{"id":799,"date":"2017-04-03T21:31:35","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T21:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=799"},"modified":"2017-04-13T17:42:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-13T17:42:46","slug":"synthesis-of-your-own-ideas","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/chapter\/synthesis-of-your-own-ideas\/","title":{"raw":"Synthesis of Your Own Ideas","rendered":"Synthesis of Your Own Ideas"},"content":{"raw":"<div id=\"attachment_913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 510px\">\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_913\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]<img class=\"wp-image-913 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155955\/10-writing.png\" alt=\"a pencil inside a conversation bubble\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" \/> This section features advice for using sources well in your writing projects.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nProfessors want to see evidence of your own thinking in your essays and papers. Even so, it will be your thoughts in reaction to your sources.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>What parts of them do you agree with?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What parts of them do you disagree with?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Did they leave anything out?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIt\u2019s wise to not only analyze\u2014take apart for study\u2014the sources, but also to try to combine your own ideas with ideas you found in class and in the sources.\r\n\r\nProfessors frequently expect you to interpret, make inferences, and otherwise synthesize\u2014bring ideas together to make something new or to find a new way of looking at something old. (It might help to think of synthesis as the opposite of analysis.)\r\n<div class=\"activity\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n<h3><strong>Activity:<\/strong> Creative Thinking<\/h3>\r\nSynthesis is a creative act. Are there places, things, activities, or situations that you already use to spark your creativity? Sometimes even simple things can help us be more creative. Take a look at the article <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2012\/06\/21\/155369663\/5-ways-to-spark-your-creativity\" target=\"_blank\">5 Ways to Spark Your Creativity<\/a> for some tips.\r\n\r\nThe book <em>Thinker Toys<\/em>, by Michael Michalko, can help you expand your ability to think creatively. The <a href=\"http:\/\/creativethinking.net\/remote-association-test\" target=\"_blank\">author\u2019s web page<\/a> contains fun but challenging thinking exercises, including this one that lets you practice making associations between seemingly disparate concepts.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h1>Getting Better at Synthesis<\/h1>\r\nTo get an A on essays and papers in many courses, such as literature and history, what you write in reaction to others\u2019 work should use synthesis to create new meaning or show a deeper understanding of what you learned.\r\n\r\nTo do so, it helps to look for connections and patterns. One way to synthesize when writing an argument essay, paper, or other project is to look for themes among your sources. So try categorizing ideas by topic rather than by resource\u2014making associations across sources.\r\n\r\nSynthesis can seem difficult, particularly if you are used to analyzing others\u2019 points but not used to making your own. Like most things, however, it gets easier as you get more experienced at it. So don\u2019t be hard on yourself if it seems difficult at first.\r\n<div class=\"example\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3><strong>Example:<\/strong> Synthesis in an Argument<\/h3>\r\n<div id=\"attachment_929\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-929 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155956\/paris.png\" alt=\"The Eiffel Tower\" width=\"120\" height=\"233\" \/>\r\n\r\nImagine that you have to write an argument essay about Woody Allen\u2019s 2011 movie <em>Midnight in Paris<\/em>. Your topic is \u201cnostalgia,\u201d and the movie is the only resource you can use.\r\n\r\nIn the movie, a successful young screenwriter named Gil is visiting Paris with his girlfriend and her parents, who are more politically conservative than he is. Inexplicably, every midnight he time-travels back to the 1920\u2019s Paris, a time period he\u2019s always found fascinating, especially because of the writers and painters\u2014Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso\u2014that he\u2019s now on a first-name basis with. Gil is enchanted and always wants to stay, but every morning, he\u2019s back in real time\u2014feeling out of sync with his girlfriend and her parents.\r\n\r\nYou\u2019ve tried to come up with a narrower topic, but so far nothing seems right. Suddenly, you start paying more attention to the girlfriend\u2019s parents\u2019 dialogue about politics, which amount to such phrases as \u201cwe have to go back to\u2026,\u201d \u201cit was a better time,\u201d \u201cAmericans used to be able to\u2026\u201d and \u201cthe way it used to be.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnd then it clicks with you that the girlfriend\u2019s parents are like Gil\u2014longing for a different time, whether real or imagined. That kind of idea generation is synthesis.\r\n\r\nYou decide to write your essay to answer the research question: How is the motivation of Gil\u2019s girlfriend\u2019s parents similar to Gil\u2019s? Your thesis becomes \u201cDespite seeming to be not very much alike, Gil and the parents are similarly motivated, and Woody Allen meant <em>Midnight in Paris<\/em>\u2018s message about nostalgia to be applied to all of them.\u201d\r\n\r\nOf course, you\u2019ll have to try to convince your readers that your thesis is valid and you may or not be successful\u2014but that\u2019s true with all theses. And your professor will be glad to see the synthesis.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"activity\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n<h3><strong>Activity:<\/strong> Balancing Sources and Synthesis<\/h3>\r\nHere\u2019s a technique to quickly assess whether there is enough of your original thought in your essay or paper, as opposed to information from your sources: Highlight what you have included as quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from your sources. Next, highlight in another color what you have written yourself. Then take a look at the pages and decide whether there is enough you in them.\r\n\r\nFor the mocked-up pages below, assume that the yellow-highlighted lines were written by the writer and the pink-highlighted lines are quotes, paraphrases, and summaries she pulled from her sources. Which page most demonstrates the writer\u2019s own ideas? See the bottom of the page for the answer.\r\n<div id=\"attachment_414\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-full wp-image-414\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155959\/wt-synthesis.png\" alt=\"Three sample showing 1) mostly quotes with little original thought, 2) mostly original thought supported by quotes, and 3) equal split between quotes and original thought.\" width=\"1392\" height=\"411\" \/>\r\n\r\nSource: Joy McGregor. \u201cA Visual Approach: Teaching Synthesis,\u201d School Library Monthly, Volume XXVII, Number 8\/May-June 2011.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"example\">\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<h3><strong>Answer to Activity:<\/strong> Balancing Sources and Synthesis<\/h3>\r\nThe answer to the \u201cBalancing Sources and Synthesis\u201d Activity above is:\r\n\r\n<strong>Sample 2. <\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe yellow-highlighted sections in Sample 2 show more contributions from the author than from quotes, paraphrases, and summaries of other sources.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 510px\">\n<div id=\"attachment_913\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-913\" class=\"wp-image-913 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155955\/10-writing.png\" alt=\"a pencil inside a conversation bubble\" width=\"500\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-913\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This section features advice for using sources well in your writing projects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Professors want to see evidence of your own thinking in your essays and papers. Even so, it will be your thoughts in reaction to your sources.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What parts of them do you agree with?<\/li>\n<li>What parts of them do you disagree with?<\/li>\n<li>Did they leave anything out?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s wise to not only analyze\u2014take apart for study\u2014the sources, but also to try to combine your own ideas with ideas you found in class and in the sources.<\/p>\n<p>Professors frequently expect you to interpret, make inferences, and otherwise synthesize\u2014bring ideas together to make something new or to find a new way of looking at something old. (It might help to think of synthesis as the opposite of analysis.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"activity\">\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<h3><strong>Activity:<\/strong> Creative Thinking<\/h3>\n<p>Synthesis is a creative act. Are there places, things, activities, or situations that you already use to spark your creativity? Sometimes even simple things can help us be more creative. Take a look at the article <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2012\/06\/21\/155369663\/5-ways-to-spark-your-creativity\" target=\"_blank\">5 Ways to Spark Your Creativity<\/a> for some tips.<\/p>\n<p>The book <em>Thinker Toys<\/em>, by Michael Michalko, can help you expand your ability to think creatively. The <a href=\"http:\/\/creativethinking.net\/remote-association-test\" target=\"_blank\">author\u2019s web page<\/a> contains fun but challenging thinking exercises, including this one that lets you practice making associations between seemingly disparate concepts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Getting Better at Synthesis<\/h1>\n<p>To get an A on essays and papers in many courses, such as literature and history, what you write in reaction to others\u2019 work should use synthesis to create new meaning or show a deeper understanding of what you learned.<\/p>\n<p>To do so, it helps to look for connections and patterns. One way to synthesize when writing an argument essay, paper, or other project is to look for themes among your sources. So try categorizing ideas by topic rather than by resource\u2014making associations across sources.<\/p>\n<p>Synthesis can seem difficult, particularly if you are used to analyzing others\u2019 points but not used to making your own. Like most things, however, it gets easier as you get more experienced at it. So don\u2019t be hard on yourself if it seems difficult at first.<\/p>\n<div class=\"example\">\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3><strong>Example:<\/strong> Synthesis in an Argument<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_929\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-929 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155956\/paris.png\" alt=\"The Eiffel Tower\" width=\"120\" height=\"233\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Imagine that you have to write an argument essay about Woody Allen\u2019s 2011 movie <em>Midnight in Paris<\/em>. Your topic is \u201cnostalgia,\u201d and the movie is the only resource you can use.<\/p>\n<p>In the movie, a successful young screenwriter named Gil is visiting Paris with his girlfriend and her parents, who are more politically conservative than he is. Inexplicably, every midnight he time-travels back to the 1920\u2019s Paris, a time period he\u2019s always found fascinating, especially because of the writers and painters\u2014Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso\u2014that he\u2019s now on a first-name basis with. Gil is enchanted and always wants to stay, but every morning, he\u2019s back in real time\u2014feeling out of sync with his girlfriend and her parents.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve tried to come up with a narrower topic, but so far nothing seems right. Suddenly, you start paying more attention to the girlfriend\u2019s parents\u2019 dialogue about politics, which amount to such phrases as \u201cwe have to go back to\u2026,\u201d \u201cit was a better time,\u201d \u201cAmericans used to be able to\u2026\u201d and \u201cthe way it used to be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And then it clicks with you that the girlfriend\u2019s parents are like Gil\u2014longing for a different time, whether real or imagined. That kind of idea generation is synthesis.<\/p>\n<p>You decide to write your essay to answer the research question: How is the motivation of Gil\u2019s girlfriend\u2019s parents similar to Gil\u2019s? Your thesis becomes \u201cDespite seeming to be not very much alike, Gil and the parents are similarly motivated, and Woody Allen meant <em>Midnight in Paris<\/em>\u2018s message about nostalgia to be applied to all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you\u2019ll have to try to convince your readers that your thesis is valid and you may or not be successful\u2014but that\u2019s true with all theses. And your professor will be glad to see the synthesis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"activity\">\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<h3><strong>Activity:<\/strong> Balancing Sources and Synthesis<\/h3>\n<p>Here\u2019s a technique to quickly assess whether there is enough of your original thought in your essay or paper, as opposed to information from your sources: Highlight what you have included as quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from your sources. Next, highlight in another color what you have written yourself. Then take a look at the pages and decide whether there is enough you in them.<\/p>\n<p>For the mocked-up pages below, assume that the yellow-highlighted lines were written by the writer and the pink-highlighted lines are quotes, paraphrases, and summaries she pulled from her sources. Which page most demonstrates the writer\u2019s own ideas? See the bottom of the page for the answer.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_414\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-414\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1547\/2017\/04\/03155959\/wt-synthesis.png\" alt=\"Three sample showing 1) mostly quotes with little original thought, 2) mostly original thought supported by quotes, and 3) equal split between quotes and original thought.\" width=\"1392\" height=\"411\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Source: Joy McGregor. \u201cA Visual Approach: Teaching Synthesis,\u201d School Library Monthly, Volume XXVII, Number 8\/May-June 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"example\">\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<h3><strong>Answer to Activity:<\/strong> Balancing Sources and Synthesis<\/h3>\n<p>The answer to the \u201cBalancing Sources and Synthesis\u201d Activity above is:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sample 2. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The yellow-highlighted sections in Sample 2 show more contributions from the author than from quotes, paraphrases, and summaries of other sources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-799\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Choosing &amp; Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Teaching &amp; Learning, Ohio State University Libraries. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: The Ohio State University. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/osu.pb.unizin.org\/choosingsources\/\">https:\/\/osu.pb.unizin.org\/choosingsources\/<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research\",\"author\":\"Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries\",\"organization\":\"The Ohio State University\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osu.pb.unizin.org\/choosingsources\/\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-799","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":865,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1310,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/799\/revisions\/1310"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/865"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/799\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=799"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-researchsuccess\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}