Pulling all your information together should be done with care and close consideration of the assignment requirements.

Synthesis means to "combine ideas and come to a conclusion". Synthesising your information and your ideas and applying them to the assignment question/topic should not be rushed. You will be expected to show evidence of drafting your work, especially in the senior school .

Your assignment question or task will dictate which ideas you are dealing with, but synthesis will only work if you have taken clear notes of relevant information from different sources!

Use the following steps to synthesise information from different sources.

• Re - read all your notes - yes, all of them!

• Double check the assignment question/task requirements. Now you can check the following:

  • Are there any gaps? If so go back to Locating and Selecting.

  • Is there any repetition of information? Delete the least useful versions.

  • Are there any conflicting facts? If so discuss with your teacher.

• Identify and highlight key words and common ideas in your notes. These should be closely related to the key words you have already highlighted in the assignment question.

• Analysing and interpreting your notes to work out how the ideas relate to each other and your task is a key factor in improving the quality (and grade) of your assignment.

Try these strategies to organise and sequence your information: NB: If you have used the noting template you can probably skip this section!

• Transfer these into an Inspiration diagram or concept map to help you organise and sequence those ideas.
• If you have used note-cards you can physically shuffle them into order.
• Give your key ideas/points a sequential number then go through your notes using that numbering system in the margin. You can now literally cut'n'paste the like numbered sections to group and sequence your notes. See also Note-taking

Once you have sequenced your ideas and information and are sure you have covered all that is required, you can begin to look at each key point in turn:

• Re-read, think about it and re-write the information in your own words. A thesaurus might come in handy here. You can include short quotes, in quotation marks, but not too many. Just copying or even paraphrasing can lead to accusations of plagiarism.

• As you think about the key ideas you have found, try to make connections with your own experience and ideas. Include your personal opinion, if that is allowed or required.

• Don't forget to cite (reference) all the sources you have used. Yes, you should have been recording that information as you made notes from different sources!

  • Check with your teacher which referencing style they want you to use.

• For some research tasks you may also need to apply the ideas and concepts you have discovered in some way.