Reading Skills: Synthesis

Synthesizing is an important skill to help you make sense of what you are reading. It is important to recognise that summarising and synthesizing are different activities.

 The chart below, highlights some of the differences between summarizing and synthesizing information.

SUMMARY	SYNTHESIS
Shows what the original author wrote.	Not only reflects your knowledge about what the original authors wrote, but also creates something new out of 2 or more pieces of writing.
Addresses one set of information (e.g. article, chapter and document) at a time. Each source remains distinct.	Combines parts and elements from a variety of sources into one unified entity.
Presents a cursory review.	Focuses on both main ideas and details.
Demonstrates an understanding of the overall meaning.	Achieves new insight.
Basic reading technique.	Advanced reading technique.
Pulls together information in order to highlight the points.	You pull together information not only to highlight the important points, but also to draw your own conclusion.
Reiterates the information.	Combines and contrasts information from different sources.

Synthesizing takes the process of summarizing one step further. Instead of just restating the important points from text, synthesizing involves combining ideas and allowing an evolving understanding of text.