SYNTHESIS ESSAY WRITING

Mr H. Semhi, English Language Arts. Mohammedia CPGE Centre 2020

Synthesis Essay Definition

► In order to make the best choice on the topics presented in the Synthesis Essay, it is
crucial to understand what the synthesizing paper is. Defining a synthesis essay is as
simple as knowing what "synthesizing" entails.

► A synthesis essay is an advanced type of writing. Such an essay takes a unique view
of a given central idea or theme. The writer claims, finds and combines the sources
and uses the information acquired. It is a written discussion that describes the
perspective of the author on a subject that considers various sources and relates them
to the writer's own position.

►
 SYNTHESIS ESSAY WRITING
► Synthesize defines how to form a single whole by putting together separate pieces.
Accordingly, writing synthesis essays requires students to bring together the pieces
of information or evidence that they obtain from different sources to create a single
argument that exposes their position on the subject.

► The difficulty of writing a synthesis essay stems from the idea that people should
not only summarize the main arguments they get from sources, but also clarify the
different knowledge relationships. It is possible to write synthesis essays with
various objectives in mind and there are many types of these.
 SOURCES
The corpus, a set of documents linked together through a common topic/issue, might
derive from a range of sources and genres: newspaper/magazine articles, literary excerpts,
graphs/charts, images/cartoons. Broadly they fall into two main categories: primary
sources and secondary sources. Each source bears data that needs to be included in the
synthesis. However, primary sources outweigh secondary ones in terms of facts and
arguments.
 SOURCES
PRIMARY SECONDARY SECONDARY
SOURCES SOURCES 1 SOURCES 2
A. LITERARY EXCERPTS:
A. CHARTS: B. FANART AND
► Exerpts/passages from
fiction(novels /short stories)/non- ARTWORK
fiction books ► Column
B. Articles: ► Bar Cartoons and Comic Strips
► 1. Factual articles: telling facts/events ► Pie Drawings
► 2. Leading articles long and detailed on ► Doughnut
a specific subject Paintings and Photos/Photographs
► Line
► 3. Editorials: biased. They reflect the ► Area
newspaper’s perspective/stance Advertisments
► 4. Columns/Opinion (Chroniques): short
and subjective on a specific current
affair
 ARTICLES
FACTUAL ARTICLES
Articles should be free from
bias, and only the facts should
be reported.
Newspapers articles dealing
with various topics must be
exempt from any personal
opinions.
LEADING ARTICLES EDITORIALS
There are three explanations for An editorial is an article that
the use of the word leading presents the opinion of the
article in a large-scale newspaper newspaper on the issue. This
report. It is meant to be written represents the majority vote
by the head of the literary staff,
of the editorial board, the
the editor; it leads the foreign
news and all other important
controlling body of the
news on the inside pages of the newspaper ...
paper; and it is intended to lead
the public opinion on the basis of
party views maintained by the
journal in question.
 ARTICLES
COLUMNS/OPINION ARTICLES
► A column is a recurring article in a
newspaper , magazine or other publication in
which a writer shares his or her opinion in a
few columns that the daily organization assigns
to them. Columns are published by columnists.
CRITIQUES AND REVIEWS
► A critique may clearly be interpreted as a critical
assessment. In comparison to most reviews,
critiques are written by experts in a particular
field. Hence, critiques tend to be technical and
objective. They do not provide an overall
assessment but focuses on specific parts of a piece
of work. It emphasizes both the positives as well
as the negatives.
► A review refers to a formal evaluation of a
particular work. In magazines and newspapers,
you may have seen various reviews such as book
reviews, film reviews, restaurant reviews, music,
etc. These are written by lay persons in the form of
an assessment of something.
CHARTS
CARTOONS AND COMIC STRIPS
DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS
PHOTOS
ADVERTISMENTS AND POSTERS
 METHODOLOGY

Writing a summary is a matter of organizing knowledge and information from the

documents in a coherent way with the topic at hand. To do this, one must be able to
conceive of the problem; that is to say the question that has been the guiding thread in
your reflection.
Initiation: This is the first sentence of your synthesis. It highlights a tension related to the
subject without the former, there is no problem, so no question. The outcome may be the
result of your personal knowledge or the literature.
You should then reflect on the form of the problem statement that gives meaning to your
synthesis raising tension. e.g.: Ask yourself the basic questions to narrow the subject:
Who? That? what? Where? How's that? Why here and not somewhere else ?
 METHODOLOGY
► You need to take the time to read all of the relevant documents carefully. There are
three steps which must be taken:
1. Determine the essence of the documents-papers and texts published in the newspapers,
the excerpts from literary and non literary books.
2. Analyze the documents referred to as the primary documents and summarize them.
3. Consider, transcribe and decipher the documents, also called secondary documents-
Including photographs, drawings, cartoons, graphics, statistics.
 METHODOLOGY
1. Report each document with a summary:
2. -Ideas/arguments/examples raised by the foregrounded problematic issue
-Ideas/arguments/examples present but not raised by the the foregrounded
problematic issue
-Ideas/arguments/examples from your personal view
3. Define the problem. It must allow you to encompass the ideas and concepts
prominently.
4. Draft your detailed outline. Consider including all the concepts set. Arguments and
examples must be prioritized.
 METHODOLOGY
The manner in which the student writes his essay is based on the selected sources and styles and on the
amount of supportive materials and proofs. To evaluate your thesis, pick the main points to remember are:
1. What are the specific ideas and facts which each of the selected writers discusses?
2. Do the writers, who draw the same conclusion, have similar ideas or different details on the topic in the
same way?
3. Will the thoughts of the first author endorse another author's stance and opinion?
4. Do the authors of selected sources, who do not agree, cover a similar subject, or do they look at
different aspects?
5. Are any of the points mentioned in the document similar and are they expressed differently with varied
lexical items?
The writer should be aware of drawing up a concept from a number of sources. The next stage is to put
 METHODOLOGY
► Have a look at the paratext-source and the dates of the documents and whether they are
of British or American origin.
► If possible, see how the dates reflect an evolution of the situation from one document to
the other since not all documents are inherently from the same year.
► Establish the general theme of the document and the issue at stake. The problem is the
first key step to the task because it is the general question that can be asked on one
common ground and to which each document responds in its own way.
 METHODOLOGY
Document Analysis
► This is the most significant step. It is possible to use many methods. One method is to
create as many columns as possible in a draft table. Each column should contain the key
ideas of the document in question. This will allow you to visualize all the essential
elements of the documents.
► Ideas Doc. 1 Doc.2 Doc.3 Doc.4
1
2
3
 METHODOLOGY

► It is crucial that any concept that seems necessary should be considered thoroughly. The synthesis is not a
'copy and paste' juxtaposition. In order to understand what relates to the issue, it is important to exploit the
'secondary' documents (illustrations, statistical tables , graphs, etc.)
► In all cases, priority must be given to the content of the documents. Arguments concerning the style and
tone of a document are useless
► It is required to restore the key elements contained in the proposed documents and to demonstrate how they
complement each other, strengthen, oppose, etc. The confrontation of the points of view
proposed in the various documents is an essential element of the synthesis.
► The document confrontation allows us to see what relationships exist between the ideas contained in the
different documents.
 METHODOLOGY
COMPLENTARITY
► Ideas may be
complementary:
The idea developed in
document 3 may persist in
document 4; the idea set out in
document 2 may be ambiguous
in document 1
REINFORCEMENT
► Ideas can be reinforced: the
same idea can be found in
two different documents
(which give it strength); an
example can be found in
document 3 substantiating
the idea in document 2.
OPPOSITION
► Ideas can be opposed:
the opposition can be
complete (which helps the
analysis to prove that there
are two views); the
opposition can be partial (we
can look at what points of
consensus and points of
disagreement).
 METHODOLOGY
► In disclosing all facets of the issue, the effective method must suit the issue. Ideas must
logically follow each other, highlighting their structure.
► Seek to prioritize the reasoning by beginning with the most popular or apparent ideas
and finishing with the ideas we find to be the best or the most relevant.
► The selection of the outline depends on the particular paper issue. No standardized or
common outline is available. The outline conforms with the sort of question at hand.
 SYNTHESIS ESSAY OUTLINE
► Synthesis writing requires that you be able to digest some given information and then present it
in a structured way. The first thing to do when writing a synthesis essay is to understand the
concept of the essay. The objective of writing a synthesis essay is to make connections among
different documents or multiple sources with the ultimate aim of eventually backing up an
argument.
► Go through your sources and write a brief synopsis for each one of them. Weigh the evidence
that other people have given to plead against or support the issue. You should formulate your
thesis, after reflecting on your research.
► Use the thesis you formulated as your starting point. Brainstorm and map the ideas you have
got on the topic. You are in a position to create a scratch outline using this pre-writing material.
Creating a scratch outline is crucial to the writing of the synthesis. It helps to clearly and
logically organize the various sources that you have. You should develop your own
perspectives, interpretations, and analysis from each of the sources.
 INTRODUCTION
► One may start with a general characteristic (subject context) and then easily present all
the documents which are the focus of the synthesis by showing their essence and
source.
► In the introduction the general problem defined by all the documents must be clear
► Creating an essay outline means developing the structure of the paper before writing it.
Usually an overview starts with the introduction which includes the expression of the
attention grabber and the thesis. It should then shift into the body paragraphs and will
provide the description for multiple information points. Finally, the outline will show
the conclusion, which wraps up everything. Best introductory paragraphs intrigue
readers and encourage them to read further.
 BODY PARAGRAPHS
► Synthesising is a complex skill that you use to develop your body paragraphs. It requires you to draw
together your ideas, supported by the similar and sometimes contradictory ideas of others.
► The body usually has three parts (no more). It relies directly on the confrontation and the outline
established before. The logical links between ideas must be revealed, which requires the use of
appropriate transitional devices. The synthesis is explicitly based on the documents which are referred to
without using long quotations; however, some significant expressions can be repeated, reported in
quotation marks. Three paragraphs form the body of the essay.
► The largest portion of the essay is made up of the body paragraphs. Within the body section of the paper,
a synthesis essay will provide information surrounding any evidence and analysis that occurs. A section
of the body will highlight the evidence.
 BODY PARAGRAPHS
► Claim of Fact: identify or examine factors, outcomes, implications.
You may not have the full paragraph of the claim for counter arguments. The explanation for this is that you give onl
y a holistic view of the most relevant variables, results or consequences (in this case it is
necessary to have an argument for certain possibilities and counter argumentation in the introduction or conclusion ).
Structure them by factors, outcomes or implications. Make sure to always highlight their relationships (they may
represent opposing views).
► Claim of value: evaluate, argue for / against, establish a stance on an issue. Structure body paragraphs by various
supporting points for your argument. Make sure that you also include a full paragraph that addresses your
counterargument and adds a concession and a rebuttal.
► Claim of Policy: provide a recommendation, stance on whether anything should be adjusted or not. Structure body
paragraphs by different points of support for your argument ensuring that the whole paragraph is also included. This
addresses the counterargument and includes concession and rebuttal
 SYNTHESIS CONCLUSION
► It is important to refer to the synthesis essay outline when writing a conclusion. A synthesis outline will provide the
information necessary to arrive at a rational conclusion. A conclusion will close the paper nicely by briefly going
through the key points mentioned in the body. .
► Consider writing a conclusion that reminds readers of the most crucial issues you've found and how they relate to the
whole topic.
► Restating the thesis statement into different phrases will also remind the reader of the main purpose of the essay
SYNTHESIS WRITING DO’S AND
DON’TS
DO’S
► Make a key argument
► Connect together the sources
► Make the quotations relevant
► Use seamless transitions between the topics
► Figure out essential ideas
DON’TS
► Make ambiguous claims
► Skip source point
► Just summarize the sources, but analyze them
too.
► The body's paragraphs should be written not
around the sources but rather around your
argument.
► A pseudo-synthesis by simple addition or
juxtaposition of the summary of the
documents. "A synthesis is not a succession of
different summaries