synthesis writing definition

Reading & Writing Purposes

Reading & writing to synthesize, synthesis defined.

The concept of a “coherent whole” is essential to synthesis. When you synthesize in writing, you examine different types of information (ideas, examples, statistics, etc., from different sources) and different themes (perspectives and concepts) from different sources with the purpose of blending them together to help explain one main idea. So you have to look for relationships 1) among the sources’ themes and 2) between these themes and your own ideas in order to blend all of the pieces to make a coherent whole.

The concept of a “coherent whole” is important in terms of language, too. Once you examine content and choose the parts to synthesize, you need to express those parts in your own language in order to create a coherent whole in terms of writing style.

Synthesis is like combining different ingredients to make a stew. If you choose and combine carefully, with the end result (supporting your main idea) in mind, the ingredients will be both separate and well-blended, with all ingredients contributing as they should to the final taste.

View the following video for a basic definition of, and introduction to, the concept of synthesis.

As stated in the video, synthesis means combining similar information to create something new.  Reading and writing to synthesize means that you read information from many sources relating to a particular topic, question, insight, or assertion.  You extract appropriate pieces of information from each source, information that relates to your insight in some way (supporting it, negating it, offering additional detail).  You react to those pieces of information and relate them to your insight, to create something new–your own reasoned argument.

One standard example of reading and writing to synthesize is a research paper–a basic assignment in many college courses.  Skills that you develop in researching and synthesizing information also transfer to writing a business report or proposal. When you research a topic, you find information from many different sources which informs your personal thoughts and assertion about that topic.  However, reading and writing to synthesize involves more than just finding information and inserting it into an essay, report, or proposal.  You use the information you find to help create and support your own, unique thoughts.

Example of Synthesis in an Academic Setting

A research paper is the classic example of synthesis in an academic setting. You may be assigned to write a research paper in a sociology course, for example.  You may have read a number of selections dealing with different cultures, and the assignment asks you to synthesize information from these articles along with information from at least four other sources, to support your unique thesis. You start with a main idea in order to start the synthesis. You might create the following main idea: People within a culture have to both assimilate and adapt to their cultural and physical environments in order to thrive . You then might combine appropriate parts from different reading selections:

• definition and examples of assimilation from a chapter in a sociology textbook
• examples from researched articles on assimilation, cultural adaptation
• examples from interviews with people who have assimilated

Your research paper would blend themes from all of these sources to support your original insight and assertion (thesis) about assimilation and adaptation.

Example of  Synthesis in a Business Setting

After receiving more than ten different requests for flex time over the last year, you’ve decided that it makes sense to institute flexible hours for the fifty workers you supervise in your department.  You research a number of other businesses and examples of companies moving to flex time, quote or summarize those, and put them all into a document, which you send to your boss.  Your request is denied, because while your boss understood that flex time worked in other companies, she could not relate your research to the actual situation in your department. If you had offered your own analysis of how different companies’ strategies would benefit your own department, the outcome might have been different and your proposal approved.  It’s worth saying again: it’s important to blend the information you find with your own purpose, whether that is a proposal at work or an essay designed to offer your own, unique thoughts, supported by research.

Reading to Synthesize

Synthesis builds upon analysis.  You need to be able to read and analyze the quality of a text in order to decide whether you want to bring that text into the conversation. However, reading to synthesize moves in almost an opposite direction from analysis.  As you analyze, you break the text down into its parts in order to evaluate the text.  Analysis is like taking a puzzle apart and examining each piece, or analyzing a cake to find out what the ingredients are and how they work together.

On the other hand, as you read with the purpose of synthesizing, you search for thoughts about the same focused topic, thoughts which can be similar or different, in order to get a picture of the whole ongoing conversation about that topic. Then you decide if you agree or disagree with those thoughts–you join the conversation or discourse. Synthesis is like examining puzzle pieces with the purpose of putting the whole picture together, or baking a cake with ingredients that complement each other.

The process of reading to synthesize, in itself, blends or synthesizes many reading skills, which may include the following:

• skimming texts
• preview questions and answers
• reading for main idea (which may involve annotating, note taking, and more)
• summarizing
• analyzing the quality of the texts
• applying chosen texts to your insight
• reacting to the ideas in the texts

The main thing to remember as you read with the purpose of synthesizing is that your task is to find relationships among ideas.  Reading to synthesize does not merely consist of finding appropriate quotations and plugging them into an essay; instead, ideas from multiple texts need to be considered thoughtfully and linked with your own insights, reactions, and commentary.

Use an Idea Matrix to Synthesize Ideas

A idea matrix supports reading to synthesize, especially if you are reading multiple texts about a topic.  An idea matrix is a table that helps you identify and organize ideas from those texts according to their themes. It allows you to compare and contrast different insights about those themes. An idea matrix is a useful graphic, since one source may include ideas about many different themes.

Here’s one example of an idea matrix which synthesizes information from multiple sources around a specific focus.

Focus of Reading: Lessons Learned from the 1918 flu pandemic

To create an idea matrix, identify a topic around which your texts converge and state it clearly above the matrix. When you identify this focus, make sure it’s not too broad (e.g., pandemics – you’d have thousands of texts to read) or too narrow (e.g., number of U.S. deaths from the 1918 flu – you’d just need to consult one valid text for that information). The focus should be something that is part of a conversation happening among a manageable number of texts (e.g., lessons learned from the 1918 flu ).

The text column lists each source’s exact name.  It should also include the author, publication information for an eventual bibliography, url, and any other important identifying information.

The themes emerge from the sources you’ve read. You may choose to note them as paraphrases, summaries, and/or quotations.

Link to additional examples of idea matrices about different themes:

• Anxiety in Graduate Students from Ashford University’s Writing Center
• Thesis that makes an assertion about Democratic and Coaching Styles of Leadership

An idea matrix for reading can help you synthesize information from many texts, identify idea relationships within that information, and eventually help you formulate your own thoughts to add to the conversation.

Writing to Synthesize

Writing to synthesize involves taking those related ideas that you’ve extracted from multiple texts and incorporating them into a research paper, report, or proposal that’s structured around your own main insight, assertion, or thesis.

Don’t Do This:

In writing a document that synthesizes ideas from multiple texts, it’s the impulse of many students to summarize or paraphrase a paragraph or a whole article, insert the summary, and then move on to the next text and summary.  That’s not good practice, since it doesn’t link ideas in terms of their themes, and doesn’t focus on how those themes relate to your own ideas.

Instead , Do This:

Work from the idea matrix you built as you read different texts.  For a college research paper, turn your topic or focus statement at the top of the matrix into a thesis sentence , a sentence that makes an assertion or provides an insight offering your own informed views on the topic.  Offering your own perspective is key.  You’ll then structure the body of your essay using the groups of supporting ideas/themes you noted in the idea matrix, in whatever order you choose.  Each group gets its own topic sentence and unit of support.  And each group of supporting ideas includes your own thoughts, applications, and reactions to the texts included in that group.  One general rule is that you always structure “writing to synthesize” around your own ideas, and that you always offer your own ideas about information from each text used – that’s your contribution to the conversation.

The following video offers a clear discussion and examples to reinforce the concept of writing to synthesize.

This video about writing to synthesize researched sources incorporates information about using an idea matrix:

They Say/I Say Approach to Synthesis

Another way to think of synthesis is as though you’re joining a conversation; you’re listening to (reading) different texts, and bringing your own insight and experience to that conversation.  One good way of understanding synthesis in terms of reading and writing is to consider the “They Say/I Say” format created by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, which helps you synthesize your own ideas with the text’s. The following video, although somewhat lengthy, provides a summary of Graff’s and Birkenstein’s text.

The video below explains how to write a synthesis applying the They Say/I Say framework. There’s a useful extended example showing how a writer incorporated appropriate pieces of different texts into an essay. (Note – don’t get too caught up in the MLA/APA format details at this point – focus on the concept of synthesis and how to synthesize texts in an essay.)

Summary: Reading & Writing to Synthesize

• Synthesis means that you’re coordinating different pieces (themes, ideas, types of information) to create a coherent and new whole.
• All of the pieces you synthesize in a piece of writing for college need to focus around your own insight/assertion/ thesis.
• Often, a research essay assignment will expect that you synthesize information to address and offer your unique insight about a debatable issue.
• Synthesis itself involves blending many reading and thinking skills, such as skimming, annotating, summarizing, and analyzing, among others.
• There are different approaches to synthesis that may help you read and write about multiple texts.  They Say/I Say helps you blend your own ideas with ideas in other texts.  An Idea Matrix helps you organize ideas from multiple texts around the focus of your own main idea.
• Reading & Writing to Synthesize. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Project : Introduction to College Reading & Writing. License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• video Synthesizing Information. Provided by : GCFLearnFree.org. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dEGoJdb6O0 . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• video They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. Authored by : jilljitsu81. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s8SWS-SZDw . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• image of man's face on a puzzle, with one piece askew. Authored by : Richard Reid. Provided by : Pixabay. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/puzzle-jigsaw-jigsaw-puzzle-1487340/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved
• video Strategies for Synthesis. Authored by : Mary Lourdes Silva. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7HtCHtQ9w0 . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• video Synthesis: Definition and Examples. Provided by : WUWritingCenter. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLhkalJe7Zc . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• video Research Synthesis. Provided by : USU Libraries - Utah State University. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObK6J7vGnw8 . License : Other . License Terms : YouTube video
• image of woman with laptop and pie chart showing relationship of parts to whole. Authored by : Tumisu. Provided by : p. Located at : https://pixabay.com/photos/analytics-charts-business-woman-3265840/ . License : CC0: No Rights Reserved

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Synthesis video transcript

Video acknowledgements: Music: http://www.bensound.com CC licence All images CC0 Public Domain

Synthesis definition

To synthesise means to bring together diverse elements to construct a new meaning or idea.

Examples of synthesis in writing

Synthesis requires citations containing multiple sources, for instance (Jones, 2014; Philips, 2015; Smith, 2016) or ‘This is supported by the recent large scale research studies conducted by Jones (2014), Philips (2015) and Smith (2016) into the effects of…’.

• A strong relationship between X and Y has been reported in the literature (Jones, 2014; Philips, 2015; Smith, 2016).
• These findings corroborate the ideas of Prissette and Guimbretiere (2008), who suggested that …
• These results are consistent with those of Fernandez and Zarino (2015) who …
• This is in agreement with Vuolo’s (2013) findings which showed that….
• This supports previous research into the link between X and Y.
• This outcome is contrary to that of Brossier et al. (2011) who found that …
• This finding is contrary to previous studies which have suggested that …
• The levels observed in this investigation are far below those observed by Okore et al.  (2007). This suggests that …..
• These differences can be explained in part by…
• These factors may explain the relatively good correlation between X and Y.

Profession specific examples of synthesis in writing

Please note: These examples are for illustration only and should not be copied – citations have been fictionalised. Examples based on the writing of Level 7 students in the School of Health and Social Work.

• WHO (2015) states that Vaginal Birth after Caesarean (VBAC) offers the most enhanced outcomes for both mother and baby.  This viewpoint had already been emphasised by Gurung et al. (2014) in their meta-analysis positing that VBAC lowered maternal morbidity and mortality compared to repeat CS.  Therefore, benefits of VBAC are beyond any reasonable doubt.  Jones et al. (2016) attests that even low risk women giving birth in an obstetric unit are three times more likely to receive a Caesarean Section (CS).  It may be argued that if low risk women are this vulnerable, VBAC women may be highly exposed to unnecessary intervention.  Therefore, “Kate” was given accurate evidence based information which enabled her to make informed choices about her subsequent mode and place of birth. This is also in line with the recommendations highlighted in the report recently published by Tomlinson et al. (2017).
• It is important to put in place a high coverage of skilled midwives who embrace the social model of care at delivery and antenatal care (NICE, 2016).  This would position women and their offspring in contact with practitioners who can effectively and safely manage pregnancy, labour and birth (NICE, 2016).  Furthermore, these proficient practitioners would be able to prevent, detect and treat or appropriately refer when complications arise and interventions become necessary (Wong et al. 2016; WHO, 2014).   Women like Diana may encounter a second medicalised pregnancy and birth simply because practitioners may implement prophylactic measures. These measures include early admission and unwarranted continuous CTG monitoring which may raise anxiety levels, reduce mobility and induce white coat hypertension (Collins & O’Leary, 2015).  Over medicalisation is associated with igniting the fight or flight response which stimulates the adrenal cortex to release cortisol, the stress hormone (Dixon et al. 2015).  Goupi et al. (2017) postulate that women who opt for midwifery-led care, expect to be cared for by midwives who share their same values around birth.  In line with the evidence from the literature, the student midwife was supported by midwives who could discern normality and deviation from the norm, thus protecting Diana’s goal of normal birth.

Mental Health Nursing:

• There are several different perspectives on mental health recovery spanning the literature. The concept first emerged in the United States from two distinct areas: the user/survivor movement who were challenging the medicalisation of mental health difficulties (Ahmed, 2011; Holmes et al., 2014) and psychiatric professionals who were concerned with some aspects of clinical Psychiatric rehabilitation (Johnson, 2012; Konstantinos & Carter, 2015). Currently, there appears to be two further distinctions: that of the uniquely individual, internal process (Boudieu et al., 2016) and that which relates to the social context in which a person experiences recovery (Williams & Burns, 2016). An additional lens on the concept of mental health recovery is observed by people who identify as Mad (Meier, 2017). There is much crossover, some dispute, and this might explain why there is no agreed upon global definition of recovery.

Further Resources

A guide to synthesis.

(Online PDF – University of Bedfordshire)

An excellent and easy-to-use guide to synthesis.

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WRITING / Synthesis

Academic Synthesis

 What is  synthesis ?

Synthesis is a key feature of analytical academic writing. It is the skill of being able to combine a number of sources in a clause, paragraph or text to either support an argument or refute it. We also synthesise sources to be able to compare and contrast ideas and to further expand on a point. It is important that the writer shows the reader that they have researched the subject matter extensively in order to not only demonstrate how a variety of sources can agree or disagree but also to present more balanced arguments.

Academic Synthesis Video

A short 8-minute video on what synthesis is.

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  Academic Synthesis: synthesising sources  [new 2021]

This lesson is designed to support students in their understanding and use of synthesising sources. It includes noticing the use of sources in context, a language focus with examples, two guided writing practice activities, a freer practice paragraph writing task with model answer and teacher’s notes – see worksheet example. Time: 120mins.   Level *** ** [ B1/B2/C1]   TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Paragraph example of synthesis.

Look at this paragraph containing synthesised sources. Highlight the citations / in-text references and their corresponding point made.

Coursework versus examination assessment

Using assignment essays for assessment supports learning better than the traditional examination system. It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress experienced by some students over ‘sudden death’ end of semester examinations and reduce the failure rate (Langdon, 2016). Study skills research by Peters et al. (2018) support assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback. They also consider that assignment work lends itself to more critical approaches which help the students to learn the discourse of their subjects. In contrast, Abbot (2008) and Cane (2018) both argue that assignments are inefficient, costly to manage and are the cause of plagiarism problems in universities. A key argument is that “assessment by examination is a clean-cut approach as you obtain students’ knowledge under supervised circumstances” (Bable, 2008, p.20). The weight of evidence, however, would suggest that it is a fairer and more balanced approach to have some assessment by assignment rather than completely by examinations.

Using assignment essays for assessment supports learning better than the traditional examination system. It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress experienced by some students over ‘sudden death’ end of semester examinations and r educe the failure rate (Langdon, 2016) . Study skills research by  Peters et al. (2018) support assessment by assignment because r esearch assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback. They also consider that assignment work lends itself to more critical approaches which help the students to learn the discourse of their subjects . In contrast, Abbot (2008) and Cane (2018) both argue that assignments are inefficient, costly to manage and are the cause of plagiarism problems in universities. A key argument is that “assessment by examination is a clean-cut approach as you obtain students’ knowledge under supervised circumstances” (Bable, 2008, p.20) . The weight of evidence, however, would suggest that it is a fairer and more balanced approach to have some assessment by assignment rather than completely by examinations.

Language Focus

The writer synthesises two sources to be able to support their argument for assignment examinations.

It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress experienced by some students over ‘sudden death’ end of semester examinations and reduce the failure rate  (Langdon, 2016) . Study skills research by  Peters et al. (2018)  support assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback.

The writer synthesises two connected sources to be show the opposing views to assignment based examinations.

In contrast,  Abbot (2008)  and  Cane (2018)  both argue that assignments are inefficient, costly to manage and are the cause of plagiarism problems in universities.

The writer synthesises another relevant source through quotation to further support the point  against assignment-based examinations.

A key argument is that “assessment by examination is a clean-cut approach as you obtain students’ knowledge under supervised circumstances”   (Bable, 2008, p.20) .

The writer could synthesise a number of sources together to show they have applied comprehensive academic research into the topic.

Study skills research by Jones et al. (2010), UCL (2016), Wilson (2017) and Peters (2018) support assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback.

Study skills research supports assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback (Jones et al., 2010; UCL, 2016; Wilson, 2017 & Peters, 2018) .

Integral and non-integral referencing

When synthesising sources, it is important to incorporate and reference them accurately. This can be done in two ways:

• Integral citations are where the author is the main subject of clause and only the year is placed in brackets. A reporting verb ( argue, claim, suggest etc.) is required to introduce the rest of the clause.

2. In non-integral citations, both the author and year is stated in parenthesis at the end of a clause. There must also be a comma separating the name and year.

Synthesis Practice

Suggested answer

Although the main goal of the World Bank is to reduce poverty and foster economic growth in developing countries (Johnson, 2018) , Williams (2019) highlights that there has been an increase in the level of poverty in Africa.

For a detailed worksheet and more exercises – buy the  download below.

Arnold (2019) asserts that the decline of printed newspapers is mainly due to increased online activity overall. As we spend more time on the Internet in general than we did ten years previously, the more likely we are to search for news stories through search engines or blogs (James, 2020).

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 This is a basic reference guide to citing and creating a reference list or a bibliography. It shows the correct way to create in-text citations and reference lists for books, journals, online newspapers and websites.   Web page link . TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Referencing Guide: APA 7th Edition

Referencing: harvard referencing worksheet 1 [updated 2021].

Two part worksheet that is a paragraph and reference list.  Students have to put in the correct in-text reference. The second part is a reference list exercise where students have to put the sections in the correct order. A nice lesson to introduce students to referencing and becoming aware of key referencing principles.  Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]  Example  / Webpage link / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Referencing: Harvard Referencing Worksheet 2 [new for 2021]

This lesson supports students in their understanding and use of Harvard referencing. It contains six worksheets: a discussion on referencing, a noticing activity, a reordering task, an error identification exercise, a sentence completion task, a gap-fill activity and a reference list task.   Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]  Example  / Webpage link / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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Two part worksheet that is a paragraph and reference list. Students have to put in the correct in-text reference. The second part is a reference list exercise where students have to put the sections in the correct order. A nice lesson to introduce students to referencing and becoming aware of key referencing principles.  Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]    Example   / Webpage link   / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

This lesson supports students in their understanding and use of APA referencing. It contains six worksheets: a discussion on referencing, a noticing activity, a reordering task, an error identification exercise, a sentence completion task, a gap-fill activity and a reference list task. Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]    Example   / Webpage link   / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

How to use www.citethisforme.com  [new for 2021]

This lesson is an introduction to using the online reference generator: www.citethisforme.com. It begins by providing a step-by-step guide to using the application and its many functions. The lesson is a task-based activity where students use the reference generator to create bibliography citations.   Worksheet example  Time: 60mins.   Level *** ** [ B1/B2/C1]  / Video / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Paraphrasing Lesson – how to paraphrase effectively

 It starts by discussing the differences between quotation, paraphrase and summary. It takes students through the basics of identifying keywords, finding synonyms and then changing the grammatical structure. There is plenty of practice, all with efficient teacher’s notes.  Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]   Example  / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Paraphrasing Lesson 2 – improve your paraphrasing skills  [new for 2021]

This lesson helps students to improve their paraphrasing skills. The guided learning approach includes a text analysis activity where students identify the paraphrasing strategies, five sentence-level tasks to practise the strategies and two paragraph-level exercises to build on the previous tasks..  Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]   Example  / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

      Writing a paragraph – using quotes about smoking

Students are given a worksheet with nine quotes taken from The New Scientist, BBC News, The Economist, etc… and choose only three. They use these three quotes to write a paragraph trying to paraphrase the quotes and produce a cohesion piece of writing.  Level ** ** * [B1/B2/C1]    Example / TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Reporting Verbs 

 Use the verbs in the box to put into the sentences on the worksheet. Each sentence has a description of the type of verb needed. Check the grammar of the verb too! Web page link . TEACHER MEMBERSHIP  / INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP

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