Kelly Morehead Comp I SUNY New Paltz Summary Expository restates information Often involves paraphrasing information Important for creating context by providing background information However dont let summary dominate your writing Use it as a platform not a crutch ID: 533239
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Slide1
Summary, Analysis, Synthesis
Kelly Morehead
Comp I
SUNY New
PaltzSlide2
Summary
Expository; restates information
Often involves paraphrasing information
Important for creating context by providing background information
However, don’t let summary dominate your writing. Use it as a platform, not a crutch
See
Little Seagull Handbook
pp. 97-103Slide3
Analysis
Purpose:
Break down
parts to understand whole
Used in expository and argumentative writing
Method of interpretation with a focus on textual evidence
An analysis essay makes an
argument for an interpretation.
Rhetorical analysis, literary or film analysis
"Analyze Don't Summarize" by Michael
Berube
(
Writer’s Presence
p. 344)
See “Rhetorical Analyses” (p. 49) and “Literary Analyses” (p. 62) in the
Little Seagull Handbook Slide4
Synthesis
Purpose:
Bring together
ideas from different sources
to create a new idea
“They Say/I Say” Method
Imagine sources as being in conversation with one another; you need to find a way to gracefully enter this conversation. In your essay, you are the mediator of and commentator on the discussion.
Which ideas do you agree/disagree with?
Are there disagreements among different sources?
What connections and patterns do you notice?
What thoughts have your sources sparked, and how have those thoughts influenced your understanding of the subject?
In a conversation, you don’t just restate what others’ have already said. (You’d look pretty strange if you did.) Instead, you consider their opinions and add your own into the mix, acknowledging what’s been said and anticipating others’ responses.Slide5
Synthesis - Academic Conversation
A good conversationalist
includes the whole group
in the discussion; a bad
conversationalist has
several one-on-one
conversations at once . Try
to model the approach of
the good conversationalist
in your writing, balancing your sources and letting them address each other.
Bad
Good Slide6
“Synthesis in Everyday Life”
“Whenever you report to a friend the things several other friends have said about a film or CD you engage in synthesis. People synthesize information naturally to help other [sic]
see the connections between things they learn
; for example, you have probably stored up a mental data bank of the various things you've heard about particular professors. If your data bank contains several negative comments, you might synthesize that information and use it to help you decide not to take a class from that particular professor.
Synthesis is related to but not the same as classification, division, or comparison and contrast.
Instead of attending to categories or finding similarities and differences, synthesizing sources is a matter of pulling them together into
some kind of harmony.
Synthesis searches for links between materials for the purpose of constructing a thesis or theory
.” Slide7
Synthesis Example
My family
believes
dogs
are the best
pets because they are energetic, playful, and affectionate exercise companions. However, many of my coworkers prefer cats because of
cats’ intelligence
and calm,
low-maintenance attitudes.
Although people's pet preferences vary, we choose pets based on our lifestyles and the qualities we value.
Dog
Cat
CatdogSlide8
The Successful Academic Essay
Successful essays will merge summary, analysis, and synthesis together, creating a balance between them.
The required amount of summary, analysis, and synthesis will be determined by the emphasis of the assignment (in other words, the rhetorical situation)
e.g., a rhetorical analysis emphasizes analysis (obviously), whereas a lab report might emphasize summary