Synthesis Writing

Literally:“toputtogether”Tosynthesize:tointegrateintoyourownwritingideasandinformationgleaned(throughreading)fromdifferentsources.Especiallyhelpfulwhenthesubjectaddressedinthesourcesinvolvesdifferentperspectivesandcontroversies.Comparingdifferentmaterialandhighlightingsimilarities,differences,andconnections.Presentingnewideasbasedoninterpretationsofotherevidenceorarguments.Younghighschoolgraduatesbeingsentabroadtostudy:AnewspaperreportwithinterviewsofparentsandhighschoolstudentsAresearchpaperbyaneducationspecialistwhohasfollowedacertainnumberofsuchstudentstostudytheirsuccess/failureinsocialandculturaladjustmentandacademicachievementPromotionalliteraturedistributedbyforeignschoolstorecruitaggressivelyinChinaResearching:findingavarietyofsourcesonyoursubjectReadingcritically:annotatingandoutliningthepassagesthatgiveyouideasaboutthetopicLookingforpatternsamongyoursources:similarities,differences,supportingorrefutingyourideasorthoseofothersourcesThinkingcritically:tothinkfromdifferentperspectives,andtoadoptaskepticalattitudetowardauthorityandpublishedpapersUsingavarietyofstrategies:quotation,paraphrase,andsummary;topresentcompetentlywhatthesourcesayonthesubjectFollowingpersonalinterestsTalkingwithotherpeopleBrainstorming/BranchingReadingsourcematerials◦Encyclopedias◦Books◦Periodicals◦Internetresources◦Index(attheendofabook)Consideringtheaudience:instructorsorpeopleinthefield?Workingoutapreliminarythesis:statingclearlydefinedopinionsonyoursubject;inspecificterms;clearlylocated(ofteninthe1stor2edpara.Consideringavailablesourcematerials(toomanyvs.toofew)AvoidingtopicstoonarrowortoorecentRobertDees’criteria:1.Itwaswrittenbyareliableauthority2.Itoffersfactsandideasothersourcesdonot.3.Itsetsforthfactsandideasthatdonotcontradictknownconceptsorotherworkswithoutgoodevidence.4.Itdemonstratesotherviewpointsandresearchinthefield.Lookfordiscussionofopposingideas,aswellastheapplicationandcitationofothers’works.5.Itiscurrentinpublicationdateandinformation,esp.ofsciencesandtechnology.When?Whilereading.Why?Torecordtheinformation,todocumentthesource,tounderstandandorganizetheideasWhere?Cards(sheetsofpaper)/Notebook/ComputerWhat?Whateveryouthinkisusefulinyourresearchpaper:thoughts,quotes,facts,statistics...How?Summarize/paraphraseasmuchaspossibleUsedoublequotationmarksaroundanycopiedmaterial1.Documentingsources:theauthor,thetitle,theplaceofpublication,thepublisher,thedateofpublicationorthecopyrightdate,andthepagenumber(s)Beingthoroughandconcise.Writedownwhatisnecessary(whatisrelevanttoyourtopicbutunknowninordifferentfromothersources.Puttingoneitemononecard/page.DirectquotationsParaphrasenotesSummarynotesCombinationnotes(Toavoidplagiarism,allnotesmustbeproperlydocumented!)Guidelines1.Beginanewnoteonanewpage2.Writesomekeywordsoneachpage3.PutthenoteswiththesamekeywordsintoasinglefileDevelopingathesisstatementAgoodthesisstatementshould:◦Beinafull,declarativesentence(notaquestion,notastatementofpurpose,notmerelyatopic)◦Bespecific(limitingthesubjecttoanarrowfocusthatgrowsoutofresearch)Theinstructorofacourseon19th-centuryAmericahandsoutthefollowingessayassignment:CompareandcontrastthereasonswhytheNorthandSouthfoughttheCivilWar.1.TheNorthandSouthfoughttheCivilWarformanyreasons,someofwhichwerethesameandsomedifferent.2.WhilebothsidesfoughttheCivilWarovertheissueofslavery,theNorthfoughtformoralreasonswhiletheSouthfoughttopreserveitsowninstitutions.3.WhilebothNorthernersandSouthernersbelievedtheyfoughtagainsttyrannyandoppression,NorthernersfocusedontheoppressionofslaveswhileSouthernersdefendedtheirownrighttoself-government.2typesofoutlinesymbolsStandardoutlinesymbolsI.Majorheading◦A.Minorheading1.Detailheadinga.Exampleheading(1)Minorexampleheading(2)Minorexampleheading2.DetailheadingB.MinorheadingII.Majorheading...Decimaloutline1.Majorheading◦1.1Minorheading1.1.1Detailheading1.1.1.1Exampleheading1.1.1.2Exampleheading1.1.1.2.1Minorexampleheading1.1.1.2.2Minorexampleheading1.1.2Detailheading1.2Minorheading2.Majorheading...(Subheadingsusuallydonotgobeyond“detailheading”inacademicpractice.)Topicoutline:Everyheadingisaphrase(noun/gerund/infinitivephrase).Sentenceoutline:Everyentryisacomplete,fullsentence(topicsentences).Paragraphoutline:Everysectionisaparagraph,providingasummaryofthemainpartsoftheoutline.Withinthefirstfewparagraphs,write:SubjectIdentifyyourspecifictopic,andthendefine,limit,andnarrowittooneissue.BackgroundProviderelevanthistoricaldata.Discussafewkeysources.ProblemThepointofaresearchpapermightbetoexploreorresolveaproblem.ThesissentenceUseittoestablishthedirectionofthestudyYoucandevelopyourpaperbyDefinitionClassificationComparisonandcontrastIllustrationCauseandeffectRestatethethesisstatementOfferingasolutionProvidingevaluationsLookingtothefutureSummaryisausefulfirststepinwritingwithsources,butitisnotthesameassynthesis.Whenyousummarizeasource,youarticulateitsbasicargumentandessentialpoints.Youmayevenbegintoevaluateit--askingyourselfwhetheritsarg