Academic synthesis

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Academic Synthesis

Pre-Task: WEEK 16

- check where you get marks for synthesising - review useful language for synthesising

Objectives

• A synthesis is a written discussion that draws on one or more sources.

• It involves grouping ideas from other resources in the body of your assignment.

• It identifies both similar and contradictory ideas with a view to establishing links, tensions and threads to support your argument.

What is synthesis in academic writing?

CW3 Marking CriteriaThis is a part of the marking criteria, evaluating the use of academic sources and demonstrating the highest and lowest marks that a student can achieve.

Watch the following video on synthesis

Look at this paragraph containing synthesised sources. Highlight the citations / in-text references and the corresponding points made. Use the pen on the right hand corner.

Using assignment essays for assessment supports learning better than the traditional examination system. It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress experienced by some students over ‘sudden death’ end of semester examinations and reduce the failure rate (Langdon, 2016). Study skills research by Peters et al. (2018) support assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback. They also consider that assignment work lends itself to more critical approaches which help the students to learn the discourse of their subjects. In contrast, Abbot (2008) and Cane (2018) both argue that assignments are inefficient, costly to manage and are the cause of plagiarism problems in universities. A key argument is that “assessment by examination is a clean-cut approach as you obtain students’ knowledge under supervised circumstances” (Bable, 2008, p.20). The weight of evidence, however, would suggest that it is a fairer and more balanced approach to have some assessment by assignment rather than completely by examinations.

Watch the answers with explanation below

Example 1 The writer synthesises two sources to be able to support their argument for assignment examinations.It is considered that course-work assignment essays can lessen the extreme stress experienced by some students over ‘sudden death’ end of semester examinations and reduce the failure rate (Langdon, 2016). Study skills research by Peters et al. (2018) support assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback.

Example 2The writer synthesises two connected sources to show the opposing views to assignment based examinations.In contrast, Abbot (2008) and Cane (2018) both argue that assignments are inefficient, costly to manage and are the cause of plagiarism problems in universities.

Example 3The writer synthesises another relevant source through quotation to further support the point against assignment-based examinations.A key argument is that “assessment by examination is a clean-cut approach as you obtain students’ knowledge under supervised circumstances” (Bable, 2008, p.20).

Example 4The writer could synthesise a number of sources together to show they have applied comprehensive academic research into the topic.Study skills research by Jones et al. (2010), UCL (2016), Wilson (2017) and Peters (2018) support assessment by assignment because research assignments can be used to assess student learning mid-course and so provide them with helpful feedback.

Synthesising – Useful Language

Academic Phrase Bank:

• This site has a huge number of useful phrases for academic writing arranged by function.

• It can help you edit your work and add range to your language.

Coursework 3 Look at your coursework 3 draft• Do you have paragraphs without a source? – WHY? Find sources to support the points you want to make. This could be something they say directly, or evidence they use which suggests your point is right. • Do you have paragraphs which only use one source? – Find at least one additional source for each paragraph. This should be further evidence which suggests your point is right. – If you are ambitious, this could be a counter argument to your main point which you can then rebutt. • Do you use at least 2 sources in each paragraph? – Go though and check that it is clear to the reader where each piece of evidence came from.