Synthesis Essay: Outline, Topics, And Examples

So you need to write a synthesis essay! Don’t worry—it sounds a lot tougher than it actually is. To synthesis essay graphic organizer means to take a few pieces and make something new out of them. You may have heard of the “thesis—antithesis—synthesis” relationship, also known as the dialectical method. If you haven’t—no big deal: it’s just a way of saying that for every point there is a counterpoint and that by combining the two, you achieve a synthesis—a new concept wherein the two opposing points are reconciled in what amounts to a new proposition. In a synthesis essay, you are given a handful of texts, charts, images, or databanks and asked to synthesize a new perspective by using the info you’re given. What is a Synthesis Essay? Now how does it work? The easy part about a synthesis essay is that, unlike with an argumentative essay in which you have to research your subject and come up with sources to support your argument, all the information you will need to use is already given you. The challenge in a synthesis essay is to take that information and make a new point with it. This article has been done with https://essayfreelancewriters.comversion.

For instance, let’s say you are given half a dozen sources that offer varying and even conflicting view points on the cause of the Civil War. Your job is to take at least a few (if not all) of those sources and synthesize them into a paper. Your paper will have a thesis—a point that you are trying to make—and the thesis will be based on information that you collect from the sources. The key here is to avoid summarizing the sources and instead focus on making your own point. It is assumed that everyone is already familiar with what the sources say, so there is no need to repeat them. Instead, use them to support the argument that you will make. This in effect is your synthesis of the sources given you: you are merging them together in your mind and letting that merger create something new. The best way to understand how to write a synthesis essay is to take an example.

Let’s say you are given ten sources. Four of the sources are brief essays on Adam West’s Batman, Michael Keaton’s Batman, Christian Bale’s Batman, and Ben Affleck’s Batman, respectively. Each essay is about why that actor’s turn as Batman is the best. Four other sources are photos of each of the actors in character as their respective Batman. The final two sources contain graphs: one shows the box office returns of four films with each of the actors starring as Batman, the other shows the films’ Rotten Tomato ratings. The prompt you are given is the following: Imagine you are the head of a major film studio in charge of rebooting the Batman franchise. Synthesize the sources provided you in an essay on how the studio should approach the Batman character in its latest reboot. What is the first thing you will do? Look over each of the sources, one by one, and let the information stir inside you for a moment. Think about the prompt. Consider what you have been given—and only that—and then make a decision: The studio must take the character in this direction—because…because why?

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Answer that and you have your thesis. Once you have your thesis, you can begin to construct your outline. Outlines are easy if you think of them in this way: they all have an introduction and a conclusion. Sandwiched in between are the points you will make to support your argument, which will be stated in the introduction and re-stated in the conclusion. The points should be supported by the sources you are given. So just make sure that you use those when you make a point. Now let’s look at an example essay using the prompt described above. Batman has had a lot of manifestations over the decades. Each manifestation has represented something popular at the time. Bale’s Batman reflected the realism underpinning the 21st century’s need for a true hero. Affleck’s Batman reflected the rise in popularity of the comic book genre’s merger with filmmaking, while retaining some of the grim realities exposed by Bale’s Batman.