorical skills, and clearly explain how the evidence you've included supports the stance you laid out in your thesis statement.

To earn the 6th possible point on the synthesis essay, make sure your commentary demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the source material, explains this nuanced understanding, and places the evidence incorporated from the sources in conversation with each other. To do this, make sure you're avoiding vague language. Be specific when you can, and always tie your commentary back to your thesis!

What's Next?

There's a lot more to the AP Language exam than just the synthesis essay. Be sure to check out our expert guide to the entire exam , then learn more about the tricky multiple choice section .

Is the AP Lang exam hard...or is it easy? See how it stacks up to other AP tests on our list of the hardest AP exams .

Did you know there are technically two English AP exams? You can learn more about the second English AP test, the AP Literature exam, in this article . And if you're confused about whether you should take the AP Lang or AP Lit test , we can help you make that decision, too.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Research about meatless monday.

Johns Hopkins and other leading institutions have conducted research on the benefits of reducing meat consumption and the impact of Meatless Monday in shifting people towards a more plant-based diet.

There’s a growing body of research that shifting towards a more plant-based diet can help reduce the global burden of chronic preventable diseases, preserve precious land and water resources, and slow the acceleration of climate change, which threatens our planet’s future. Meatless Monday can help people make this shift because it asks people for a small step on a day when people want to eat healthier, and can be practiced with others which provides a social support for change.

Benefits of Reducing Meat Consumption

The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future has extensive research about the health, environmental and nutritional benefits of reducing meat. Read more about the Center and their resources here .

Shifting to a plant-based diet is a low-cost way to help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. 1   Eating a more plant-rich diet and lowering meat consumption can provide a variety of health benefits, such as lower blood pressure, improved gut health and a healthy weight. 2 , 3   Individuals who eat a plant-based diet usually consume fewer overall calories, fewer calories from fat and more fiber, potassium, and vitamin C.

Environment

Plant-based diets can be good for the planet, too. Raising animals for our current level of consumption has a detrimental impact on our planet, increasing the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming and depleting our scarce natural resources, including water, land and energy. 4 Plant-based nutrition can be produced through healthy, sustainable food practices. Decreasing meat consumption and adding more plant-based options to your diet could decrease agricultural land use by 80 percent. 5

Diets that include less meat and more fruits and vegetables offer plenty of nutrition. But people often have nutrition questions about meatless meals. Our FAQs give you real facts and share how you can eat more plant-based in a healthy, satisfying way. Learn more about  meatless nutrition , answers to common questions about  plant-based protein ,  childhood nutrition and plant-based meals , and myths and  facts about soy .

Meatless Monday and Behavior Change

Awareness helps drive change.

Since Meatless was started in 2003, it’s grown exponentially through media, advocacy groups and word-of-mouth. A recent survey showed that 38 percent of Americans were aware of Meatless Monday and of those aware of Meatless Monday, 41 percent say the campaign has influenced their decision to not eat, cut back on, or consider cutting back on the amount of meat they eat. Visit this page  to learn more about the survey results. 6

Meatless Monday in Communities

Encouraging people to join together to practice Meatless Monday in organizations or whole communities can foster solidarity and a shared commitment to reducing meat consumption.  The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future collaborated with the city of Bedford NY to conduct a pilot of a community-wide Meatless Monday which found increases in awareness and motivation to reduce meat consumption. Read more about the initiative here.

For more tips and resources to promote Meatless Monday,  click here .

[1] Tuso, et al. 2013. Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets. Permanente Journal. Spring; 17(2): 61–66. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/

[2] Ledoux TA, Hingle MD, Baranowski T. Relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with adiposity: a systematic review. Obesity Reviews. 2011; 12(5):e143-50. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00786.x

[3] Romaguera et al. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet is Associated with Lower Abdominal Adiposity in European Men and Women. Journal of Nutrition. 2009;139(9):1728-1737. https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/139/9/1728/4670537

[4] Gerber PJ, Steinfeld H, Henderson B, et al. Tackling Climate Change through Livestock – A Global Assessment of Emissions and Mitigation Opportunities. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2013. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3437e.pdf

[5] The Environmental Costs of Meat Production. (2019). Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. https://clf.jhsph.edu/sites/default/files/2019-10/global-meatless-monday-environment_0.pdf2019 .

[6] Data Decisions Group. 2021. Nationally representative survey of 1010 adult Americans.

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Health & environmental implications of u.s. meat consumption & production.

Reducing your intake of meat and animal products, particularly from industrial sources, can help protect your health, the health of the public, and the environment. Even a small change - like cutting meat from your diet once per week, as the Meatless Monday campaign suggests - can make a difference.

• Meals, Menus and Meatless Monday - The Why and How of Meatless Monday - Feb 2019
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• The Importance of Reducing Animal Product Consumption and Wasted Food in Mitigating Catastrophic Climate Change . CLF Report, December 2015
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• Evaluation of the Meatless Monday campaign at Newyork-Presbyterian . Fall 2020
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From Meatless Monday and Partners

• Meatless Monday Best Practices . Assessing the Implementation and Maintenance of Meatless Monday Initiatives in the U.S. (Arizona State University Swette Center)
• Check out Meatless Monday for recipes, news stories, toolkits, and other resources to get involved with the national campaign and global movement.

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• v.112(5); May 2022

Perceived Message Effectiveness of the Meatless Monday Campaign: An Experiment With US Adults

L. S. Taillie conceptualized the study. L. S. Taillie and M. G. Hall acquired funding. H.-T. Rayala analyzed the data, drafted the manuscript, and contributed to data analysis and interpretation. All authors critically reviewed and revised the manuscript.

Given the negative health and environmental impacts of red meat consumption, reducing red meat intake in the United States is important for both human and planetary well-being. To experimentally evaluate the impact of health-focused and environment-focused messages from the Meatless Monday campaign, we conducted an online randomized experiment among US adults aged 18 years or older (n = 1244). Compared with control messages, health-focused and environment-focused Meatless Monday messages led to significantly higher perceived message effectiveness and increased intention to reduce meat consumption. ( Am J Public Health . 2022;112(5):724–727. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306766 )

Excess consumption of red and processed meat is a growing problem in the United States, where the amount of meat consumed is more than three times the global average. 1 Given the association between excess meat intake and negative health and environmental outcomes, decreasing meat consumption in high-income countries such as the United States is important for reducing the global burden of chronic disease and the negative environmental consequences of meat production. 2 Mass media campaigns are a promising but untested population-level strategy for reducing meat intake.

INTERVENTION

In 2003, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health launched the Meatless Monday campaign with the goal of reducing meat consumption by 15% to promote human and planetary health. 3 A nationally representative sample of US adults from 2019 found that 42% of respondents were aware of the Meatless Monday campaign, and 21% had participated in Meatless Monday at some point. 4 The campaign strategy tested in our study consisted of graphics communicating the negative health and environmental impacts of meat consumption. The specific images used were selected on the basis of a combination of (1) image popularity measured by social media shares and (2) diversity of stimuli in terms of different health and environmental outcomes depicted in the messages and design styles represented (Figure A, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org ).

TIME AND PLACE

Our randomized experiment consisted of a one-time online survey launched from September 2020 to October 2020 through CloudResearch’s Prime Panels.

The study population consisted of 1244 US adults aged 18 years or older who could read, write, and speak English and had consumed red meat at least once per week in the past 30 days (Table A, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org ). In the overall sample, the mean age was 45 years (SE = 0.48) and 27.6% of participants had an annual household income of less than $25 000. Most participants self-identified as White (77.9%) and non-Hispanic (89.0%). The largest proportion of participants were male (52.2%), had obtained at least a college degree (49.1%), and self-identified as Democrats (40.3%).

Although Meatless Monday is widely recognized, the campaign has not yet been evaluated for perceived message effectiveness (PME). This measure predicts behavioral change and is often used to vet campaign messages. 5 In addition, it is unclear whether Meatless Monday campaign messages attract attention or lead to negative affect, cognitive elaboration, increased social interactions, and intention to reduce red meat intake. All of these constructs are on the pathway from message exposure to behavioral change according to the University of North Carolina Warnings Impact Model, which has been used to evaluate other health outcomes (e.g., sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and tobacco use). 6 , 7 Furthermore, it is unclear whether consumers’ reactions to Meatless Monday messages vary by their frequency of red meat consumption.

To address these knowledge gaps, our study sought to experimentally evaluate the impact of health-focused and environment-focused messages from the Meatless Monday campaign using constructs predictive of behavioral change through a one-time online survey in a sample of US adults. Additionally, we aimed to understand whether the frequency of red meat consumption moderated the impact of Meatless Monday campaign messages on consumers.

IMPLEMENTATION

After eligibility screening and providing electronic informed consent, participants proceeded to the experiment survey, which used a between-subjects design. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three trial arms: (1) control messages (which pertained to credit scores), (2) health-focused Meatless Monday messages, or (3) environment-focused Meatless Monday messages; they viewed four graphics specific to the trial arm displayed in random order (Figure A). Participants then answered a series of questions about the messages they viewed regarding health concern, environmental concern, discouragement, and unpleasantness, which, taken together, constituted our primary outcome measure of PME (Table B, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org ). Participants were also asked questions regarding attention, negative affect, cognitive elaboration, social interactions, and intention to reduce meat consumption, which were all secondary outcome measures in this study (Table C, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org ).

We used unadjusted linear regression models to compare the differences in the mean value of the primary and secondary outcomes between trial arms. We also examined whether red meat consumption frequency moderated the effect of environmental and health messages on PME. We used a linear regressions model, with trial arm, the moderator, and their interaction as predictors. We probed significant interactions by calculating the marginal effect of environmental and health messages on the outcome at different levels of the moderator. Moderation analyses used a Bonferroni-corrected P value to account for multiple comparisons.

We found that compared with control messages, both health-focused and environment-focused Meatless Monday campaign messages effectively increased PME ( Table 1 ). Additionally, both health-focused and environment-focused messages scored significantly higher in all secondary outcome measures, including attention, negative affect, cognitive elaboration, social interactions, and intention to reduce meat consumption. Furthermore, there were no significant differences between health-focused and environmental-focused messages for any of the outcomes. These findings show that relative to control messages, Meatless Monday messages attracted participants’ attention more, increased their negative perception of meat consumption, led them to think about the health and environmental harms of consuming meat, and made participants more interested in talking about the Meatless Monday campaign in their social interactions. Given that these constructs are predictive of behavioral change, these results suggest that widespread communication campaigns such as Meatless Monday are promising public health strategies to mitigate the negative health and environmental effects of meat consumption. However, further research would benefit from testing these messages on behavioral outcomes, such as purchases and consumption of red and processed meat. Additionally, given that our sample was predominantly White, future studies should examine whether these findings hold in more diverse samples with respect to race and ethnicity.

TABLE 1—

Mean Perceived Message Effectiveness (PME) and Secondary Outcomes by Exposure to Control, Health-Focused, and Environment-Focused Meatless Monday Messages: United States, September 2020–October 2020

Note. P values were obtained using Bonferroni correction for three comparisons (statistical significance was defined as P  < .016).

Following our analysis of meat consumption frequency as a potential moderator of the effect of Meatless Monday messages on PME, we found that among high-frequency meat consumers (i.e., participants who reported consuming red meat once a day or more), neither the health-focused nor the environment-focused messages elicited significantly higher PME compared with the control messages ( Table 2 ). These results appear to be driven by higher ratings of the control messages among frequent meat consumers. It is unclear what drove the higher ratings of the control messages within this group, but further investigations on attitudes and values surrounding meat consumption would be valuable in providing insight into effective message designs tailored to reach high-frequency meat consumers.

TABLE 2—

Mean Perceived Message Effectiveness (PME) by Meat Consumption Frequency for Control, Health-Focused Messages, and Environment-Focused Messages Groups: United States, September 2020–October 2020

Note. Meat consumption frequency was recategorized into a three-level category for statistical analysis: low meat consumption ≤ 1 time a week; moderate meat consumption > 1 time per week but < 1 time per day; high meat consumption ≥ 1 time a day. Means were obtained by combining all four PME categories using linear regression models. P values were obtained using Bonferroni correction for six comparisons (statistical significance was defined as P  < .008).

ADVERSE EFFECTS

No adverse effects were observed.

SUSTAINABILITY

By focusing only on eliminating meat one day per week, Meatless Monday provides a more feasible way to reduce meat consumption among current meat consumers, compared with complete elimination diets as seen with vegetarianism and veganism. Although real-world evidence of the impact of the Meatless Monday campaign is nascent, many popular fast-food chains (including McDonald’s, Subway, and Burger King) already offer plant-based options on their menu, and Starbucks has even launched a campaign to provide customers discounts for meatless options on Monday. 8 , 9

PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE

Our results suggest that the Meatless Monday campaign’s health and environmental messages are effective in increasing intention to reduce meat consumption among consumers who are exposed to them. Because previous evidence from behavioral studies has shown that intention to change is one of the strongest predictors of actual behavioral change, national distribution and promotion of the Meatless Monday campaign could have meaningful effects on meat consumption in the United States. 6 , 10 , 11 Although this study shows promise with regard to the perceived effectiveness of the messages, it is important to acknowledge that campaign messages can only be effective if they are aired at sufficient weight to be noticed by the majority of the population over a sustained period. 12 Overall, our results suggest that widespread implementation of similar initiatives among other popular food chains and through public policy could prove to be a promising and attainable step forward in reducing meat consumption in the United States.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was funded by Wellcome Trust. M. Hall’s time writing the article was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (K01HL147713). N. Rebolledo’s time writing the article was supported by Becas Chile Doctorado 2017 (#72180546).

We thank Isabella Higgins for her support on project management, Carmen Prestemon for her help with survey development, and Christina Chauvenet for her insights on messages related to the health and environmental harms of red meat. We thank the Meatless Monday campaign, and in particular Dana Smith, campaign manager, for providing us the top downloaded Meatless Monday messages for use in this experiment.

Note. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

HUMAN PARTICIPANT PROTECTION

The institutional review board of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill approved all study procedures (IRB #20-2552). All participants provided their written informed consent before accessing the main study survey.