SYNTHESISING

Synthesis
❑ A piece of writing in which a single topic or a specific
idea is explored or discussed by presenting multiple
ideas or concepts on that topic.

❑ These multiple ideas from various sources are critically

analyzed, combined & incorporated to form a new text

❑ UNITY and COHERENCE are crucial

 SYNTHESISING INFORMATION
(CRITICAL, ANALYTICAL INCORPORATION OF OUTSIDE
SOURCES INTO OWN WORK)

SOURCE A
SOURCE C

NEW TEXT
(SYNTHESIS)

SOURCE B SOURCE D
 A synthesis essay
❑ There should be a thesis statement in the introduction which
should state clearly the main point of the essay so that the reader is
completely aware of the point the writer will be making

❑ In each paragraph, there should be topic sentences that carry

supporting points

❑ Supporting points consist of information synthesised from external

sources → as shown in next slide…
 Crucial part of this lesson:

Supporting points consist of information

synthesised from external sources

3 common ways
to do this:

QUOTING SUMMARISING

Direct Quoting Indirect Quoting/

PARAPHRASING
 QUOTING
• To quote is to reproduce exactly someone
else’s words
• Quote from reliable & knowledgeable sources
• Quotations are good supporting details. They
enrich your writing, making it more credible
• advisable to use only a few quotes in your
paper
 2 types of quotations
1st type : Direct Quotation
You copy another person's exact words & enclose them in
quotation marks.
* Direct Quotation is not encouraged to be used in writing
(assignment).

ISOLATED
(Quote is placed apart from other sentences)
Eg:
The inaugural address was made by
Kennedy:
And so, my fellow Americans,
ask not what your country can
do for you; ask what you can do
for your country.
(Kennedy, 1962, p. 592)
EMBEDDED
(Quote is presented AS PART OF an existing
sentence – it takes on correct grammatical
structure)
Eg:
Kennedy (1968) insisted that
Americans should “ask what you can
do for your country” (p. 592) instead of
demanding that their country serve
them instead.
 2 types of quotations
2nd type : Indirect Quotation (also called a
paraphrase – to be covered in a later segment)

You report the person’s words without quotation

marks, using mostly your own words.

*Indirect quotation/ Paraphrasing is highly

recommended to be used in writing/ assignment.
 REPORTING VERBS & PHRASES
• To introduce borrowed information:
– direct quotations
– indirect quotations
use phrases like “according to…” or “based on work
done by…”
• Or:
Loke (2000) pointed out that…, asserted that…,
claimed that…, declared that…, insisted that ..,
maintained that…, posited that…, reported that…,
said that…, stated…, suggested that…, wrote that…
 General rules
for punctuating Direct Quotations
1. Use quotation marks to show the exact words of a speaker

e.g. Ben Franklin once wrote, “To lengthen thy life, lessen thy
meals.”

2. Place commas (and periods) before the first mark & also before
the 2nd mark in a pair of quotation marks

e.g. According to Pavlenko (2000, p. 4), “Terrorism normally

attracts the poor.”
e.g. “Overcoming world poverty is a global issue,” according to
Jorgenson (2010, p. 59).
3. Capitalize the first word of the quotation if you are
taking an entire point/sentence. (you do not need to
capitalize if it is just a phrase or a word)

e.g. Dr. Mark Chin, director of the weather bureau,

stated, “The haze will continue to affect most parts of
the country for the next few weeks” (Kritchner, 2013, p.
433).

4. Two pairs of quotations marks are used when a

quotation is broken. Enclose both parts in quotation
marks & separate the parts with commas. Capitalize
only the first word of the sentence.
e.g. “The sophisticated athlete who wants to take
drugs,” stated Dr. Donald Catlin, director of a drug lab at
UCLA, “has switched to things we can’t test for”
(Bamberger, 2014, p. 65).
5. If you omit words/shorten the sentence(s), use
ellipses (three dots)
E.g. According to Automobile Illustrated , “The use of
green technology by the TRX model … has led to it
being the fastest and cleanest car ever built ” (Kramer,
2017, p. 62).
6. Use square brackets, if you add your own letters or
words
E.g. One boxer remarked , “The testers knew that the
[drug] gurus are smarter than they are ” (Brannon,
2016, p. 54).
An example taken from
http://learninghub.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/aso-
online/academic-writing/quoting.php
 SUMMARISING

• Creating a shortened version of a text

• Ensuring it contains only the main ideas
• Leaving out description and examples
• Using own words
 A good summary ..
1. Contains the main ideas & main supporting
details. It does not include:
- specific details or minor points that are
used to illustrate the main ideas
- personal opinions of the topic of the text
being summarized
 EXAMPLE
• Original Source
The amphibia, which is the animal class to which our frogs and toads
belong, were the first animals to crawl outfrom the sea and inhabit
our gloriously rich earth.

• Your Summary
The first animals to leave the sea and live on dry land were the
Amphibia.

The phrase "which is the animal class to which our frogs and
toads belong" is an expansion that provides examples. This is
not a main point, and can be deleted. The rest of the text is
rewritten in your own words, ommiting unnecessary description
(“crawl out,” “gloriously rich”)
 How to summarize a longer text
1. Skim text to get the general idea
2. First reading is to understand the text
3. Second reading is to identify relevant points
4. Underline key words or main issues
5. Organize points in a logical manner
6. Draw an outline
7. Write out the first draft using your own words as far as possible
8. Do not include your own opinion
9. Use linkers such as ‘then’, ’whereas’, ‘as a result’, and
‘moreover’ to show logical sequence & cohesion
10. Read through & do necessary editing
 PARAPHRASING

• Rewriting another person’s ideas in your own words

and own sentence structure
• Ensuring the original meaning is maintained
• Focusing on the main idea (similar to summarising),
BUT…
• Also allowing more details and elaborations from
original source (UNLIKE what you do when
summarising) in your text
in brief, a paraphrase is a re-wording of an original text without
extensive focus on reducing word length – however, it is best to
ensure your paraphrase does not exceed the length of the
original text by too much)
 Steps to writing a good paraphrase
1. Read the original passage several times until
you understand it fully.
-look up unfamiliar words
- find synonyms for them
2. Take notes.
- Write down a few words for each idea
• e.g. Notes on universal language
Language-people use to communicate-but–difficult
to understand one another (so many languages) --people wish –
universal international
language—WHY? Reasons – cultural, economic bonds, better
feelings between countries.

• Then make a brief outline

e.g. A. Language –to communicate
1. many languages make it difficult to understand one
another
2. people wish for one universal international language.
B. Reasons
1. Cultural economic bonds
2. Better feelings between countries
3. Write your paraphrase from your notes
4.Check your paraphrased version against the
original

5. Add an in-text citation

- enclose any direct quotations with quotation
marks and page number.
 Some examples to compare …
❑ The original passage:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as
a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper.
Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as
directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the
amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes.

From: Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (2006):

page 47.
 Some examples to compare …

❑ A paraphrase (that includes a very brief direct quote):

In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to

keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the
problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to
ensure that “only about 10% of your final manuscript” is taken
directly from the original (Lester, 2006, p. 47).
 Some examples to compare …
❑ A paraphrase version :

Students often use too many direct quotations when they

take notes, resulting in too many of them in the final
research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the
final copy should consist of directly quoted material. So it
is important to limit the amount of source material copied
while taking notes (Lester, 2006, p. 47).
 Some examples to compare …
❑ An acceptable summary :
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from
sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a
research paper (Lester, 2006).
 Some examples to compare …
❑ A plagiarized version (uses almost entirely the same words as the
original text) :
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking
notes, and also in the final [research] paper. Perhaps only
about 10% of the final manuscript should exist as directly
quoted matters. Therefore, you should limit the amount of
exact copy and paste of source materials while taking
notes.

* only changed to those few words (in red) and the rest are the
same as original text. Some might change the original meaning.
The End