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Synthesis
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What is Synthesis Essays (Examples)?

A synthesis essay is a very specific type of research paper, where you are asked to draw upon specific sources to support your thesis.  These sources are generally ones that have been assigned as reading for a class or that relate to reading and lectures from your class.  The synthesis referred to in the title is the ability to connect these sources to each other to support a unifying theme or idea in your paper.

There are two main types of synthesis essays: argumentative and explanatory.  An explanatory synthesis essay helps the reader better understand an idea and is similar to an expository essay.  An argumentative synthesis essay uses information gained from the various sources to support an argument.  In your introduction, you will make it clear whether you are writing an explanatory or argumentative essay.  This is usually done via your thesis statement, which provides a very brief explanation of the goal of your essay.

Because a synthesis draws upon your knowledge of sources, you can expect part of the body of your synthesis to focus on summarizing your sources.  Depending on the nature of the essay, you may be summarizing the entire source or simply summarizing one or more of the ideas contained in the source. 

In the body of your synthesis essay, you are also going to carry out the goals you outlined in your introduction.  For an explanatory essay, you will develop the relationship between the sources and show how they work together to explain your topic.  In an argumentative essay, you will focus more on developing the relationship between the ideas expressed in your sources and how, when put together, those ideas support your thesis statement.

The conclusion of your synthesis essay will restate your thesis and then highlight how you have supported that thesis.  If you are still confused about the structure of a synthesis essay, we suggest looking through our free example essays for more guidance.

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Research Paper Doctorate
Sociobiology and evolutionary psychology: bridging nature and behavior
Traditionally, researchers in various fields of study have generally limited investigations to their area of expertise. Social scientists attend to prescribed areas such as memory, deviance, and microeconomics.
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Paper Undergraduate
Conceptual issues in psychiatric diagnosis and the DSM-IV
In this chapter of the DSM-IV Guidebook, an accessory to the DSM-IV manual (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), published by the American Psychiatric Press in 1995, the subject of conceptual issues…
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Research Paper Undergraduate
Compliance gaining strategies and manager-employee motivation
The objective of this work is to examine how managers gain compliance from their employees and how they get their employees to perform. The compliance gaming theory states that leaders can effectively make use of…
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Paper Undergraduate
The ultra-brief personal action plan for maternal obesity management
The paper is a dissertation about a brief action plan applicable in cases of obesity in pregnancy. The paper performs an investigation of whether a "Brief Motivational Tool" can inspire and aid the maintenance of maternal Body Weight (BMI) of the obese expectant mothers having a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 in the period of the first prenatal visit up to the end of a two weeks post- partum.
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Paper High School
Literary genres in the Old Testament: poetry, narrative, and law
Objective of this essay is to provide the genre analysis of the Old Testament of: ? Poetry, ? Law ? Narrative, ? historiography, ? Prophecy. The Bible is generally being regarded as a model for literary genre, and the literary genre describes the type of literature having similar content, structure and tone. The literary genre assists readers to understand the texts better.
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Research Paper Doctorate
Theatre nurses' skills in performing pre-operative patient visits
Pre-operative assessment is part of the ER process that many medical professionals believe can be accomplished on the part of nurses in the unit.. The objective listed for pre-operative assessment is that special…
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Paper Undergraduate
Critiquing Gardner and Csikszentmihalyi's theories of creativity
Gardner and Csikszentmihalyi's perspectives on ongoing creativity are valid, but unnecessarily restrictive for several reasons. First, their view discounts the contributions of creative individuals like musicians and…
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Paper Doctorate
Gary Nash's analysis of race and revolution in early America
"The American Revolution involved multiple agendas," Gary Nash explains in the preface to Race and Revolution, "and some of the most important and fascinating of them were fashioned by black and white revolutionaries…
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Research Paper Doctorate
Thomas Paine's Common Sense and American independence
The political situation in the colonies of America were more than ready to receive the pamphlet entitled Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Paine's writing provided a nation confused about their future and issues surrounding…
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Paper Undergraduate
Historical development of expertise in project management and construction
This paper consists of a series of conclusions for chapters examining aspects of society from the Renaissance through the Machine Age. The chapters address cultural environment, scientific environment, economic environment, general management, architectural principles, construction technology, the master builder transition, and the 18 major building projects from the time periods.
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