How to Write a Synthesis Essay | Easy and Simple Steps

Olla Peeps! 🙂 You must have heard about essays many times. But, have you heard about Synthesis Essay? If not, then don’t worry as this article is all about Synthesis Essay. I will tell you in brief that, how to write a synthesis essay? Trust me it’s not that complicated, once you get to know it. I will cover the following points in this article:

• What is a Synthesis Essay?
• Purpose of a Synthesis Essay
• Types of Synthesis Essay
• How to write a Synthesis Essay?

Before moving on to how to write a synthesis essay, let me give you a brief introduction to Synthesis essay. So, let’s get started with our discussion.

1) What is a Synthesis Essay?

A Synthesis Essay is a written discussion which represents one or more of your selected sources. Your ability to write a synthesis essay totally depends on your ability to conclude the relationship among the sources. Sources can be articles, essays, fictions. There are some non-written sources too like; observations, interviews, and lectures.

If you have written a research paper, then writing a synthesis essay will not be that hard for you. The most important thing is to summarize the sources which you have. You should be able to understand the relationship between your sources. So, in much more simple words, a synthesis essay is entirely about a combination. When you write this essay, be focused on various ideas and factors at once.

When you summarize your sources, it’s better to provide partial summaries of your sources in the essay as well. At the same time, you have to go further ahead and make judgments. These judgments are based on a reading of the sources. So, everything in your synthesis essay is based on the sources. Make sure to read the sources properly and then start on with your essay.

Purpose of Writing a Synthesis Essay

Your purpose of writing a synthetic essay, not only identifies what parts of sources you will utilize but also, how you will link them with each other. The main work which you have to do here is to combine ideas and information. So, you should have some basis on which you will combine them.

There should be a set purpose beforehand. Your purpose will identify how you are going to interrelate your sources. Your purpose of writing also identifies which sources to use, at which points you will use them in the essay and which parts you will be using. Finally, your purpose will help you identify the manner in what you will relate the sources to each other.

Types of Synthesis Essay

There are two main types of Synthesis Essay. Following are those two types:

THE EXPLANATORY SYNTHESIS:  An explanatory synthesis helps any reader to understand a topic. In an explanatory synthesis essay, the subject is divided into its component parts. Later, these parts are presented in an orderly and clear fashion in front of the readers.

Your explanation might contain descriptions in words which may recreate an object, event, and place, state of affairs or sequence of events. The purpose of writing an explanatory essay is not just to argue on a particular point. It is actually to present all the facts with an objective and in a reasonable manner.

Explanatory synthesis includes carefully reading the sources and thus presenting the ideas and information in a straight form rather than full arguments.

THE ARGUMENT SYNTHESIS: The main purpose of an argument synthesis is to represent your thoughts supported by relevant facts. These facts can be taken from various sources and they should be presented logically. An argumentative essay is more debatable. You can express your point of view on other writers work and thus support your debate with relevant facts and figures.

2) How to write a Good Synthesis Essay?

Are you wondering how to write a synthesis essay which is good enough to get an amazing grade? Well, I am here to help you. In the sections above, I gave you a brief on what is synthesis essay. Now, let’s learn the points on how to write a synthesis essay.

Synthesis essay needs the ability to combine various information and then present it in an organized manner. Below is the brief step by step information on how to write a synthesis essay.

Step 1: Examine Your Topic

• Understand the purpose of a synthesis essay- The purpose is to make connections between parts of works with the goal of supporting and presenting a claim on a topic. There are different types of synthesis essay: Argument Synthesis, Explanatory Synthesis, and Review. Find out on which type you are planning to write on.
• Choose a suitable topic for your synthesis essay- The topic should be wide enough to pull different sources together. But, it should not be too wide, to bring huge unrelated sources together. If you are free to choose your topic then some pre-research/ reading, will help you select a proper topic.
• Select and read your sources carefully- You should select minimum three sources for your essay. You can select more sources but, it should not waste your time. So, make sure that the initial sources are impactful. Read your sources carefully and don’t miss even a single point. Look for materials that relate to the reason for which you are writing the essay.
• Develop a thesis statement- The next step is to come up with an opinion on the topic. The thesis statement will be the main idea which you will present in your essay. The statement should reflect your point of view on the topic. Depending on your essay, the thesis statement can be an opening line or the last line of the first paragraph.
• Pick out items from the source materials to support your thesis- You need to thoroughly read the source materials and pick out some key points. It can be anything like; ideas, statistics, quotes, facts, etc. Just write these down as they will help you throughout your essay.

Step 2: Prepare an Outline for your Essay

• Outline the structure of the thesis statement- You need to decide that how you will present your material for a better impact. Whatever you write should act as a hook which will capture the reader’s interest. You need to be more precise and up to a point.
• Be more creative with the structure of your thesis- You can become creative with the words in your thesis, if it’s not for any specific test. You can use one or more approaches to develop the essay. Use more examples or illustrations. Bring on more contrast and comparison in your essay. Use concession and straw man techniques.
• Create an outline which suits a review or background synthesis essay- These type of essays explore the ideas which are found in the sources rather than just focusing on the author’s point of view. You can structure such essays with a brief summary and mention list of reasons.

Step 3: Start writing your Essay

• Prepare the first draft according to your outline- Try to make this draft as best as possible. The essay should have an introduction which includes your thesis statement, a body that supports the thesis and a conclusion which summarize everything.
• Use Active Voice more- It will increase the interaction of the reader with what you have written. Use passive voice as less as possible. There should be a flow in your writing.
• Maintain a text flow by using transition words- Transitions are an amazing way to show places where the sources support each other. Use transitions logically, between the paragraphs to maintain a text flow.

Step 4: Finalizing your essay

• Revise your essay thoroughly- Read out your essay loud and check on errors where you find some mistake in the sentence.
• Proofread your paper- Check on for any mistakes regarding grammar, spellings or punctuation. Check on any additional sentences or words which are not suiting the theme.
• Cite the source material- You should properly cite all the references and work according to the format.
• Give an appropriate Title to your Essay- The title should showcase the point of view mentioned in the thesis and the supporting arguments. You must be thinking that why to choose a title at last. Well, choosing a title, at last, gives an assurance that it fits your essay. This helps in making an impactful title.

Conclusion

So, finally, I will conclude. A synthesis essay is all about combining information from various sources and then presenting it in an organized manner. So, guys, I hope you like this information and have got your answer on how to write a synthesis essay. If you did, then let me know through your comments below. For queries, or for any online assignment help, you can email us on the id given on our website. Thank you for reading.  🙂

 

 

 

 

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