Philosophy 5: Critical Thinking and Composition

Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy, & Sociology

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lecture Notes for "Chapter 3:  Explanatory Synthesis"

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

"A synthesis is a written discussion that draws on two or more sources."

 

"In a synthesis, you make explicit the relationships that you have inferred among separate sources." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Summarizing Sources       

"Readers will frequently benefit from at least partial summaries of sources in your synthesis essays." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond Summaries  

"At the same time, you must go beyond summary to make judgementsÐjudgements based on your critical reading of your sources ... ." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inferences        

"In a synthesis, you go beyond the critique of individual sources to determine the relationship among them," via inference. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parts        

In synthesizing sources, you seldom will synthesize all of a source. 

 

Rather, you select parts for synthesis. 

 

Which parts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Purpose   

Your purpose in writing determines which parts of a source you will synthesize. 

 

"Some relationships among the material in your sources must make them worth synthesizing."

 

"Your purpose determines which sources you research, which ones you use, which parts of them you use, at which points in your paper you use them, and in what manner you relate them to one another." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types of Synthesis    

 

Explanatory Synthesis ­ Argumentative Synthesis

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analogy    

"The easiest way to recognize the difference between the two types [of synthesis] may be to consider the difference between a news article and an editorial on the same subject." 

 

Just as news articles seek, primarily, to inform, explanatory syntheses seek to impartially inform. 

 

And just as editorials seek, primarily, to interpret information or events, argumentative syntheses present information to prove some point or interpretation. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing a Synthesis  

Identify your purpose. 

 

Select sources accordingly. 

 

Formulate your thesis. 

 

Summarize the relevant parts of your sources. 

 

Revise your synthesis as needed, recursively. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose v. Thesis      

"The difference between a purpose and a thesis is primarily a difference in focus."

 

"Your purpose provides direction to your research and gives a focus to your paper."

 

"Your thesis sharpens this focus by narrowing it and formulating it in the words of a single declarative statement." 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thesis Placement      

"When you write your synthesis drafts, you will need to consider where your thesis fits in your paper."

 

"Sometimes the thesis is the first sentence, but more often it is the final sentence of the first paragraph." 

 

I argue that it is best placed in the middle of your first paragraph, so that you can introduce your reader to the argument you'll use to support your thesis in the rest of the first paragraph.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recursively       

"The writing of syntheses is a recursive process, and you should accept a certain amount of backtracking and reformulating as inevitable." 

 

"[T]hrough backtracking and reformulating, you will produce a coherent, well-crafted paper."

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concluding       

Here is a concluding thought on explanatory syntheses: "Your job in writing an explanatory paperÐor in writing the explanatory part of an argumentative paper is not to argue a particular point, but rather to present the facts in a reasonably objective manner."