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Guide on How to Structure Your Synthesis Essays

Prof. Wesley Spencer
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Nov 8, 2022
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Guide on How to Structure Your Synthesis Essays
How to Structure Your Synthesis Essays
TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is a Synthesis Essay?

Synthesis Essay Elements

Forms of a Synthesis Essay

How to Write a Synthesis Essay Outline

What You Need to Know about AP Lang Synthesis Essay

Interesting Synthesis Essay Prompts

When hearing ‘synthesis essay,’ students mainly refer to synthesis essay ap lang because it's one of the three in the AP lang exam. Generally, a synthesis is a written discussion incorporating supporting arguments from several source materials of different views.

The writing process for creating a great synthesis essay requires research skills and original thought to explore a concept or argue a certain point. While this skill can be developed in high school or college, it also translates to careers in advertising and business.

What is a Synthesis Essay?

The first step to knowing the synthesis essay is to understand the meaning of the word synthesis itself. To synthesize is to connect separate element parts to make a combined whole. For example, you engage in synthesis when you tell a friend what others say about a school or film. College students often receive synthesis papers as assignments or as part of different, larger projects.

Now that you know the definition, you can easily guess the concept of synthesis essays. An AP lang synthesis essay collects information from several sources to support your point about the thesis statement - the central point of your paper. Students writing ap synthesis essays will discuss ideas and evidence to argue something original. Synthesis essays differ in coverage and length, but the writing process formats are the same regardless of the subject.

Now let's cover the key concepts to make it easier for you to learn how to write synthesis essay!

Synthesis Essay Elements

The main purpose of the synthesis essays is to make logical connections, and you aim to prove why those connections are crucial. It's a great chance to construct new knowledge from existing sources. To excel in this opportunity, let's dive into the characteristics of synthesis essay writing:

  • Try writing about your thesis statement and avoid adding new information since it might distract the readers.
  • While writing a synthesis paper, focus on the main idea and build your arguments on it. Don't forget to consider the given subject line.
  • Avoid headings or subheadings because a good synthesis essay has to be simple.
  • Always try to add some authentic details and a few quotations to help prove the stance. In synthesis papers, you should follow communication ethics and not use slang in academic writing.
  • Writing a synthesis essay should always be about something you can discuss because the content quality depends on it and makes a big difference.
  • Don't expand the idea because it will become harder to come up with a conclusion. Stay focused on informing the audience, and be limited to the topic and word count.
  • Use original references and cite them appropriately. Try to follow the reference guidelines.
  • The conclusion should sum up how well you summarized the ideas as well as your thesis statement.

Now that you know what is a synthesis essay and its characteristics, we can talk about its forms and types. Meanwhile, if you’d rather the experts write your synthesis essay, pay for college papers, and it will be done without you making any effort!

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Forms of a Synthesis Essay

Though the formatting is mainly the same, there are several different types of synthesis essays, each having its purpose and major points to prove. Common types of synthesis papers include explanatory and argumentative synthesis essays. You should familiarize yourselves with these types of essay writing in case you are required to do any.

forms of synthesis essay

Argumentative Synthesis Essay

This type of synthesis essay example debates a certain topic. It justifies the claims by providing evidence in the body paragraphs. For example, you might compare two issues and argue for a certain position by showing its cause and effects. Firstly, state your reasoning, make supportive arguments and back up each assertion with reliable sources.

In addition, this type of synthesis essay writing is like a discussion conference, where you must convincingly mention both sides of the argument and give your stand to the readers. In this case, the crucial detail is to master the topic evaluation from the perspectives of opponents and proponents.

Contrary to the explanatory essay, you should follow the same steps as if you were writing a usual argumentative essay. It follows the same structure and argues one specific point.

Expository Synthesis Essay

In Explanatory synthesis essay (also known as expository) writing, rather than arguing on some specific point, you help the reader to grasp deeper knowledge about the topic. The purpose of it is to use multiple sources to explain a certain point of view, while it only relies on facts.

In this synthesis essay rubric, you elaborate on a subject using factual and objective information. It helps you to research details in a specific field. You should summarize different information to analyze more details about the topic.

In this type of synthesis writing, you objectively examine differences and similarities between ideas but don't necessarily choose the side or attempt to sway the readers in any direction. For this reason, an expository essay doesn't include personal opinions or arguments. But, just like any other type, it needs backing up with credible sources.

An explanatory synthesis essay's primary focus is to help you convince readers of a certain issue.

Feel free to use our college essay writing services if you feel you need help writing a student paper.

How to Write a Synthesis Essay Outline

Now that you understand the concept of a synthesis essay better make sure you know how to create a perfect synthesis essay outline for your paper. You can do it as a formal outline or create it in your mind. Of course, you should choose how to deliver your paper for maximum impact. But remember, writing the outline can help you plan your essay structure.

The outline is about following the conventional synthesis essay structure, which has three parts:

Introduction

The synthesis essay introduction outline is used to clarify the topic you will focus on. It would help if you started with a phrase that hooks the audience's interest.

Introduce the subject under discussion - you should introduce the theme under the debate and state a subjective opinion through your thesis statement. The thesis statement typically comes at the very end of the introductory paragraph.

Identify the primary sources - In your introduction, you should also tell the readers what your essay is based on. Then, explain how the topic emerges in the text and how the author addresses the idea. For example, ‘Mrs. Noone's suggestions on climate problems address the danger of climate affecting nature. Meanwhile, Mrs. Everyone questions the science in Mrs. Noone's speech, and suggests that it's not an artificial change affected by people’.

Present the thesis statement - A strong thesis statement comes in the last part of the introduction paragraph. The synthesis essay thesis statement should state your position and answer the question from relevant sources. In addition, it should explain why the issue is crucial and what would change without raising it.

This is how the creative structure of a catchy introduction should be created. Now we can move to the next step of your synthesis essay.

synthesis essay outline

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Body Paragraphs

The body paragraph section should have a topic sentence, the source that indicates your proof, and a clarification that links the thesis statement with the topic sentence.

The MEAL acronym is one of the best ways to structure the body paragraphs in your outline. It is - Main idea, Evidence, Analysis, and Link back.

The main idea - in synthesis essay examples, the main idea is where you claim the topic that presents an argument. For instance, climate problems can be like: ‘People can pass the climate change off as a bluff, but there is an undebatable connection between climate change problem and man invasion.’

Evidence - it's a quote, paraphrase, or fact from the sources you provide to state your argument. For example, ‘Mr. Noone claims that ‘CO2 is the main cause of the climate problems’.

Analysis - here, you specify how the provided evidence proves your argument. For example, ‘This shows that global warming has a notable backup in the scientific community.’

Link back - at this stage, you should return to your synthesis essay's key claim. For example, ‘Maybe this evidence can't scientifically prove the cause, but the sources cited here found a connection between climate change and CO2 emission.’

And the last part of a synthesis essay format is the conclusion, which your reader will remember after finishing the paper.

Conclusion

This last part is where you highlight the importance of the topic, a re-statement of the thesis, and a conclusive point. It emphasizes how the facts and the cited sources substantiate your idea.

Revisit the thesis statement - remind your readers of the main points of your synthesis essay. It is always a smart step to help readers remember the main idea.

Cite the supportive evidence - you used multiple sources for claiming your statement. This is the perfect place to remind them. Briefly go over each one. If anyone needs more details to remember, they can return to a particular part of your synthesis essay.

Motivate readers to take action - if you tried to persuade your audience into something while writing your essay, now it's time to encourage them to take action. But remember that it may not always be applicable.

What You Need to Know about AP Lang Synthesis Essay

AP English Language and Composition is a college-level introductory composition course. Students cultivate their knowledge of writing and arguments through analyzing, reading, and writing texts. In addition, they explore topics about claims and evidence, rhetorical situations, reasoning, organization, etc.

This exam tests students' ability to understand how different authors use rhetoric and language to convey their ideas. It has point values and question types consistent for years so that you know what to expect on your exam day.

The exam is divided into two sections: You have 60 minutes to answer 45 multiple-choice questions in a multiple-choice section. The second one is a free response section - where you have 2 hours and 15 minutes to analyze three types of essays: A synthesis essay, a rhetorical analysis essay, and an argument essay.

The synthesis essay is the first free-response question in section two. If you see any synthesis essay AP lang example, you will know that it has the same structure and elements as we discussed above, which means you already know how to write a synthesis essay.

If the AP lang synthesis essay rubric seems a bit overwhelming, you can easily choose a ‘write a paper for me’ service to save your precious time and energy!

Interesting Synthesis Essay Prompts

There are many different topics for a synthesis essay. Let's list some of the most interesting ones:

· Is artificial intelligence dangerous?

· How does social media impact young children?

· Does technology help students learn?

· Is school at home better than learning at school?

· Can robotics replace a human force?

· Do audiobooks have the same effect as paper books?

· Main claims behind global warming and ways of their prevention

· Why do some people not believe in climate change?

· Should protecting animals become an obligation for everyone?

· What impacts does classroom size have on students' learning process?

· How does art impact our everyday life?

· When it comes to success, is talent more crucial than dedication?

· Is a college education a must in today's workforce market?

· Should higher education be free for everyone?

· How could happiness be measured?

· What value do books present to people?

· Why is college the main goal for many young people?

Does this synthesis essay topic seem interesting to you? Then, make an in-depth analysis of the one you liked the most!

If you are interested in how long is an essay, we recommend reading our article. You can find a lot of useful information.