Synthesis Essay

What is it?  Although at its most basic level a synthesis involves combining two or more summaries, synthesis writing is more difficult than it might at first appear because this combining must be done in a meaningful way and the final essay must generally be thesis-driven.  i.e tech friend or foe?  Technology has caused the disruption in the quality social relationship; however, it allows for an increase in the number of those relationships.

Within paragraphs…  Essentially, it is combining several sources together and showing the RELATIONSHIP between those sources.

One author says the other author is right:  affirms  argues  confirms  believes  responds  concedes  verifies  acknowledges  emphasizes  Adds

Underline the Synthesis:  We have essentially sacrificed our family for an ever present and pervasive life with technology. In her lecture “We are All Cyborgs Now” anthropologist Amber Case makes a clear argument against technology by pointing out how harmful cell phones have been on some aspects of family communication. She points to a kind of “ambient intimacy” when she notices that “hundreds of social contacts access to you all the time via the wormhole in your pocket.” These connections can take us away from the person in our physical presence and transfer us into a conversation on our cell phone, thereby interrupting the connection that was already occurring and disrupting the development of a relationship. Moreover, Winn confirms Case’s claim in the article “The Plug-in Drug” when she explains that “television ruins the family” (468). Her argument differs from Case’s only in that it looks at the effect of television rather than cell phones. Clearly, both acknowledge that the technology has the same effect in that it removes attention from the person present in the room and transfers that attention to the technological device, here the television.

One author says the other author is wrong:  contends  denies  disagrees  insists  rejects

Underline the synthesis:  At the same time, there is one minor benefit to the impact of technology on social relationships; it increases the number of relationships we can maintain. Digital Nation, a documentary on PBS, provides evidence to confirm that “the use of social networking cites like facebook increases our ability to stay in touch with many people.” Furthermore, Case supports this claim in her TED lecture when she notes the way cell phones provide the ability to transcend the gaps that “time and space restrict.” We can have more friends because we can be friends with someone in another country or from another time of our life. Yet, Winn negates the claims of Case and Digital Nation when she notes that the quality of these relationships is still compromised by the nature of the technological intermediary (468). As a result, we notice that there may be more relationships but they are not necessarily more intimate or meaningful.

What does an outline look like?  Example Outline:  Thesis: Claim about the topic  Technology has caused the disruption in the quality social relationship; however, it allows for an increase in the number of those relationships.  I. Technology disrupts quality of friend connections  A. Source one  B. Synthesized/compared with source two  II. Technology doesn't help us connect with family  A. Case argument  B. Compare/synthesize with Johnson  III. Technology can assist us in making more friends but not a better quality relationship(quantity)  III. Conclusion

Tomorrow we will complete a synthesis in class  Technology: friend or foe?  Will allow me to assess your understanding of synthesis  I want to add one more source:  talnation/view/ talnation/view/