Synthesis refers to combining multiple sources and ideas. As a scholarly writer, you will use information from multiple scholarly articles combined with your own interpretation and analysis to create new ideas. That is synthesis. Watch the brief video above for more information.
In a summary, you include the key points from one source and then move on and summarize another source and another in the same way. You are left with a series of separate paragraphs, one for each article. There's nothing to connect them in any way. In synthesis, you need to combine and connect the information from those multiple sources and add your own analysis. Your paragraph or paragraphs will include multiple sources and citations, as well as your own ideas and voice.
Synthesis shows that you can:
1. Critically read what other scholars have written
2. Organize it in your own way, noting the similarities and differences of opinion
3. Add your own interpretation or new ideas to the scholarly conversation.
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