English synthesis

• SYNTHESIZING INFORMATION

  What is Synthesis?

  • Refers to combining multiple sources and ideas.
  • Is the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole.
  • Involves looking for similarities and differences between your sources.
• How synthesis different from summarizing?

  SUMMARY

  > Share the key points from an individual source and then move on and summarize another source.

  SYNTHESIS

  > Combine the information from those multiple sources and add your own analysis of the literature.

  To illustrate synthesizing:

  Source(idea) 1 + Source(idea) 2 +

  Personal ideas/ Observations =

  SYNTHESIZED IDEA

  To be able to synthesize, you must also know how to:

  • Summarize- To shorten a long text by writing the main points in your own words.
  • Paraphrase- To put a passage from source material into your own words similar in 
• Analyze- to break and Complex topic into smaller parts
• To be able to synthesize

  1. Summarize

  2. Paraphrase

  3. Analyze

  4. Infer
• Summarize


  Shorten a long text by writing the main points in your own words
• Paraphrase


  Put a passage from source material into your own words similar in length as the original
• Analyze


  Break complex topic into smaller parts
• Infer


  Use observation and background to reach a logical conclusion
• REST Method

  1. Read

  2. Edit

  3. Synthesize

  4. Think
• Read


  Read two different sources about a topic and jot down important ideas
• Edit


  Put together similar concepts
• Synthesize


  Combine notes with what you already know about the topic
• Think


  Think about new ideas and connect them to what you already know
• How to Synthesize

  1. Organize your Ideas

  2. Collect relevant literature
• Print Sources


  • Books and Textbooks
  • Newspapers
  • Academic and Trade Journals
  • Government Reports and Legal Documents
• Print Sources

  • Books and Textbooks
  • Newspapers
  • Academic and Trade Journals
  • Government Reports and Legal Documents
  • Press Releases
  • Flyers, Pamphlets, and Leaflets
• Digital and Electronic Sources

  • Multimedia
  • Websites
  • Blogs, and personal websites
  • Social media pages and message boards
• How to synthesize

  1. Step 2: Outline your structure

  2. Step 3: Write Paragraphs with topic sentences
• Outline your structure


  With a clear overview of the main connections and differences between the sources you've read, you need to decide how you'll group them together and the order in which you'll discuss them
• Write Paragraphs with topic sentences

  The easiest way to think about this is that each paragraph should discuss a few different sources, and you should be able to condense the overall viewpoint of the paragraph in one sentence. This is called a topic sentence, and it is usually appears at the start of the paragraph. The topic sentence signals what
• Topic sentence


  Signals what the whole paragraph is about; every sentence in the paragraph should be clearly related to it
• How to synthesize


  Step 4: Revise, edit and proofread
• Synthesizing literature involves redrafting, revising, editing, and proofreading
• Verbs to use when quoting sources

  • Asserts
  • Highlights
  • Illustrates
  • Portrays
  • Suggests
  • Argues
  • Conveys
  • Explains
  • Claims
  • Contends
• Words to show agreement

  • Similarly
  • Also
  • Likewise
  • Equally
  • Furthermore
• Words to show disagreement

  • On the other hand
  • On the contrary
  • Although
  • Despite
  • Unlike
  • Conversely
  • Where
  • Otherwise