Synthesis papers are common assignments in some of the higher-level classes, both in high school and in college. They test the student's ability to not only read and memorize material but to understand it and to apply it to a scenario which was not presented during class. These papers are also used to make sure that all of the students have truly studied the subject matter thoroughly, rather than
. skimming or reading the short summaries of each chapter. This is due to the fact that typically synthesis papers ask students to work with the concept as a whole rather than partial bullet points and pieces.The first step to writing a synthesis paper is understanding the question. Some teachers assign their students several questions to pick from, while others simply ask that they pick a question which lends itself to synthesis. Simply put, it is a question which can be answered by using the knowledge gained from the class.Next, the student needs to write a thesis which analyzes the question and attempts to dissect it in such a way that it becomes manageably answerable. This is due to the fact that some of the questions asked have multiple layers and cannot be answered in one go. The only option is to dig in and answer the question one layer at a time.Once the thesis has been created, the student should be sure that they are answering and responding to it with material learned in class. The easiest way to make sure of this is to reference certain texts or lesson materials in the essay. This doubles as references because as students, people do not have the credit necessary to make statements without being backed by books or studies.These references need to come from well-researched sources such as peer-reviewed magazines.For more information, see here: http://www.users.drew.edu/sjamieso/Synthesis.htm. More reference links: http://193.140.122.139/technicalwriting/portable_players/index.html http://www.users.drew.edu/sjamieso/Synthesis.htm
