Real Synthesis vs. Fake Synthesis

Synthesis weaves multiple sources together on the basis of ideas that those sources contribute. The ideas matter most, not a list of who said what.

Maybe the best way to understand synthesis is to contrast it with various forms of fake synthesis that sometimes appear in writing.

The paragraphs below have placeholder text. Ignore the machine-generated Latin. But pay attention to the colored text that shows setup and the use of sources. The example is based on print sources with page numbers, but the ideas apply to any written source.

Fake Synthesis Type 1

A monologue expressed in a single-source paragraph with that source related only to itself. Don’t do this.

Big idea sentence identifying the big idea of this paragraph. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua (Smith 78). Egestas congue quisque egestas diam in (Smith 88). Vivamus “arcu felis bibendum ut tristique” et egestas quis ipsum (Smith 92). Netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas integer eget aliquet (Smith 90). Ultricies mi eget mauris pharetra et (Smith 78). Volutpat blandit aliquam etiam erat velit scelerisque in (Smith 83). Amet massa vitae tortor condimentum lacinia quis (Smith 83). Ultrices neque ornare aenean “euismod elementum nisi quis” eleifend quam (Smith 92). Sagittis orci a “scelerisque purus semper eget duis” (Smith 92). Euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate (Smith 91). Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue (Smith 92). Enim “sit amet venenatis urna” cursus eget (Smith 78). Aenean euismod elementum nisi quis (Smith 79).

That is just a monologue featuring Smith. Do not write this kind of paragraph.

Fake Synthesis Type 2

Paragraphs that use multiple sources, but one source is the “star” in those paragraphs and the rest are thrown in just a bit, simply to have additional sources rather than develop a conversation. Don’t do this.

Big idea sentence identifying the big idea of this paragraph. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua (Smith 78). Egestas congue quisque egestas diam in (Smith 88). Vivamus “arcu felis bibendum ut tristique” et egestas quis ipsum (Smith 92). Netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas integer eget aliquet (Smith 90). Ultricies mi eget mauris pharetra et (Smith 78). Ultrices neque ornare aenean “euismod elementum nisi quis” eleifend quam (Smith 92). Sagittis orci a “scelerisque purus semper eget duis” (Smith 92). Euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate (Smith 91). Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue (Smith 92). Enim “sit amet venenatis urna” cursus eget (Smith 78). Aenean euismod elementum nisi quis (Jones 2). Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua (Smith 78). Egestas congue quisque egestas diam in (Brown 8). Vivamus “arcu felis bibendum ut tristique” et egestas quis ipsum (Smith 92). Netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas integer eget aliquet (Smith 90). Ultricies mi eget mauris pharetra et (Smith 78). Volutpat blandit aliquam etiam erat velit scelerisque in (Smith 83). Amet massa vitae tortor condimentum lacinia quis (Smith 83). Ultrices neque ornare aenean “euismod elementum nisi quis” eleifend quam (Martinez 2). Sagittis orci a “scelerisque purus semper eget duis” (Smith 92). Euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate (Smith 91). Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue (Smith 92). Enim “sit amet venenatis urna” cursus eget (Smith 78).

That is just Smith hogging the mic and Jones, Brown, and Martinez popping up to say one thing each. Do not write this kind of paragraph.

Fake Synthesis Type 3

Serial reportage: paragraphs report ideas from sources, one after the other, but do not show how the sources are in a conversation relevant to the reason the student is using the sources.

This is the most common type of fake synthesis. Don’t do this.

Big idea sentence identifying the big idea of this paragraph. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua (Smith 78). Egestas congue quisque egestas diam in (Smith 88). Vivamus “arcu felis bibendum ut tristique” et egestas quis ipsum (Smith 92). Netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas integer eget aliquet (Smith 90). Ultricies mi eget mauris pharetra et (Smith 78). Ultrices neque ornare aenean “euismod elementum nisi quis” eleifend quam (Smith 92). Sagittis orci a “scelerisque purus semper eget duis” (Smith 92). Euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate (Smith 91). Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue (Smith 92). Enim “sit amet venenatis urna” cursus eget (Smith 78).

Big idea sentence identifying the big idea of this paragraph. Bibendum neque egestas congue quisque (Jones 2). Nisl vel pretium lectus quam id leo in vitae (Jones 5). Eros donec ac odio tempor orci (Jones 4). Mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi (Jones 2). Nullam eget felis eget nunc lobortis mattis (Jones 4). “Consectetur adipiscing elit ut aliquam purus “sit amet luctus (Jones 3). Lectus vestibulum mattis ullamcorper velit sed ullamcorper morbi tincidunt (Jones 4). “Risus in hendrerit gravida rutrum” quisque non (Jones 1). Et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas (Jones 9). Sagittis vitae et leo duis ut diam quam (Jones 10). Enim nunc faucibus a pellentesque (Jones 12). Sodales neque sodales ut etiam (Jones 12). Congue mauris rhoncus aenean vel elit scelerisque mauris (Jones 14).

Big idea sentence identifying the big idea of this paragraph. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua (Brown 7). Egestas congue quisque egestas diam in (Brown 8). Netus et malesuada “fames ac turpis egestas integer eget” aliquet (Brown 10). Ultricies mi eget mauris pharetra et (Brown 13). Volutpat blandit aliquam etiam erat velit scelerisque in (Brown 12). Amet massa vitae tortor condimentum lacinia quis (Brown 8). Ultrices neque ornare aenean “euismod elementum nisi quis” eleifend quam (Brown 12). Sagittis orci a “scelerisque purus semper eget duis” (Brown 9). Euismod lacinia at quis risus sed vulputate (Brown 9). Cras tincidunt lobortis feugiat vivamus “sit amet venenatis urna” cursus eget (Brown 78).

Big idea sentence identifying the big idea of this paragraph. Accumsan tortor posuere ac ut consequat (Martinez 2). Nibh cras pulvinar mattis nunc sed blandit libero volutpat sed (Martinez 4). Sem nulla pharetra diam sit amet nisl suscipit adipiscing (Martinez 4). Quis commodo odio aenean sed adipiscing diam donec (Martinez 6). “Dui ut ornare lectus” sit amet est (Martinez 2). Quis auctor “elit sed vulputate mi” sit amet mauris (Martinez 7). Dui ut ornare lectus sit (Martinez 7). Blandit cursus risus at ultrices (Martinez 12). Massa tincidunt “dui ut ornare lectus” sit amet (Martinez 12). Lobortis feugiat vivamus at augue eget arcu dictum varius (Martinez 13).

That is just a report of what the sources have to say, one by one, but it does not weave them together. Do not write this kind of paragraph.