Module 3

• Synthesizing - The prefix “syn” in synthesis means together. Hence, synthesizing is pulling together different ideas to come up with a new, bigger idea.
• Synthesizing - It is an on-going process where old and new knowledge, experiences, opinions add up, blend, and fit together to create new understanding.
• To illustrate - Idea 1 + Idea 2 + Own Ideas = New Ideas
• The paragraph uses transition words and verbs expressing a claim, an agreement or disagreement.
• The paragraph ends with a new thought about the topic
• To be able to synthesize, you must also know how to:

  • Summarize
  • Paraphrase
  • Analyze
  • Infer
• 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 length as the original.
• Analyze - To break complex topic into smaller parts.
• Infer- To use observation and background to reach a logical conclusion.
• How to synthesize?

  RES Method
• R – Read two different sources about a topic and jot down important ideas.
• E – Edit notes and put together similar concepts.
• S – Synthesize by combining notes with what you already know about the topic.
• TO HELP YOU DECLUTTER YOUR IDEAS IN SYNTHESIZING ESSENTIAL INFORMATION, THE FOLLOWING STEPS CAN ALSO BE OF GREAT HELP

  1. Organize your sources After collecting the relevant literature, you need to organize your notes in a way that allows you to see the relationships between sources.
• You can get relevant information from the following sources.

  •  Print Sources Books and Textbooks
  • Newspapers
  • Academic and Trade Journals
  • Government Reports and Legal Documents
  • Press Releases and Advertising
  • Flyers
  • Pamphlets
  • and Leaflets Digital and Electronic Sources Multimedia
  • Websites
  • Blogs and personal websites
  • Social media pages and message boards.
• 2. 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. 
• 3. Write paragraphs with topic sentences What sets a synthesis apart from a summary is that it combines various sources.
• 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 point of the paragraph into one sentence. This is called a topic sentence, and it usually appears at the start of the paragraph.
• The topic sentence signals what the whole paragraph is about; every sentence in the paragraph should be clearly related to it.
• 4. Revise, edit and proofread Like any other piece of academic writing, synthesizing literature involves

  redrafting

  revising

  editing

  proofreading.
• In writing your synthesis, the following verbs can be of help. DON”T FORGET, to use the following terms when quoting your source.
• To show argument, use the following:

  1. Similarly
  2. also
  3. likewise
  4. equally
  5. Furthermore
• To shoe disagreement, use the following words:

  1. On the other hand
  2. on the contrary
  3. unlike
  4. Although
  5. despite
  6. otherwise
  7. Conversely
  8. where