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How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay + Example

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AP English Language and Composition, commonly known as AP Lang, is one of the most engaging and popular AP classes offered at most high schools, with over 535,000 students taking the class . AP Lang tests your ability to analyze written pieces, synthesize information, write rhetorical essays, and create cohesive and concrete arguments. However, the class is rather challenging as only 62% of students were able to score a three or higher on the exam.

The AP Lang exam has two sections. The first consists of 45 multiple choice questions which need to be completed in an hour. This portion counts for around 45% of your total score. These questions ask students to analyze written pieces and answer questions related to each respective passage. All possible answer choices can be found within the text, and no prior knowledge of literature is needed to understand the passages.

The second section contains three free-response questions to be finished in under two hours and 15 minutes. This section counts for 55% of your score and includes the synthesis essay, the rhetorical essay, and the argumentative essay.

The synthesis essay requires you to read 6-7 sources and create an argument using at least three sources.
The rhetorical analysis essay requires you to describe how a piece of writing evokes specific meanings and symbolism.
The argumentative essay requires you to pick a perspective of a debate and create an argument based on the evidence provided.

In this post, we will take a look at the AP Lang synthesis essay and discuss tips and tricks to master this part of the exam. We will also provide an example of a well-written essay for review.

The AP Lang synthesis essay is the first of three essays included in the Free Response section of the AP Lang exam. The exam presents 6-7 sources that are organized around a specific topic, with two of those sources purely visual, including a single quantitative source (like a graph or pie chart). The remaining 4-5 sources are text-based, containing around 500 words each. It’s recommended that students spend an hour on this essay—15 minute reading period, 40 minutes writing, and 5 minutes of spare time to check over work.

Each synthesis essay has a topic that all the sources will relate to. A prompt will explaining the topic and provide some background, although the topics are usually broad so you will probably know something related to the issue. It will also present a claim that students will respond to in an essay format using information from at least three of the provided sources. You will need to take a stance, either agreeing or disagreeing with the position provided in the claim.

According to the CollegeBoard, they are looking for essays that “combine different perspectives from sources to form a support of a coherent position.” This means that you must state your claim on the topic and highlight relationships between several sources that support your specific position on the topic. Additionally, you’ll need to cite clear evidence from your sources to prove your point.

The synthesis essay counts for six points on the AP Lang exam. Students can receive 0-1 points for writing a thesis statement, 0-4 based on the incorporation of evidence and commentary, and 0-1 points based on the sophistication of thought and demonstration of complex understanding.

While this essay seems extremely overwhelming, considering there are a total of three free-response essays to complete, with proper time management and practiced skills, this essay is manageable and straightforward. In order to enhance the time management aspect of the test to the best of your ability, it is essential to divide the essay up into five key steps.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

As soon as the clock starts, carefully read and analyze what the prompt asks from you. It might be helpful to markup the text to identify the most critical details. You should only spend around 2 minutes reading the prompt so you have enough time to read all the sources and figure out your argument. Don’t feel like you need to immediately pick your stance on the claim right after reading the prompt. You should read the sources before you commit to your argument.

Step 2: Read the Sources Carefully

Although you are only required to use 3 of the 6-7 sources provides, make sure you read ALL of the sources. This will allow you to better understand the topic and make the most educated decision of which sources to use in your essay. Since there are a lot of sources to get through, you will need to read quickly and carefully.

Annotating will be your best friend during the reading period. Highlight and mark important concepts or lines from each passage that would be helpful in your essay. Your argument will probably begin forming in your head as you go through the passages, so you will save yourself a lot of time later on if you take a few seconds to write down notes in the margins. After you’ve finished reading a source, reflect on whether the source defends, challenges, or qualifies your argument.

You will have around 13 minutes to read through all the sources, but it’s very possible you will finish earlier if you are a fast reader. Take the leftover time to start developing your thesis and organizing your thoughts into an outline so you have more time to write.

Step 3: Write a Strong Thesis Statement

In order to write a good thesis statement, all you have to do is decide your stance on the claim provided in the prompt and give an overview of your evidence. You essentially have three choices on how to frame your thesis statement: You can defend, challenge or qualify a claim that’s been provided by the prompt.

If you are defending the claim, your job will be to prove that the claim is correct .
If you are challenging the claim, your job will be to prove that the claim is incorrect .
If you choose to qualify the claim, your job will be to agree to a part of the claim and disagree with another part of the claim.

A strong thesis statement will clearly state your stance without summarizing the issue or regurgitating the claim. The CollegeBoard is looking for a thesis statement that “states a defensible position and establishes a line of reasoning on the issue provided in the prompt.”

Step 4: Create a Minimal Essay Outline

Developing an outline might seem like a waste of time when you are up against the clock, but believe us, taking 5-10 minutes to outline your essay will be much more useful in the long run than jumping right into the essay.

Your outline should include your thesis statement and three main pieces of evidence that will constitute each body paragraph. Under each piece of evidence should be 2-3 details from the sources that you will use to back up your claim and some commentary on how that evidence proves your thesis.

Step 5: Write your Essay

Use the remaining 30-35 minutes to write your essay. This should be relatively easy if you took the time to mark up the sources and have a detailed outline. Remember to add special consideration and emphasis to the commentary sections of the supporting arguments outlined in your thesis. These sentences are critical to the overall flow of the essay and where you will be explaining how the evidence supports or undermines the claim in the prompt.

Also, when referencing your sources, write the in-text citations as follows: “Source 1,” “Source 2,” “Source 3,” etc. Make sure to pay attention to which source is which in order to not incorrectly cite your sources. In-text citations will impact your score on the essay and are an integral part of the process.

After you finish writing, read through your essay for any grammatical errors or mistakes before you move onto the next essay.

Here are six must-have tips and tricks to get a good score on the synthesis essay:

Cite at least four sources , even though the minimum requirement is three. Remember not to plagiarize and cite everything you use in your arguments.
Make sure to develop a solid and clear thesis . Develop a stable stance for the claim and stick with it throughout the entire paper.
Don’t summarize the sources. The summary of the sources does not count as an argument.
You don’t necessarily have to agree with the sources in order to cite them. Using a source to support a counterargument is still a good use of a source.
Cite the sources that you understand entirely . If you don’t, it could come back to bite you in the end.
Use small quotes , do not quote entire paragraphs. Make sure the quote does not disrupt the flow or grammar of the sentence you write.

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Here is an example prompt and essay from 2019 that received 5 of the 6 total points available:

In response to our society’s increasing demand for energy, large-scale wind power has drawn attention from governments and consumers as a potential alternative to traditional materials that fuel our power grids, such as coal, oil, natural gas, water, or even newer sources such as nuclear or solar power. Yet the establishment of large-scale, commercial-grade wind farms is often the subject of controversy for a variety of reasons.

Carefully read the six sources, found on the AP English Language and Composition 2019 Exam (Question 1), including the introductory information for each source. Write an essay that synthesizes material from at least three of the sources and develops your position on the most important factors that an individual or agency should consider when deciding whether to establish a wind farm.

Source A (photo)

Source B (Layton)

Source C (Seltenrich)

Source D (Brown)

Source E (Rule)

Source F (Molla)

In your response you should do the following:

Respond to the prompt with a thesis presents a defensible position.
Select and use evidence from at least 3 of the provided sources to support your line of reasoning. Indicate clearly the sources used through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Sources may be cited as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the description in parentheses.
Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

[1] The situation has been known for years, and still very little is being done: alternative power is the only way to reliably power the changing world. The draw of power coming from industry and private life is overwhelming current sources of non-renewable power, and with dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, it is merely a matter of time before coal and gas fuel plants are no longer in operation. So one viable alternative is wind power. But as with all things, there are pros and cons. The main factors for power companies to consider when building wind farms are environmental boon, aesthetic, and economic factors.

[2] The environmental benefits of using wind power are well-known and proven. Wind power is, as qualified by Source B, undeniably clean and renewable. From their production requiring very little in the way of dangerous materials to their lack of fuel, besides that which occurs naturally, wind power is by far one of the least environmentally impactful sources of power available. In addition, wind power by way of gearbox and advanced blade materials, has the highest percentage of energy retention. According to Source F, wind power retains 1,164% of the energy put into the system – meaning that it increases the energy converted from fuel (wind) to electricity 10 times! No other method of electricity production is even half that efficient. The efficiency and clean nature of wind power are important to consider, especially because they contribute back to power companies economically.

[3] Economically, wind power is both a boon and a bone to electric companies and other users. For consumers, wind power is very cheap, leading to lower bills than from any other source. Consumers also get an indirect reimbursement by way of taxes (Source D). In one Texan town, McCamey, tax revenue increased 30% from a wind farm being erected in the town. This helps to finance improvements to the town. But, there is no doubt that wind power is also hurting the power companies. Although, as renewable power goes, wind is incredibly cheap, it is still significantly more expensive than fossil fuels. So, while it is helping to cut down on emissions, it costs electric companies more than traditional fossil fuel plants. While the general economic trend is positive, there are some setbacks which must be overcome before wind power can take over as truly more effective than fossil fuels.

[4] Aesthetics may be the greatest setback for power companies. Although there may be significant economic and environmental benefit to wind power, people will always fight to preserve pure, unspoiled land. Unfortunately, not much can be done to improve the visual aesthetics of the turbines. White paint is the most common choice because it “[is] associated with cleanliness.” (Source E). But, this can make it stand out like a sore thumb, and make the gargantuan machines seem more out of place. The site can also not be altered because it affects generating capacity. Sound is almost worse of a concern because it interrupts personal productivity by interrupting people’s sleep patterns. One thing for power companies to consider is working with turbine manufacturing to make the machines less aesthetically impactful, so as to garner greater public support.

[5] As with most things, wind power has no easy answer. It is the responsibility of the companies building them to weigh the benefits and the consequences. But, by balancing economics, efficiency, and aesthetics, power companies can create a solution which balances human impact with environmental preservation.

More examples can be found here at College Board.

While AP Scores help to boost your weighted GPA, or give you the option to get college credit, AP Scores don’t have a strong effect on your admissions chances . However, colleges can still see your self-reported scores, so you might not want to automatically send scores to colleges if they are lower than a 3. That being said, admissions officers care far more about your grade in an AP class than your score on the exam.

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How to Write a Perfect Synthesis Essay for the AP Language Exam

Advanced Placement (AP)

If you're planning to take the AP Language (or AP Lang) exam , you might already know that 55% of your overall exam score will be based on three essays. The first of the three essays you'll have to write on the AP Language exam is called the "synthesis essay." If you want to earn full points on this portion of the AP Lang Exam, you need to know what a synthesis essay is and what skills are assessed by the AP Lang synthesis essay.

In this article, we'll explain the different aspects of the AP Lang synthesis essay, including what skills you need to demonstrate in your synthesis essay response in order to achieve a good score. We'll also give you a full breakdown of a real AP Lang Synthesis Essay prompt, provide an analysis of an AP Lang synthesis essay example, and give you four tips for how to write a synthesis essay.

Let's get started by taking a closer look at how the AP Lang synthesis essay works!

Synthesis Essay AP Lang: What It Is and How It Works

The AP Lang synthesis essay is the first of three essays included in the Free Response section of the AP Lang exam.

The AP Lang synthesis essay portion of the Free Response section lasts for one hour total . This hour consists of a recommended 15 minute reading period and a 40 minute writing period. Keep in mind that these time allotments are merely recommendations, and that exam takers can parse out the allotted 60 minutes to complete the synthesis essay however they choose.

Now, here's what the structure of the AP Lang synthesis essay looks like. The exam presents six to seven sources that are organized around a specific topic (like alternative energy or eminent domain, which are both past synthesis exam topics).

Of these six to seven sources, at least two are visual , including at least one quantitative source (like a graph or pie chart, for example). The remaining four to five sources are print text-based, and each one contains approximately 500 words.

In addition to six to seven sources, the AP Lang exam provides a written prompt that consists of three paragraphs. The prompt will briefly explain the essay topic, then present a claim that students will respond to in an essay that synthesizes material from at least three of the sources provided.

Here's an example prompt provided by the College Board:

Directions : The following prompt is based on the accompanying six sources.

This question requires you to integrate a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. Refer to the sources to support your position; avoid mere paraphrase or summary. Your argument should be central; the sources should support this argument .

Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.

Introduction

Television has been influential in United States presidential elections since the 1960's. But just what is this influence, and how has it affected who is elected? Has it made elections fairer and more accessible, or has it moved candidates from pursuing issues to pursuing image?

Read the following sources (including any introductory information) carefully. Then, in an essay that synthesizes at least three of the sources for support, take a position that defends, challenges, or qualifies the claim that television has had a positive impact on presidential elections.

Refer to the sources as Source A, Source B, etc.; titles are included for your convenience.

Source A (Campbell) Source B (Hart and Triece) Source C (Menand) Source D (Chart) Source E (Ranney) Source F (Koppel)

Like we mentioned earlier, this prompt gives you a topic — which it briefly explains — then asks you to take a position. In this case, you'll have to choose a stance on whether television has positively or negatively affected U.S. elections. You're also given six sources to evaluate and use in your response. Now that you have everything you need, now your job is to write an amazing synthesis essay.

But what does "synthesize" mean, exactly? According to the CollegeBoard, when an essay prompt asks you to synthesize, it means that you should "combine different perspectives from sources to form a support of a coherent position" in writing. In other words, a synthesis essay asks you to state your claim on a topic, then highlight the relationships between several sources that support your claim on that topic. Additionally, you'll need to cite specific evidence from your sources to prove your point.

The synthesis essay counts for six of the total points on the AP Lang exam . Students can receive 0-1 points for writing a thesis statement in the essay, 0-4 based on incorporation of evidence and commentary, and 0-1 points based on sophistication of thought and demonstrated complex understanding of the topic.

You'll be evaluated based on how effectively you do the following in your AP Lang synthesis essay:

Write a thesis that responds to the exam prompt with a defensible position

Provide specific evidence that to support all claims in your line of reasoning from at least three of the sources provided, and clearly and consistently explain how the evidence you include supports your line of reasoning

Demonstrate sophistication of thought by either crafting a thoughtful argument, situating the argument in a broader context, explaining the limitations of an argument

Make rhetorical choices that strengthen your argument and/or employ a vivid and persuasive style throughout your essay.

If your synthesis essay meets the criteria above, then there's a good chance you'll score well on this portion of the AP Lang exam!

If you're looking for even more information on scoring, the College Board has posted the AP Lang Free Response grading rubric on its website. ( You can find it here. ) We recommend taking a close look at it since it includes additional details about the synthesis essay scoring.

Don't be intimidated...we're going to teach you how to break down even the hardest AP synthesis essay prompt.

Full Breakdown of a Real AP Lang Synthesis Essay Prompt

In this section, we'll teach you how to analyze and respond to a synthesis essay prompt in five easy steps, including suggested time frames for each step of the process.

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

The very first thing to do when the clock starts running is read and analyze the prompt. To demonstrate how to do this, we'll look at the sample AP Lang synthesis essay prompt below. This prompt comes straight from the 2018 AP Lang exam:

Eminent domain is the power governments have to acquire property from private owners for public use. The rationale behind eminent domain is that governments have greater legal authority over lands within their dominion than do private owners. Eminent domain has been instituted in one way or another throughout the world for hundreds of years.

Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize material from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies the notion that eminent domain is productive and beneficial.

Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to develop your argument and explain the reasoning for it. Avoid merely summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You may cite the sources as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the descriptions in parentheses.

On first read, you might be nervous about how to answer this prompt...especially if you don't know what eminent domain is! But if you break the prompt down into chunks, you'll be able to figure out what the prompt is asking you to do in no time flat.

To get a full understanding of what this prompt wants you to do, you need to identify the most important details in this prompt, paragraph by paragraph. Here's what each paragraph is asking you to do:

Paragraph 1: The prompt presents and briefly explains the topic that you'll be writing your synthesis essay about. That topic is the concept of eminent domain.
Paragraph 2: The prompt presents a specific claim about the concept of eminent domain in this paragraph: Eminent domain is productive and beneficial. This paragraph instructs you to decide whether you want to defend, challenge, or qualify that claim in your synthesis essay , and use material from at least three of the sources provided in order to do so.
Paragraph 3: In the last paragraph of the prompt, the exam gives you clear instructions about how to approach writing your synthesis essay . First, make your argument the focus of the essay. Second, use material from at least three of the sources to develop and explain your argument. Third, provide commentary on the material you include, and provide proper citations when you incorporate quotations, paraphrases, or summaries from the sources provided.

So basically, you'll have to agree with, disagree with, or qualify the claim stated in the prompt, then use at least three sources substantiate your answer. Since you probably don't know much about eminent domain, you'll probably decide on your position after you read the provided sources.

To make good use of your time on the exam, you should spend around 2 minutes reading the prompt and making note of what it's asking you to do. That will leave you plenty of time to read the sources provided, which is the next step to writing a synthesis essay.

Step 2: Read the Sources Carefully

After you closely read the prompt and make note of the most important details, you need to read all of the sources provided. It's tempting to skip one or two sources to save time--but we recommend you don't do this. That's because you'll need a thorough understanding of the topic before you can accurately address the prompt!

For the sample exam prompt included above, there are six sources provided. We're not going to include all of the sources in this article, but you can view the six sources from this question on the 2018 AP Lang exam here . The sources include five print-text sources and one visual source, which is a cartoon.

As you read the sources, it's important to read quickly and carefully. Don't rush! Keep your pencil in hand to quickly mark important passages that you might want to use as evidence in your synthesis. While you're reading the sources and marking passages, you want to think about how the information you're reading influences your stance on the issue (in this case, eminent domain).

When you finish reading, take a few seconds to summarize, in a phrase or sentence, whether the source defends, challenges, or qualifies whether eminent domain is beneficial (which is the claim in the prompt) . Though it might not feel like you have time for this, it's important to give yourself these notes about each source so you know how you can use each one as evidence in your essay.

Here's what we mean: say you want to challenge the idea that eminent domain is useful. If you've jotted down notes about each source and what it's saying, it will be easier for you to pull the relevant information into your outline and your essay.

So how much time should you spend reading the provided sources? The AP Lang exam recommends taking 15 minutes to read the sources . If you spend around two of those minutes reading and breaking down the essay prompt, it makes sense to spend the remaining 13 minutes reading and annotating the sources.

If you finish reading and annotating early, you can always move on to drafting your synthesis essay. But make sure you're taking your time and reading carefully! It's better to use a little extra time reading and understanding the sources now so that you don't have to go back and re-read the sources later.

A strong thesis will do a lot of heavy lifting in your essay. (See what we did there?)

Step 3: Write a Strong Thesis Statement

After you've analyzed the prompt and thoroughly read the sources, the next thing you need to do in order to write a good synthesis essay is write a strong thesis statement .

The great news about writing a thesis statement for this synthesis essay is that you have all the tools you need to do it at your fingertips. All you have to do in order to write your thesis statement is decide what your stance is in relationship to the topic provided.

In the example prompt provided earlier, you're essentially given three choices for how to frame your thesis statement: you can either defend, challenge, or qualify a claim that's been provided by the prompt, that eminent domain is productive and beneficial . Here's what that means for each option:

If you choose to defend the claim, your job will be to prove that the claim is correct . In this case, you'll have to show that eminent domain is a good thing.

If you choose to challenge the claim, you'll argue that the claim is incorrect. In other words, you'll argue that eminent domain isn't productive or beneficial.

If you choose to qualify, that means you'll agree with part of the claim, but disagree with another part of the claim. For instance, you may argue that eminent domain can be a productive tool for governments, but it's not beneficial for property owners. Or maybe you argue that eminent domain is useful in certain circumstances, but not in others.

When you decide whether you want your synthesis essay to defend, challenge, or qualify that claim, you need to convey that stance clearly in your thesis statement. You want to avoid simply restating the claim provided in the prompt, summarizing the issue without making a coherent claim, or writing a thesis that doesn't respond to the prompt.

Here's an example of a thesis statement that received full points on the eminent domain synthesis essay:

Although eminent domain can be misused to benefit private interests at the expense of citizens, it is a vital tool of any government that intends to have any influence on the land it governs beyond that of written law.

This thesis statement received full points because it states a defensible position and establishes a line of reasoning on the issue of eminent domain. It states the author's position (that some parts of eminent domain are good, but others are bad), then goes on to explain why the author thinks that (it's good because it allows the government to do its job, but it's bad because the government can misuse its power.)

Because this example thesis statement states a defensible position and establishes a line of reasoning, it can be elaborated upon in the body of the essay through sub-claims, supporting evidence, and commentary. And a solid argument is key to getting a six on your synthesis essay for AP Lang!

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Step 4: Create a Bare-Bones Essay Outline

Once you've got your thesis statement drafted, you have the foundation you need to develop a bare bones outline for your synthesis essay. Developing an outline might seem like it's a waste of your precious time, but if you develop your outline well, it will actually save you time when you start writing your essay.

With that in mind, we recommend spending 5 to 10 minutes outlining your synthesis essay . If you use a bare-bones outline like the one below, labeling each piece of content that you need to include in your essay draft, you should be able to develop out the most important pieces of the synthesis before you even draft the actual essay.

To help you see how this can work on test day, we've created a sample outline for you. You can even memorize this outline to help you out on test day! In the outline below, you'll find places to fill in a thesis statement, body paragraph topic sentences, evidence from the sources provided, and commentary :

Present the context surrounding the essay topic in a couple of sentences (this is a good place to use what you learned about the major opinions or controversies about the topic from reading your sources).
Write a straightforward, clear, and concise thesis statement that presents your stance on the topic
Topic sentence presenting first supporting point or claim
Evidence #1
Commentary on Evidence #1
Evidence #2 (if needed)
Commentary on Evidence #2 (if needed)
Topic sentence presenting second supporting point or claim
Topic sentence presenting three supporting point or claim
Sums up the main line of reasoning that you developed and defended throughout the essay
Reiterates the thesis statement

Taking the time to develop these crucial pieces of the synthesis in a bare-bones outline will give you a map for your final essay. Once you have a map, writing the essay will be much easier.

Step 5: Draft Your Essay Response

The great thing about taking a few minutes to develop an outline is that you can develop it out into your essay draft. After you take about 5 to 10 minutes to outline your synthesis essay, you can use the remaining 30 to 35 minutes to draft your essay and review it.

Since you'll outline your essay before you start drafting, writing the essay should be pretty straightforward. You'll already know how many paragraphs you're going to write, what the topic of each paragraph will be, and what quotations, paraphrases, or summaries you're going to include in each paragraph from the sources provided. You'll just have to fill in one of the most important parts of your synthesis—your commentary.

Commentaries are your explanation of why your evidence supports the argument you've outlined in your thesis. Your commentary is where you actually make your argument, which is why it's such a critical part of your synthesis essay.

When thinking about what to say in your commentary, remember one thing the AP Lang synthesis essay prompt specifies: don't just summarize the sources. Instead, as you provide commentary on the evidence you incorporate, you need to explain how that evidence supports or undermines your thesis statement . You should include commentary that offers a thoughtful or novel perspective on the evidence from your sources to develop your argument.

One very important thing to remember as you draft out your essay is to cite your sources. The AP Lang exam synthesis essay prompt indicates that you can use generic labels for the sources provided (e.g. "Source 1," "Source 2," "Source 3," etc.). The exam prompt will indicate which label corresponds with which source, so you'll need to make sure you pay attention and cite sources accurately. You can cite your sources in the sentence where you introduce a quote, summary, or paraphrase, or you can use a parenthetical citation. Citing your sources affects your score on the synthesis essay, so remembering to do this is important.

Keep reading for a real-life example of a great AP synthesis essay response!

Real-Life AP Synthesis Essay Example and Analysis

If you're still wondering how to write a synthesis essay, examples of real essays from past AP Lang exams can make things clearer. These real-life student AP synthesis essay responses can be great for helping you understand how to write a synthesis essay that will knock the graders' socks off .

While there are multiple essay examples online, we've chosen one to take a closer look at. We're going to give you a brief analysis of one of these example student synthesis essays from the 2019 AP Lang Exam below!

Example Synthesis Essay AP Lang Response

To get started, let's look at the official prompt for the 2019 synthesis essay:

In response to our society's increasing demand for energy, large-scale wind power has drawn attention from governments and consumers as a potential alternative to traditional materials that fuel our power grids, such as coal, oil, natural gas, water, or even newer sources such as nuclear or solar power. Yet the establishment of large-scale, commercial-grade wind farms is often the subject of controversy for a variety of reasons.

Source A (photo) Source B (Layton) Source C (Seltenrich) Source D (Brown) Source E (Rule) Source F (Molla)

In your response you should do the following:

Respond to the prompt with a thesis presents a defensible position.
Select and use evidence from at least 3 of the provided sources to support your line of reasoning. Indicate clearly the sources used through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. Sources may be cited as Source A, Source B, etc., or by using the description in parentheses.
Explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning.
Use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.

Now that you know exactly what the prompt asked students to do on the 2019 AP Lang synthesis essay, here's an AP Lang synthesis essay example, written by a real student on the AP Lang exam in 2019:

[4] Aesthetics may be the greatest setback for power companies. Although there may be significant economic and environmental benefit to wind power, people will always fight to preserve pure, unspoiled land. Unfortunately, not much can be done to improve the visual aesthetics of the turbines. White paint is the most common choice because it "[is] associated with cleanliness." (Source E). But, this can make it stand out like a sore thumb, and make the gargantuan machines seem more out of place. The site can also not be altered because it affects generating capacity. Sound is almost worse of a concern because it interrupts personal productivity by interrupting people's sleep patterns. One thing for power companies to consider is working with turbine manufacturing to make the machines less aesthetically impactful, so as to garner greater public support.

And that's an entire AP Lang synthesis essay example, written in response to a real AP Lang exam prompt! It's important to remember AP Lang exam synthesis essay prompts are always similarly structured and worded, and students often respond in around the same number of paragraphs as what you see in the example essay response above.

Next, let's analyze this example essay and talk about what it does effectively, where it could be improved upon, and what score past exam scorers awarded it.

To get started on an analysis of the sample synthesis essay, let's look at the scoring commentary provided by the College Board:

For development of thesis, the essay received 1 out of 1 possible points
For evidence and commentary, the essay received 4 out of 4 possible points
For sophistication of thought, the essay received 0 out of 1 possible points.

This means that the final score for this example essay was a 5 out of 6 possible points . Let's look more closely at the content of the example essay to figure out why it received this score breakdown.

Thesis Development

The thesis statement is one of the three main categories that is taken into consideration when you're awarded points on this portion of the exam. This sample essay received 1 out of 1 total points.

Now, here's why: the thesis statement clearly and concisely conveys a position on the topic presented in the prompt--alternative energy and wind power--and defines the most important factors that power companies should consider when deciding whether to establish a wind farm.

Evidence and Commentary

The second key category taken into consideration when synthesis exams are evaluated is incorporation of evidence and commentary. This sample received 4 out of 4 possible points for this portion of the synthesis essay. At bare minimum, this sample essay meets the requirement mentioned in the prompt that the writer incorporate evidence from at least three of the sources provided.

On top of that, the writer does a good job of connecting the incorporated evidence back to the claim made in the thesis statement through effective commentary. The commentary in this sample essay is effective because it goes beyond just summarizing what the provided sources say. Instead, it explains and analyzes the evidence presented in the selected sources and connects them back to supporting points the writer makes in each body paragraph.

Finally, the writer of the essay also received points for evidence and commentary because the writer developed and supported a consistent line of reasoning throughout the essay . This line of reasoning is summed up in the fourth paragraph in the following sentence: "One thing for power companies to consider is working with turbine manufacturing to make the machines less aesthetically impactful, so as to garner greater public support."

Because the writer did a good job consistently developing their argument and incorporating evidence, they received full marks in this category. So far, so good!

Sophistication of Thought

Now, we know that this essay received a score of 5 out of 6 total points, and the place where the writer lost a point was on the basis of sophistication of thought, for which the writer received 0 out of 1 points. That's because this sample essay makes several generalizations and vague claims where it could have instead made specific claims that support a more balanced argument.

For example, in the following sentence from the 5th paragraph of the sample essay, the writer misses the opportunity to state specific possibilities that power companies should consider for wind energy . Instead, the writer is ambiguous and non-committal, saying, "As with most things, wind power has no easy answer. It is the responsibility of the companies building them to weigh the benefits and consequences."

If the writer of this essay was interested in trying to get that 6th point on the synthesis essay response, they could consider making more specific claims. For instance, they could state the specific benefits and consequences power companies should consider when deciding whether to establish a wind farm. These could include things like environmental impacts, economic impacts, or even population density!

Despite losing one point in the last category, this example synthesis essay is a strong one. It's well-developed, thoughtfully written, and advances an argument on the exam topic using evidence and support throughout.

4 Tips for How to Write a Synthesis Essay

AP Lang is a timed exam, so you have to pick and choose what you want to focus on in the limited time you're given to write the synthesis essay. Keep reading to get our expert advice on what you should focus on during your exam.

Tip 1: Read the Prompt First

It may sound obvious, but when you're pressed for time, it's easy to get flustered. Just remember: when it comes time to write the synthesis essay, read the prompt first !

Why is it so important to read the prompt before you read the sources? Because when you're aware of what kind of question you're trying to answer, you'll be able to read the sources more strategically. The prompt will help give you a sense of what claims, points, facts, or opinions to be looking for as you read the sources.

Reading the sources without having read the prompt first is kind of like trying to drive while wearing a blindfold: you can probably do it, but it's likely not going to end well!

Tip 2: Make Notes While You Read

During the 15-minute reading period at the beginning of the synthesis essay, you'll be reading through the sources as quickly as you can. After all, you're probably anxious to start writing!

While it's definitely important to make good use of your time, it's also important to read closely enough that you understand your sources. Careful reading will allow you to identify parts of the sources that will help you support your thesis statement in your essay, too.

As you read the sources, consider marking helpful passages with a star or check mark in the margins of the exam so you know which parts of the text to quickly re-read as you form your synthesis essay. You might also consider summing up the key points or position of each source in a sentence or a few words when you finish reading each source during the reading period. Doing so will help you know where each source stands on the topic given and help you pick the three (or more!) that will bolster your synthesis argument.

Tip 3: Start With the Thesis Statement

If you don't start your synthesis essay with a strong thesis statement, it's going to be tough to write an effective synthesis essay. As soon as you finish reading and annotating the provided sources, the thing you want to do next is write a strong thesis statement.

According to the CollegeBoard grading guidelines for the AP Lang synthesis essay, a strong thesis statement will respond to the prompt— not restate or rephrase the prompt. A good thesis will take a clear, defensible position on the topic presented in the prompt and the sources.

In other words, to write a solid thesis statement to guide the rest of your synthesis essay, you need to think about your position on the topic at hand and then make a claim about the topic based on your position. This position will either be defending, challenging, or qualifying the claim made in the essay's prompt.

The defensible position that you establish in your thesis statement will guide your argument in the rest of the essay, so it's important to do this first. Once you have a strong thesis statement, you can begin outlining your essay.

Tip 4: Focus on Your Commentary

Writing thoughtful, original commentary that explains your argument and your sources is important. In fact, doing this well will earn you four points (out of a total of six)!

AP Lang provides six to seven sources for you on the exam, and you'll be expected to incorporate quotations, paraphrases, or summaries from at least three of those sources into your synthesis essay and interpret that evidence for the reader.

While incorporating evidence is very important, in order to get the extra point for "sophistication of thought" on the synthesis essay, it's important to spend more time thinking about your commentary on the evidence you choose to incorporate. The commentary is your chance to show original thinking, strong rhetorical skills, and clearly explain how the evidence you've included supports the stance you laid out in your thesis statement.

To earn the 6th possible point on the synthesis essay, make sure your commentary demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the source material, explains this nuanced understanding, and places the evidence incorporated from the sources in conversation with each other. To do this, make sure you're avoiding vague language. Be specific when you can, and always tie your commentary back to your thesis!

What's Next?

There's a lot more to the AP Language exam than just the synthesis essay. Be sure to check out our expert guide to the entire exam , then learn more about the tricky multiple choice section .

Is the AP Lang exam hard...or is it easy? See how it stacks up to other AP tests on our list of the hardest AP exams .

Did you know there are technically two English AP exams? You can learn more about the second English AP test, the AP Literature exam, in this article . And if you're confused about whether you should take the AP Lang or AP Lit test , we can help you make that decision, too.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download them for free now:

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Synthesis Essays: A Step-by-Step How-To Guide

A synthesis essay is generally a short essay which brings two or more sources (or perspectives) into conversation with each other.

The word “synthesis” confuses every student a little bit. Fortunately, this step-by-step how-to guide will see you through to success!

Here’s a step-by-step how-to guide, with examples, that will help you write yours.

Before drafting your essay:

After reading the sources and before writing your essay, ask yourself these questions:

What is the debate or issue that concerns all of the writers? In other words, what is the question they are trying to answer?
On what points do they agree?
On what points do they disagree?
If they were having a verbal discussion, how would writer number one respond to the arguments of writer number two?

In a way, writing a synthesis essay is similar to composing a summary. But a synthesis essay requires you to read more than one source and to identify the way the writers’ ideas and points of view are related.

Sometimes several sources will reach the same conclusion even though each source approaches the subject from a different point of view.

Other times, sources will discuss the same aspects of the problem/issue/debate but will reach different conclusions.

And sometimes, sources will simply repeat ideas you have read in other sources; however, this is unlikely in a high school or AP situation.

To better organize your thoughts about what you’ve read, do this:

Identify each writer’s thesis/claim/main idea
List the writers supporting ideas (think topic sentences or substantiating ideas)
List the types of support used by the writers that seem important. For example, if the writer uses a lot of statistics to support a claim, note this. If a writer uses historical facts, note this.

There’s one more thing to do before writing: You need to articulate for yourself the relationships and connections among these ideas.

Sometimes the relationships are easy to find. For example, after reading several articles about censorship in newspapers, you may notice that most of the writers refer to or in some way use the First Amendment to help support their arguments and help persuade readers. In this case, you would want to describe the different ways the writers use the First Amendment in their arguments. To do this, ask yourself, “How does this writer exploit the value of the First Amendment/use the First Amendment to help persuade or manipulate the readers into thinking that she is right?

Sometimes articulating the relationships between ideas is not as easy. If you have trouble articulating clear relationships among the shared ideas you have noted, ask yourself these questions:

Do the ideas of one writer support the ideas of another? If so, how?
Do the writers who reach the same conclusion use the same ideas in their writing? If not, is there a different persuasive value to the ideas used by one writer than by the other?
Do the writers who disagree discuss similar points or did they approach the subject from a completely different angle and therefore use different points and different kinds of evidence to support their arguments?
Review your list of ideas. Are any of the ideas you have listed actually the same idea, just written in different words?

AP® English Language

How to ace the ap® english language and composition synthesis essay.

The Albert Team
Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

how_to_ace_the_ap_english english language synthesis essay

The newest section of the AP® English Language and Composition Exam, the synthesis essay, is one of three essays you will be completing during the examination’s 2-hour free-response period. However, you’ll also have a 15-minute reading and planning period just for this essay, and if you use this time to plan effectively, you can’t go wrong.

Before we get into specific advice on how to handle the AP® English Language and Composition synthesis essay, you need to know what this part of the test really is. It is very similar to the argumentative essay you will also write as part of this exam, except that you are provided with a wealth of source material from which to draw some support for your ideas.

While this in some ways makes the AP® English Language and Composition synthesis essay easier than the argument essay (because you can use quotations, point to authoritative sources for support, etc.), there is an extra element of complexity, and the AP® readers want to see how well you can sort through your source material and put it to good use – which makes planning all that much more important. This brings us to our first tip…

1. Use Your 15-Minute Planning Period Wisely.

The main purpose of this 15-minute period is to give you time to read the source materials. This essay will present you with several sources providing different information about or opinions on a certain topic. Make sure you don’t just skim them, but read them closely – make notes, underline key sections you may want to quote later, etc.

You should also begin outlining your essay and considering your opinion on the subject; have this opinion in mind before you start writing the essay, as you will use it to construct your thesis.

You’ve already learned how to structure persuasive essays in this class and in other classes you have taken; put that knowledge to good use now, and have your main points set out before you start writing. Try to have a thesis statement written by the time you start the essay – your thesis should establish your opinion and the general reasons you feel this way; the rest of your essay will go on to justify and exemplify these reasons. Also write down some of the main points upon which you will base subsequent paragraphs and mark quotes or sections of the sources you can use in each of these paragraphs.

2. Evaluate Your Sources.

Every source you can use for the AP® Language and Composition synthesis essay will have a small box above it explaining where it comes from and who said it – to see exactly what this looks like, check out the free synthesis essay sample questions at AP® Central. There are also public sample questions available there for the rest of the AP® English and Composition Exam .

Keep all information about your sources in mind when you’re quoting them or using them to support your arguments. What journal an article appeared in can say a great deal about its potential biases. For example, consider a question on the environmental impacts of corporate practices – an environmental journal is obviously going to be biased in favor of more environmental regulation, while a report from a company spokesperson will probably gloss over some of the negative impacts of his company. Think critically.

3. Keep Your Tone Consistent.

There is no hard-and-fast advice about what tone you should take – some students try to inject a little humor into their essays while others prefer to be as serious as possible, some are extremely critical and others more accepting. However, the one thing you really have to do while writing the AP® Language and Composition synthesis essay (or any other essay) is keep your tone consistent. Jot some tone-related ideas down as you outline during the 15-minute reading period, and keep in mind everything you’ve learned about tone and other aspects of rhetoric so far this year.

4. Use Rhetorical Technique to Your Advantage!

The various rhetorical practices you’ve been learning about all year can be put to good use here. This class and this test aren’t just about recognizing and analyzing these techniques when others use them, but about preparing you for college and your career by teaching you how to use them effectively yourself. However, this isn’t just about writing a beautiful essay, so read on to Tip # 5!

5. Your Argument Must be Well-Crafted.

The AP® English Language and Composition Exam synthesis essay does not have right or wrong answers; rather, it asks you for your opinion. The AP® Examiner cannot take points off because she disagrees with you. However, you must show logical basis for your opinion, drawing on both the sources AND your own knowledge and experience.

To do this, make sure you have a clear and complete thesis. Make sure the ideas expressed in the beginning of each paragraph or section support the thesis, and that you in turn show how those ideas are supported by a source or through your own knowledge and experience. Don’t generalize or write anything down that you can’t support.

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Writing Tips

How to Write a Synthesis Essay

4-minute read

31st May 2023

Are you writing a synthesis essay? This is a paper that combines information from a variety of sources to form a new idea. Essentially, you’re synthesizing existing concepts and arguments to create something original.

As a student, you’ll probably have to write a synthesis essay at some point. Read on for our step-by-step guide on how to write one effectively.

Step 1. Define Your Idea or Argument

If you haven’t done so already, decide on a topic to write about. Read up about it using a variety of credible sources and make detailed notes while you research. Make sure you keep track of the sources you decide to pull information from so that you can cite them properly later.

Make a list of key points from your research. Once you have a good selection of material to work with, start developing your own idea or argument. This will be the focus of your essay.

Step 2. Create an Outline

Synthesis essays generally follow this format: an introduction, a handful of main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It’s a good idea to come up with an essay plan before you start writing so that you can keep things organized while you work.

The outline is mainly helpful for deciding what to include in your body paragraphs. Decide what supporting points (and counterarguments ) from your research you want to include, and which order you want to discuss them in. You should have enough information to flesh out one paragraph for each point.

Step 3. Write Your Introduction

In your introduction, you should open with something that hooks the reader and captures their attention. Then, state your argument or idea (i.e., your thesis statement) and briefly summarize the material you’ll be including in your essay. You should also include any relevant background information here.

Step 4. Write the Body Paragraphs

Using your outline, discuss each point from your source material in more depth, devoting a body paragraph to each. Explain the information from the outside source, including appropriate citations, and discuss how it connects with your idea.

It’s a good idea to mostly focus on points that support your argument, but you should also include a paragraph with a counterargument or two. This means discussing a perspective that doesn’t necessarily align with your idea, and then explaining why your argument still works.

Step 5. Tie It All Together With a Conclusion

The conclusion should leave the reader feeling convinced of your idea. Restate your point clearly and summarize the main points you’ve discussed. You could also offer any concluding reflections on the topic.

Different Types of Synthesis Essays

While you can follow our steps for any type of synthesis essay, yours will probably fall under one of two categories: explanatory or argumentative.

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Argumentative essays are as they sound – they present an argument. With an argumentative essay, you’ll take a more definitive stance on something and use your supporting material to persuade the reader.

Explanatory essays don’t necessarily take a side one way or the other. Rather, they focus on developing and explaining a concept thoroughly. Knowing which type of essay you’re writing will help you to gather more effective source material for your purpose.

Cite Your Sources

Since synthesis essays are particularly dependent on outside material, it’s especially important that you cite your sources correctly. Familiarize yourself with your referencing system before you start researching so you know what information you need to keep track of, and include appropriate citations whenever you use someone else’s work.

At the end of the essay, you’ll need to compile your sources into a reference list following the requirements of your style guide.

Summary: Writing a Synthesis Essay

Hopefully, this post has helped you to feel more confident in writing a synthesis essay. Choose a topic first, do your research, keep track of your sources, and develop an argument or idea. From there, you can organize your thoughts into an outline and get to writing!

Once you’ve created a first draft, make sure you send it our way! We’ll check it for errors in grammar, spelling, referencing, and more. Try it out for free today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a synthesis essay.

A synthesis essay gathers ideas and viewpoints from several different sources and ties them together to form a new concept.

How long is a synthesis essay?

Synthesis essays usually follow the five-paragraph format, with an introduction, three main body paragraphs discussing different points, and a conclusion.

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27 How do I Write a Synthesis Essay?

A synthesis essay is a type of essay that gathers information from a variety of sources to form a new idea, question, or argumentative thesis. Writers composing a synthesis essay will discuss ideas, data, and evidence from a series of sources to either explain or argue something original.

Explanatory vs. Argumentative Synthesis Essays: How Are They Different?

Though the formatting is largely the same, there are two main types of synthesis essays: explanatory and argumentative.

1. Explanatory : The purpose of an explanatory synthesis essay is to use different sources to explain a particular point of view. These synthesis papers objectively examine the similarities and differences between ideas but don’t necessarily choose a side or attempt to sway the reader in any direction.
2. Argumentative : An argumentative synthesis essay follows the same structure as a typical argumentative essay. The thesis of an argumentative essay will argue one specific point.

Synthesis Essay Structure

Synthesis essays typically adhere to the five-paragraph essay structure, but there are slight nuances to structuring this type of essay. Here is how a synthesis essay is structured.

Introduction : The foundational ideas of your essay are expressed in the introductory paragraph. You will address the general landscape of ideas around your topic, introducing some of your sources. You will also introduce the argument to be made through a thesis statement, which succinctly states your primary argument in a sentence or two. The thesis statement typically comes at the very end of your introductory paragraph.
Body : The body of your synthesis essay is usually about three paragraphs long. This typically includes two paragraphs synthesizing your sources in a way that supports your argument, and one paragraph that acknowledges opposing arguments.
Conclusion : The conclusion of your synthesis essay reiterates the argument that you’ve made throughout your essay. It may emphasize how each of the points you made and the sources you’ve cited substantiate your point.

How to Write a Synthesis Essay

A great synthesis essay walks readers through a series of ideas and sources to prove or explain a larger point.

Follow this step-by-step guide for writing your essay:

Choose a topic you’re curious about . Brainstorm a few ideas for your synthesis essay topic, prioritizing the subjects you feel passionate about.
Do your research . Once you’ve decided on a topic, use the internet, library, and other sources to perform extensive research. You can turn to academic primary sources to find quotes from scholars and experts, or look up statistics or scientific studies relevant to your topic. This research will help you develop a point of view that is backed up by concrete information. Use credible sources that are unbiased.
Outline your point . Your entire essay should focus on either explaining a certain perspective or making an argument. Outline how each of your sources relates to your theme and support your idea.
Write your introduction . An introduction is the first paragraph of a paper. Its main purpose is to present the general premise of the paper, provide any necessary background information, and hopefully, capture the reader’s attention. The introductory paragraph to your synthesis essay should be where you include a strong thesis statement. This is where you will state the point of view that you’re exploring or the argument you’re making.
Include your body paragraphs . Synthesis essays will typically contain three body paragraphs. A good body paragraph contains three main sections: a topic sentence (or key sentence), relevant supporting sentences, and a closing (or transition)
sentence. This structure keeps your paragraph focused on the main idea, providing clear, concise information. Each body paragraph should discuss different elements and supporting arguments of your thesis, along with evidence drawn from each source. Explain the common theme between your resources, as well as how they are relevant to your text. Include counterarguments as well as how your source material can discredit those claims and support your own idea.
Wrap it up with a strong conclusion . A conclusion is a final piece of writing in a research paper, essay, or article that summarizes the entire work. The concluding paragraph of your synthesis essay will restate your thesis, summarize the key supporting ideas you discussed throughout the work, and offer your final impression of the central idea.
Proofread . Always proofread your writing a few times before submitting or presenting it. A few missed words or grammatical errors can sometimes change or discredit the entire crux of an argument or opinion. Make sure that your grammar, syntax, and flow are as accurate and clear as possible. This will help you come across as a credible source.

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How to Write a Synthesis Essay

Synthesis essays are not as popular as argumentative or analytical essays. Still, you can be assigned to write this type of essay when you study at high school, college, or university. Writing a synthesis essay is also a part of an exam that you have to pass in order to complete the AP English Language and Composition course. As this essay type is uncommon, we will provide you with a detailed and simple guide on how to write a synthesis essay.

What is a synthesis essay?

A synthesis essay is a type of writing that offers a unique viewpoint on a chosen topic backed up with information from multiple sources. It is similar to research papers but has a few limitations.

Firstly, when you write an AP synthesis essay, you don’t have to look for the necessary sources by yourself, as they’re provided in the text of your assignment. The only thing you need to do is pick three or four sources in order to argue the topic. Secondly, you’ll have certain time limitations during the exam. You will have to complete three writing tasks (argument, analysis, and synthesis) in two hours. Finally, topics for synthesis essays are usually broader than ones for research papers.

The AP English Language and Composition exam is not aimed at evaluating students’ knowledge of a specific discipline. Its main purpose is to examine your writing and rhetorical skills, so all topics are debatable and understandable, as they don’t require reading specialized literature.

In general, a synthesis essay has to demonstrate your language competence, not your analytical thinking skills. Still, you should follow a particular logic to make your text readable and to get a higher score.

Main types of synthesis essays

Synthesis essay writing steps

When you compose a synthesis essay, especially for the AP exam, you don’t have much time. Therefore, you need perfect planning. Below, we offer you writing steps divided into three stages for your comfort.

Preparatory work

1. Read instructions thoroughly

Understanding the prompt is crucial for providing a brilliant synthesis essay. Make sure that you take into account all the aspects of the topic.

2. Think about the topic

Sure, you won’t have much time for a full-scale brainstorming session during the exam. Still, you have to look at the suggested theme from different perspectives in order to formulate your unique and interesting viewpoint.

3. Compose a preliminary thesis statement

Write down the first clear idea that will come to your mind after you read the prompt. It doesn’t need to be perfect, as you’ll have a chance to make changes later. The main purpose of this step is to create a base for the further writing process. A good thesis statement is a sentence that answers three questions about your essay at the same time: what, how, and why.

4. Choose sources

When taking an exam, this step is easier than when doing an academic assignment, as all the sources are specified. You have to pick three or four sources of various formats that will enforce your point of view. If you are preparing a synthesis essay for a university, you can use more than four sources, but make sure that you analyze and present properly the ideas of each author.

4. Read the chosen sources thoroughly

Remember that you don’t have much time when you take the exam, so don’t waste it for reading all the provided sources. Only after picking several texts will you begin a detailed reading. You can make short annotations and take notes in order to summarize the main ideas of the chosen sources.

5. Find connections between the sources and your claim

This is the main aspect of any synthesis essay. If you don’t succeed in finding out and explaining to your readers how the chosen sources are related to your thesis, you won’t get a high score for your essay. The sources that you choose shouldn’t necessarily prove your point of view. They can even be contradictory, but links between them have to be clear.

Drafting your essay

To simplify the writing process, we suggest you to use a standard five-paragraph structure: one paragraph for your introduction, three paragraphs for the main body, and one more for your conclusion.

Let’s take a closer look at each part of a synthesis essay.

1. Introduction

An introduction is an extremely important part of your essay, as it has three crucial functions. First of all, you introduce your topic and provide some background information that is necessary for understanding the theme. The next task is to present your sources, as they provide the base for your synthesis essay. Finally, you include your thesis statement in your introduction. Don’t forget that your claim should be relevant to your body paragraphs. As a rule, an introductory section is about 10% of the whole text and consists only of one paragraph.

2. The main body

This part covers about 80% of your synthesis essay. Each paragraph should include a focal point and several quotes that serve as arguments. You should follow the rule of one paragraph, one idea. However, don’t omit the logical connections between parts of the main body and different sources. Your main purpose is to show how you can synthesize multiple sources in order to prove your personal point of view.

3. Conclusion

When you write the concluding part of your essay, the main thing is to show confidence. A confident tone will persuade your readers that your viewpoint is correct and your argumentation is immaculate. Restate your thesis statement and summarize connections between your initial claim and cited sources. Be concise and avoid long phrases: your conclusion should be only 10% of the whole text.

Final touches

1. Reread your essay

It is hard to do everything perfectly on the first try. In order to notice all the mistakes and inaccuracies, reread your writing thoroughly.

2. Write a final thesis statement

Make sure that your thesis statement is relevant to the main body. If not, rewrite it to create a smooth connection between your claim and argumentation.

3. Edit your text

If you’re sure that everything is fine with the content of your synthesis essay, it’s time to get rid of grammatical mistakes, poor wording, spelling mistakes, and incorrect punctuation. Remember that even the most eloquent text will look like the work of an amateur if there are dozens of mistakes.

Strategies of organizing synthesis essay

AP lang synthesis essay

On the AP Language and Composition exam, you will need to write a synthesis essay as part of the free-response section. For this essay, you will be provided with prompts and several sources to support your argument. To prepare for this essay, it is important to read through each source carefully, take notes, and create an outline before starting to write. Remember to include at least three sources in your essay and to cite them properly. Here are some important facts to keep in mind about the AP Lang Synthesis Essay:

Purpose . The synthesis essay is a type of exam paper that students write to show their analytical skills and ability to work with sources and write essays based on them.
Time limit . The work time is 55 minutes.
Organization . Composition of the synthesis essay is the following:
Introduction with a thesis statement.
Argument from the source No. 1.
Argument from the source No. 2.
Argument from the source No. 3.
Conclusion.
Compliance with the topic . You should stay on topic and support the chosen quote or question.
Argumentation using several sources . The point of a synthesis essay is to confirm your statements, using as examples the sources you have given.
Composition and logic of reasoning . The criterion implies adherence to semantic division into paragraphs, logical sequence of presentation of thoughts, as well as constructive proof of one’s opinion.
Quality of writing style . In the synthesis essay, use diverse speech structures, but ones that are correct grammatically, syntactically and lexically.

Synthesis essay topics

How to choose an exciting topic for a synthesis essay.

A synthesis essay is an opportunity to share your opinion on two or more texts. You will need to analyze a particular issue and support your point of view with evidence. This type of essay is common in high school and college English courses.

When choosing a topic for your synthesis essay, you need to find a way to connect the sources. Connecting different sources to support your point to make a perfect essay can be done by finding a common theme or providing a critical analysis of each source. If you are still looking for a connection, try looking for a common thread that ties the sources together.

Once you have found a connection, you must decide what direction you want your essay to take.

Do you agree with the sources?
Do you disagree?
Do you see a different perspective?

Your position will be the basis for your synthesis essay.

20 creative topics for a synthesis essay

The American Dream: Is it still achievable?
Technology has made our world a better place
Social media is a positive or negative force in our world
The media is responsible for the way we see the world
The definition of success: What does it mean to be successful?
The role of the government: Should it be more involved
The importance of a college education
The challenges of being a first-generation college student
The pros and cons of genetic engineering
The implications of climate change
Agree or disagree: The only way to be a successful student is to get good grades
Reality television is harmful to our society
The importance of failure
The impact of social media on relationships
Fake News: Is the spread of fake news a problem?
Technology: What will be the next significant innovation?
Social Media: Is social media a form of addiction?
The pros and cons of technology in the classroom
Family: How has the traditional family structure changed?
Religion: How has faith changed over time?

Why do you need to explore expert samples

As you know, a synthesis essay is about drawing information from various sources and piecing it together to create a cohesive whole. The process can be tricky and one that can be made much easier with the help of expert samples.

1. It can be difficult to identify all the necessary elements independently

When looking at a blank page, it can be challenging to know where to start. It, therefore, becomes more challenging when tasked with writing a synthesis essay since you need to include so many elements that can be difficult to identify without the help of an expert. Thus, this is where expert samples come in handy. By reading through a few examples, you can better understand what’s required and what’s optional.

2. You’ll be able to see how different writers approach the same topic

One of the great things about exploring expert samples is that you’ll be able to see how other writers approach the same issue. Subsequently, this can give you valuable insights into how you might want to approach your essay.

3. You can learn from the mistakes of others

While reading through expert samples, you’ll inevitably come across some that are better than others. Consequently, this is an excellent opportunity to learn from the mistakes of others and make sure that you don’t make the same mistakes in your essay.

4. You’ll get a better sense of what the professor expects

If you need clarification on what your teacher or professor is looking for, expert samples can be a great way to give a better experience of what the professor expects. Reading through a few expert examples gives you a clearer idea of the professors’ expectations, and you can formulate your thoughts.

5. You can find inspiration for your essay

Finally, one of the best reasons to explore expert samples is that they can provide much-needed inspiration. If you’re stuck, a few well-written examples can jumpstart your creative process and help you develop great ideas for your essay.

5 helpful tips to write a synthesis essay

1. Acceptable number of sources

If you need to take the AP exam, you have to use at least three sources (you can use a maximum of four sources). If you must write a synthesis essay as an academic assignment, you may use more sources. However, we don’t recommend you to exceed the limit of six sources, as it can be very hard to present a greater number of works in a proper way. You can cite the same source several times, and it will still be considered as one source.

2. Proper citation

When you include a quote in your essay, introduce, punctuate, and cite it properly. Mention the author’s name and use quotation marks if necessary. In parentheses, write the title of your source.

3. Counter-argument

Addressing a counter-argument is a helpful argumentation strategy. In such a way, you demonstrate that your point of view on this particular topic is not unique. However, you can show that the counter-argument is weak, and this will convince your readers that your claim is more valid.

4. Language skills

This tip is mostly accurate for the AP exam. The free-response writing section, which includes a synthesis essay, is aimed at evaluating your language performance. Don’t hesitate to use fancy wording, terms, complex grammar structures, linking words, and figures of speech that will demonstrate your language skills.

5. Importance of the form

The main purpose of the synthesis essay is to show how you can use multiple sources and create connections between them and demonstrate your writing skills. Your top priority is not offering a unique point of view that will amaze your readers. Of course, a bit of novelty won’t hurt. Still, your primary task is to be eloquent and logical, not creative.

We hope that you’ve learned more about a synthesis essay thanks to our guide. Practice your writing regularly in order to achieve great results and get higher scores!

If you need help with writing, or other types of assignments, you can count on us. For example, reqest do my math homework help, or write my essay for me, and get qualified assistance.

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Writing a Multiple-Source (Synthesis) Essay

DEVELOPING YOUR PARAGRAPHS:

To develop a body paragraph, follow a basic " three-step " approach:

1.) Decide on a main point and then state that main point in a sentence (the topic sentence for the paragraph). For example :

� One common theme that emerges from these essays is that watching movies and reading books are social acts .�
"One noticeable similarity in the Dillard and Hughes essays is that children are causing trouble for adults."
"A main element in the process of death is the stage of grief."

2.) Next, reread the essays looking for �evidence� to use to support your main idea. For example :

I might look for examples or quotes in the Ebert, Welty, Toth, and King essays about the "social" act of watching movies and reading books.
I would summarize the parts of the Dillard and Hughes essays where the children are causing trouble for the adults.
I would summarize or quote from the Woolf and Momaday essays when the writers talk about grieving the loss of the animal or family member.

3.) Finally, you don�t want to abruptly end your paragraph and just leave the examples , summaries, or quotes just hanging there. You want to �drive home� your point, emphasize what is important about it, add your own commentary (thoughts, feelings, opinions) or your own experiences about the main idea and/or the examples.

In essence, you want to ask and answer the question, �So What?�

For more information and examples (from a different essay) about developing paragraphs, click here .

DOCUMENTING YOUR SOURCES:

Whenever you use someone else's words or ideas in your writing, you must let the reader know the source of those words or ideas. It really doesn't matter whether you have paraphrased , summarized , or quoted -- in each case, you must let the reader know whose material you are using.

Up to this point, your writing assignments have focused on one reading selection at a time. In them you have used simple transitions to tell the reader when you were using material from the reading selection. There are, however, more formal methods of documentation that you will need to learn to use as you write in college classes.

The MLA (Modern Language Association) is one method of documentation, used primarily in the humanities. It uses parentheses within the paper to identify the author and page number of a particular passage that is paraphrased, summarized, or quoted. It also uses a separate page at the end of the paper to give more detailed and complete identification of the sources used. Because we are using "common texts" in this class -- texts that everyone has, either from our book or on handouts I have provided -- you do not need to write a separate "Works Cited" page for this paper.

Use these guidelines to help you:

Each paraphrase, summary, and quotation should be identified by author and page number in parentheses. Do not use the author's first name within the parentheses.
If the author's name is already included in the "signal phrase" in the sentence, it does not need to be repeated in the parentheses.
No punctuation is placed between the author's last name and the page number.
The parenthetical citation is placed at the end of the borrowed material but before the period at the end of the sentence.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT USING SOURCES :

You have three choices when you take someone else�s words / ideas from their writing to put into your own writing:

1.) QUOTATION: copy the words and punctuation exactly like it is in the other writer�s essay; be extremely accurate; use quotation marks.

2.) SUMMARY: you use your own words to �shrink� down another writer�s ideas to the main things you want to highlight or emphasize; even though you use your own words, you must still give credit to the writer.

3.) PARAPHRASE: you use your own words to �translate� or �restate� more clearly another writer�s ideas; your paraphrase should be roughly the same length as the passage you are paraphrasing; you will need to change both many of the words and the sentence structure(s) of the passage you are paraphrasing; even though you use your own words, you must still give credit to the writer.

Finally, there are three steps to take to put a summary, a paraphrase, or a quotation into your paper :

1.) First, use a �signal phrase.� Here, you are giving credit to the person who the words/ideas belong to and you are �signaling� to your reader that you are putting something in your paper that doesn�t belong to you. Examples of signal phrases include �According to Annie Dillard, ... � or �As George Orwell says , ... � or � Susan Allen Toth states that ... �

2.) Second, put in the summary, paraphrase, or quotation. (You can also use a combination of summary, paraphrase, and quotation.)

3.) Third, use a �parenthetical citation.� If you have put the author�s name in your sentence, all you need in the citation is the page number, for example (16). If you did not put the author�s name in your sentence, then include the name with the page number, for example ( Dillard 16).

Synthesis Essay

Synthesis essay generator.

A Synthesis Essay is a sophisticated form of writing that requires the integration of various sources and perspectives. Our resource provides a comprehensive look into this writing style, complete with insightful essay examples . These examples demonstrate how to effectively combine information from different texts, crafting a cohesive and well-argued narrative. Ideal for students and professionals alike, this guide will help you master the art of synthesizing diverse viewpoints into a single, compelling argument in your essays.

What is a Synthesis Essay?

A synthesis essay is a written discussion that draws on one or more sources. It involves combining information from various sources to make a cohesive argument or presentation on a specific topic. This type of essay requires the writer to analyze information, derive insights, and present them in a structured and coherent manner. The key to a successful synthesis essay is not just summarizing the sources but integrating them to create a new perspective or argument. Writers must cite their sources accurately, showing how each piece of information contributes to and supports their thesis or main argument. Synthesis essays are common assignments in academic settings, especially in higher education, testing students’ abilities to research, evaluate, synthesize complex information, and articulate their findings effectively.

Download Synthesis Essay Bundle

Essays depict the standpoints of a writer on a certain topic or issue. An essay often presents a point and either convinces a reader to agree or disagree to a certain subject matter. An effective essay does what it is intended to do when a reader is convinced of the writer’s stand point. Common college essays include writing a synthesis essay. Examples of synthesis essay can be found in the page and made available for your reference. The examples can also be downloaded via the download link button below the sample in order to get a closer look.

Synthesis involves combining different pieces of information to form a cohesive understanding. For instance, if you gather insights from various experts about the impact of climate change and weave them into a comprehensive article or report, you are performing synthesis. This process is distinct from merely summarizing since it requires critical thinking to integrate ideas and form new connections, rather than just listing details or differences like in comparison and contrast.

Synthesis Essay Structure

It helps in presenting your argument clearly and persuasively. Here’s a typical structure for a synthesis essay:

Introduction

Hook: Start with an engaging sentence to grab the reader’s attention. Background Information: Provide some context or background for the topic you will be discussing. Thesis Statement: Present your main argument or position on the topic, clearly stating how the different sources will support your thesis.

Body Paragraphs

Each body paragraph should focus on a specific point or aspect of your thesis, integrating multiple sources to support each point.

Topic Sentence: Introduce the main idea of the paragraph that supports your thesis. Evidence and Analysis: Include information from your sources as evidence to back up your point. This could be quotations, summaries, or paraphrased material. Analyze the evidence, showing how it supports your argument. Synthesis: Discuss how the evidence from different sources relates to each other and to your thesis. This is where you combine (synthesize) the information to build your argument. Concluding Sentence: Summarize the main point of the paragraph and how it supports your overall thesis.

Counterarguments (Optional)

Consider including a paragraph that addresses potential counterarguments or opposing views. Refute these arguments and show how your thesis still stands.

Summary: Briefly summarize the key points you made in your body paragraphs. Thesis Restatement: Restate your thesis in a new way, reflecting the insights and arguments developed in your essay. Final Thoughts: Offer some final thoughts on the topic, possibly suggesting areas for further research or implications of your argument.

Include a list of all sources cited in your essay, formatted according to the required academic style guide (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).

How to Write a Synthesis Essay

Writing a synthesis essay involves gathering information from various sources and merging these insights to support a central thesis or argument. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Understand the Prompt

Clarify the Task: Ensure you fully understand the essay prompt or assignment requirements. Know what type of synthesis essay you are writing (explanatory or argumentative).
Identify the Main Ideas: Determine what themes or ideas you need to explore based on the prompt.

Conduct Research

Gather Sources: Collect relevant sources that provide information on your topic. These can include academic papers, books, articles, and credible online resources.
Evaluate Sources: Assess the credibility and relevance of each source to your topic.

Develop a Thesis Statement

Formulate a Clear Argument: Based on your research, craft a thesis statement that encapsulates the main argument or perspective your essay will support.

Create an Outline

Organize Your Points: Plan the structure of your essay, deciding how you will integrate information from your sources to support your thesis.
Outline Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph should focus on a specific point or piece of evidence related to your thesis. Determine how you will synthesize information from different sources for each point.

Revise and Proofread

Review Your Work: Check for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Ensure each part of your essay effectively contributes to supporting your thesis.
Proofread: Correct any grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors. Make sure your citations and references are formatted correctly.

Cite Your Sources

Follow Formatting Guidelines: Use the appropriate academic style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) to cite your sources within the text and in a bibliography or works cited page.

10+ Synthesis Essay Samples

Synthesis Essay on Climate Change
Synthesis Essay on Death
Synthesis Essay on Education
Synthesis Essay on Environment
Synthesis Essay on Food
Synthesis Essay on Gender Inequality
Synthesis Essay on Internet
Synthesis Essay on Social Media
Synthesis Essay on Technology
Synthesis Essay on Unemployment

10+ Synthesis Essay Examples

Free Download

College Synthesis Essay

High School Synthesis Essay

Student Synthesis Essay

Practice Synthesis Example

Synthesis Essay Outline

Poetry Synthesis Essay Sample

Argumentative Synthesis

Explanatory Essay Sample

Technology Synthesis

What is the Purpose of a Synthesis Essay?

Synthesis essays are used in different papers. Point is, a synthesis essay is used in creating a relationship between different sources and getting supplemental information from them to support the writer’s view point or make a coherent plan or proposal templates .

Essay examples in doc seen on the page offer more information regarding an essay. They are made available for your review by clicking on the individual link buttons under each sample.

Tips for Writing the Synthesis Essay

Writing a synthesis essay is a pivotal skill for students, particularly in high school and college. This type of essay goes beyond simple summarization and requires critical thinking, a skill essential in essay writing. Here are some key tips to help students craft an effective synthesis essay:

Understand Your Sources : It’s crucial to thoroughly read and understand your sources. As a student essay , your synthesis essay should reflect a deep engagement with the materials, providing a comprehensive understanding of the topic.
Develop a Strong Thesis Statement : The foundation of your essay is the thesis statement. It should clearly convey your central argument or perspective, integrating the various themes and ideas from your sources. In high school essay writing, a well-defined thesis is particularly important as it guides the structure and flow of your argument.
Organize Your Essay Effectively : Structure your essay in a clear, logical manner. Start with an introduction that includes your thesis statement , followed by body paragraphs that explore your main points, and conclude with a summary that reinforces your thesis.
Balance Your Sources : Synthesize the information from your sources in a way that provides a balanced perspective. Your synthesis essay should not just list points from each source but rather integrate them into a coherent argument.
Use Evidence to Support Your Argument : Back up your claims with evidence from your sources. This will strengthen your argument and demonstrate your understanding of the material.
Maintain a Formal and Objective Tone : A synthesis essay, particularly in an academic setting, should be written in a formal and objective tone. Avoid using first-person pronouns and keep your language professional.
Cite Your Sources Appropriately : Proper citation is crucial in academic essay writing to avoid plagiarism. Make sure to follow the appropriate format for citations, whether it’s APA, MLA, or another style.
Revise and Edit : After completing your essay, take the time to revise and edit. This includes checking for grammatical errors, ensuring your argument flows logically, and verifying that your thesis statement is clearly supported throughout the essay.

How Long Should a Synthesis Essay Take?

The time to write a synthesis essay varies, typically ranging from several hours to a few days. This includes time for research, planning, writing, and revising. Effective time management and early start can help streamline the process.

Should You Use “I” in a Synthesis Essay?

Generally, avoid using “I” in a synthesis essay, especially in academic settings. Aim for an objective tone by presenting evidence and analysis without personal bias. Exceptions may apply if personal reflection or perspective is explicitly requested.

How Do I Write a Good Synthesis Essay?

Writing a good synthesis essay involves thorough research, understanding your sources, creating a strong thesis, organizing your points logically, and synthesizing evidence from various sources to support your argument. Clear writing and proper citation are also crucial.

How Do You Start a Synthesis Essay?

Start a synthesis essay with an engaging hook, followed by brief background information on your topic. Clearly state your thesis, outlining the main argument or perspective your essay will support, setting the stage for your synthesis.

Is It Okay to Use First-Person in a Synthesis Essay?

Using first-person in a synthesis essay is generally discouraged in formal academic writing. It’s better to maintain an objective tone. However, if the assignment guidelines allow or if reflecting on personal experience, it may be acceptable.

Do You Directly Quote in a Synthesis Essay?

Yes, you can directly quote in a synthesis essay to support your points, but do so sparingly. Focus on synthesizing information by paraphrasing and analyzing evidence from your sources. Ensure all quotes are properly cited according to the required citation style.

In conclusion, synthesis essays are key in developing critical thinking and analytical skills. For further guidance on writing synthesis essays, Colorado State University provides an in-depth guide , which can be accessed here. This resource offers valuable insights into the process of synthesizing information from diverse sources.

Text prompt

Instructive
Professional

Write a Synthesis Essay on the integration of technology in education.

Create a Synthesis Essay comparing different leadership styles.

Analyze the impact of technology on education through synthesis.

Synthesize views on climate change from multiple sources.

Compare traditional vs. online learning in a synthesis essay.

Discuss the role of social media in politics synthesis.

Explore mental health effects of social isolation via synthesis.

Evaluate renewable energy sources' viability in a synthesis essay.

Synthesize historical perspectives on women's rights movement.

Examine the effects of globalization on culture through synthesis.

Synthesis Essay Guide

Synthesis Essay Writing

Last updated on: Feb 9, 2023

Synthesis Essay: Step by Step Guide With Easy Tips

By: Nathan D.

Reviewed By: Melisa C.

Published on: Apr 6, 2021

Writing a synthesis essay is one skill that has been seen to translate easily from academia into all aspects of business and advertising. One way this plays out is through the ability to take on massive amounts of information quickly. So you can provide concise summaries or syntheses.

Scroll down below if you want some tips on how to write a perfect synthesis essay.

On this Page

What is A Synthesis Essay?

For the synthesis essay, you need to combine different ideas from various sources and present them in an argument that reflects your point of view.

Synthesis essays are easier to write than argumentative ones because there is an abundance of ideas and arguments in your write-up for a strong impact. So don’t simply present a plain summary but use strong evidence from researchable sources to support them.

While drafting ideas and adding various arguments, you’ll need to gather information from multiple sources. Identify the relationships between the concepts and integrate them into a persuasive stance. Start by taking up an impactful stance, and build your arguments and topic sentences around it.

How to Start a Synthesis Essay?

When writing an essay, it is important to know your purpose and develop a well-organized perspective. To do this, you should follow some steps that will help in your writing phase. These are:

1. Choose a Topic

Before you start writing the synthesis essay, it is important to choose a good topic. When brainstorming for an essay topic, avoid topics that are too broad or narrow in scope.

2. Gather Information

Once you have chosen your essay topic, start collecting the data for it. Use several sources and gather relevant information that will help develop your thesis statement.

3. Synthesis Essay Thesis Statement

The thesis statement should summarize the main idea of your essay. It's a short but important sentence that will make it easier for readers to follow along and access all points in further reading material about this topic.

The structure for your essay will largely depend on the topic you choose and what side of the argument you support. You’ll express this in a thesis statement that will form a pivotal part of your write-up. It has to be clear and believable enough to impact mindsets.

Start by composing research ideas into a strong thesis statement that is a lucid description of your stance or paradigm. It has to be strong enough to convince your reader to read on clearly defining your stance. And how you’ll approach the topic with different perspectives and valid supporting material.

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How to Write a Synthesis Essay?

Here are the steps you need to follow for writing a great synthesis essay.

1. Create an Outline

Expand on your argument or thesis statement by creating a synthesis essay outline. It is a logical structuring of your collated information and concepts. Essentially your outline must indicate a multitude of sub-arguments extracted from your main argument and evidence to support your thesis.

2. Focus on Creating a Catchy Introduction

The purpose of writing an introduction is to offer a clear insight into the essence of your topic, argument basics, and the primary purpose of your write-up. The intro is essentially a reflection of your thesis statement. So the more eloquent your description, the higher your chances of impressing the readers with gripping content.

3. Organize Your Thoughts

Use the body paragraphs to organize your thoughts into a logical flow that clearly explains each perspective for your position. Ideally, the body of your essay should be divided into short paragraphs, each highlighting a specific point of view.

Make sure you provide ample supporting evidence to present your ideas convincingly. The good idea is to categorize or group concepts after you read your sources. Then present them as one unique theme or feature.

Focus on synthesizing ideas based on paradigms that highlight core features from your thesis statement. And use apposite words to create the right kind of impact.

4. Highlight Vital Concepts

Usually, synthesis essays are more descriptive and informative. So, the presented facts and ideas must explain the relationship between different sources and how they address the topic.

Look for similarities and differences in how various sources explain your position, analyze it, and examine it from different angles.

Similar to an argumentative essay, point out both sides of your chosen paradigm. Also, the favorable position and the opposing argument before reaching the final conclusion.

5. Include Influential Conclusive Remarks

Your conclusive paragraph must be a resounding culmination of your position for the synthesis. Include a summarized version of all the sub-arguments from your thesis statement and connect these with your concluding words.

Also, mention your specific thoughts and perspective on these highlighted sub-arguments that link back to your stance. In short, your essay should have a clear sense of direction, a coherent structure, and a compelling narrative.

6. Proofread and Edit

Lastly, the most important step for writing any type of essay is to proofread it.

This gives you a chance to perfect your paper by getting rid of grammar and spelling errors. Unfortunately, your first draft will have several irrelevant details and errors that need editing at this stage.

Synthesis Essay Outline

Before starting the actual writing process, it will be good to make an outline for the essay. A good outline will serve as the backbone for your essay, and it will help you keep track of all the information in the paper.

The basic structure of an outline is given below:

Synthesis Essay Examples

Completing a synthesis essay can sometimes become a tough task even for experienced students. If you want to make sure that your essay is perfect.

SYNTHESIS ESSAY EXAMPLE

SYNTHESIS ESSAY FORMAT

Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers!

Synthesis Essay Topics

Look for a sample synthesis essay or interesting synthesis essay topics that will attract the reader’s interest and attention.

There are a variety of topics that you can examine for your synthesis essay.

When it comes to synthesis essays, the main objective is to test the writer’s ability to conduct research and relating different information.

Here is a list of interesting synthesis essay ideas that you can have a look at.

Zero tolerance policies: pros and cons
Essay on global warming
How to encourage a reluctant reader?
Factors influencing fashion
Should high school athletes be drug tested?
Is war good or bad?
Should young people be allowed to use cell phones and tablets?
What’s more productive for children: homeschooling or public school?
Are video games an educational experience for kids?
Should cellphone use be banned while driving?

Tips for Writing a Good Synthesis Essay

Here are some expert synthesis essay writing tips that you can follow for writing a great essay on your own.

For a successful synthesis essay, you need to use sources with valuable information.
Coming up with a synthesis essay outline is an integral part of creating your argument. It will help you know if you have enough points to make the argument or whether it needs more material for people to understand what's going on.
The first thing you need to do is to study the topic carefully to understand its purpose. Go a little deeper to understand the idea and concept behind the topic.
Do read your sources carefully, then summarize and document them.
Do add examples and evidence from the source to support your ideas and claims. Do cite your sources as you go.
Do elaborate on main ideas and organize them logically.
Do aim to attract the reader’s attention by opening with an interesting thought. Set the right tone to make them want to read further.
Do make use of logical transitions to move from one idea to another smoothly. Logically connect your ideas.
Don’t present someone else’s work as your own. Do not copy! Plagiarism is a crime that you don’t want to get caught committing.
Don’t take help from a single source. Having more than one source provides you with more options. In addition, it helps you to compare and contrast different facts and evidence to support your argument.
Don’t expect to finish in an hour or even a day. Give yourself a flexible timeline to finish.
Don’t be rigid when it comes to making changes to an idea. There’s always room for improvement.
Don’t write using a passive voice and use simple English language words.

We hope that these steps and guidelines help you in crafting your essay. However, if you are faced with any confusion or difficulty in writing, you can contact us at 5StarEssays.com .

We have the best team of qualified and experienced writers. We can write any type of academic assignment, whether an argumentative essay or synthesis paper, with the quality writing that will score you well on your assignments.

Place your order today and get the best write my essay service from experts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you use quotes in a synthesis essay.

A synthesis essay requires you to construct an argument by using sources and providing citations. If you use information from the sources, make sure to put it in quotes or cite them properly.

What is a topic sentence in a synthesis essay?

A topic sentence is a statement that expresses your main idea and helps you to keep track of the points in your paragraph. This type of sentence should introduce one reason supporting what you are saying without going into too much detail or repetition.

What should you not do in a synthesis essay?

You should not build your synthesis essay around the opinions of others, it would defeat the whole purpose of writing a synthesis paper where you are supposed to defend your stand by using evidence from both sides and formulating an opinion on what's right or wrong.

Education, Research

Nathan completed his Ph.D. in journalism and has been writing articles for well-respected publications for many years now. His work is carefully researched and insightful, showing a true passion for the written word. Nathan's clients appreciate his expertise, deep understanding of the process, and ability to communicate difficult concepts clearly.

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How to Write a Synthesis Essay Outline - Template & Examples

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Guide for AP Lang Synthesis Essay

I have seen a few posts with ppl struggling to write the essay, so here's how I did it.

I'm not an English person, but this is how I would write question 1:

An intro (Skip this if you're running out of time).

Thesis statement including two of your sub-claims. I like a counterargument thesis, but a straightforward thesis gets the job done easier and you don't have to think too much about it.

Your topic sentence #1 which you should pull from your first sub-claim that you made in your thesis.

Now use a quote from a source which you should have already annotated and make sure you cite like this: (Source A). This would serve as one of your evidence.

Add commentary (at least 3 sentences minimum). Remember your commentary is your why that piece evidence proves your claim. Don't just summarize the source! Make sure you connect back to your thesis or sub-claim in your commentary.

Then add a transition that can help your flow on your essay it can be very simple. After that, add your second piece of quote from a source to serve as evidence. (similarly and in addition are great transitions).

Add commentary (at least 3 sentences).

Repeat steps 3-6 for your second body paragraph. Add a conclusion if you have time.

I highly recommend adding transitions after every evidence and commentary because this is really the only way to strengthen your line of reasoning. If you can't think of anything for your commentary I recommend adding a concession and refutation. This not only expands your argument, but makes your essay stand out more. Remember your readers are scoring this as a rough draft, so errors are ok.

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How to Write a Synthesis Essay

Last Updated: April 7, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,126,096 times.

Writing a synthesis essay requires the ability to digest information and present it in an organized fashion. While this skill is developed in high school and college classes, it translates to the business and advertising world as well. Scroll down to Step 1 to begin learning how to write a synthesis essay.

Examining Your Topic

Step 1 Understand the concept of a synthesis essay.

Argument synthesis: This type of essay has a strong thesis statement that presents the writer's point of view. It organizes relevant information gathered from research in a logical manner to support the thesis' point of view. Business white papers known as position papers often take this form. This is the type of synthesis essay that students will write during the AP test.
Review: Often written as a preliminary essay to an argument synthesis, a review essay is a discussion of what has been written previously on a topic, with a critical analysis of the sources covered. Its unstated thesis is usually that more research needs to be done in that area or that the topic problem has not been adequately addressed. This type of paper is common in social science classes and in medicine.
Explanatory/background synthesis: This type of essay helps readers understand a topic by categorizing facts and presenting them to further the reader's understanding. It does not advocate a particular point of view, and if it has a thesis statement, the thesis is a weak one. Some business white papers take this form, although they are more likely to have a point of view, if understated.

Step 2 Choose a topic suitable for a synthesis essay.

Example of a broad topic narrowed down into a reasonable synthesis essay topic: Instead of the broad topic of Social Media, you could discuss your view on the effects texting has had on the English language.
If you've been assigned a topic as part of a class, make sure you read the prompt carefully and fully understand it.

Step 3 Choose and read your sources carefully.

Keep in mind that it's better to do three sources well than to do five sources incompletely.
Annotate each source by writing notes in the margins. This allows you to keep track of your train of thought, developing ideas, etc.

Example: Texting has had a positive impact on the English language as it has helped the millennial generation create their own form of the language.

Step 5 Re-read your source material for items to support your thesis.

If you wish to take on a claim by an opponent of your idea, and to poke holes in it, you should also find some ideas or quotes that go against your thesis statement, and plan ways to disprove them. This is called a concession, refutation, or rebuttal, which can strengthen your argument if you do it well.
Example : For the thesis statement listed above, excellent sources would include quotes from linguists discussing the new words that have developed through 'text-speak', statistics that show the English language has evolved with almost every generation, and facts that show students still have the ability to write with the use of grammar and spelling (which your opponents would bring up as the main reason texting has had a negative effect on the English language).

Outlining Your Essay

Step 1 Outline the structure of your thesis.

The introductory paragraph: 1. An introductory sentence that acts as a hook, capturing the reader's interest. 2. Identification of the issue you will be discussing. 3. Your thesis statement.
The body paragraphs: 1. Topic sentence that gives one reason to support your thesis. 2. Your explanation and opinion of the topic sentence. 3. Support from your sources that backs up the claim you just made. 4. Explanation of the significance of the source(s).
The conclusion paragraph: 1. State further significance of your topic from the evidence and reasons you discussed in the essay. 2. A profound thought or thoughtful ending for your paper.

Step 2 Use a more creative structure to present your thesis.

Example/illustration. This may be a detailed recount, summary, or direct quote from your source material that provides major support for your point of view. You may use more than one example or illustration, if your paper calls for it. You should not, however, make your paper a series of examples at the expense of supporting your thesis.
Straw man. With this technique, you present an argument opposed to the argument stated in your thesis, then show the weaknesses and flaws of the counter-argument. This format shows your awareness of the opposition and your readiness to answer it. You present the counter-argument right after your thesis, followed by the evidence to refute it, and end with a positive argument that supports your thesis. [5] X Research source
Concession. Essays with concessions are structured similar to those using the straw man technique, but they acknowledge the validity of the counter-argument while showing that the original argument is stronger. This structure is good for presenting papers to readers who hold the opposing viewpoint.
Comparison and contrast. This structure compares similarities and contrasts differences between two subjects or sources to show the facets of both. Writing an essay with this structure requires a careful reading of your source material to find both subtle and major points of similarity and difference. This kind of essay can present its arguments source-by-source or by points of similarity or difference.

Step 3 Create an outline appropriate for a background or review synthesis essay.

Summary. This structure presents summaries of each of your relevant sources, making a progressively stronger argument for your thesis. It provides specific evidence to support your point of view, but usually omits presenting your own opinions. It's most commonly used for background and review essays.
List of reasons. This is a series of sub-points that flow from the main point of your paper as stated in its thesis. Each reason is supported with evidence. As with the summary method, reasons should become progressively more important, with the most important reason last.

Writing Your Essay

Step 1 Write your first draft according to your outline.

Your essay should have an introductory paragraph that includes your thesis , a body to present evidence that supports your thesis, and a conclusion that summarizes your point of view.

Lengthy quotes of three lines or more should generally be set off as block quotes to better call attention to them. [7] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source

Finalizing Your Essay

Ask someone else to proofread your paper. The saying “two heads are better than one” still holds true. Ask a friend or colleague what would they add or remove from the paper. Most importantly, does your argument make sense, and is it clearly supported by your sources?

Read the paper aloud to guarantee that you don't accidentally add in or take out words when reading in your head.
If you can, get a friend or classmate to proofread your essay as well.

Example of citing in an AP synthesis essay: McPherson claims “texting has changed the English language in a positive way--it has given a new generation their own unique way to communicate” (Source E).
For college essays, you'll most likely use MLA format. Whichever format you use, be consistent in its use. You may also be asked to use APA or Chicago style.

Example title: : English and the iPhone: Exploring the Benefits of 'Text-Speak'

Outline Template

Community Q&A

Just as your title should fit your essay instead of writing your essay to fit the title, your thesis, once chosen, should direct your subsequent research instead of subsequent research altering your thesis � unless you find you've adopted an unsupportable thesis. Thanks Helpful 21 Not Helpful 8

↑ https://success.uark.edu/get-help/student-resources/synthesis-paper.php
↑ https://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center/student-resources/writing-speaking-resources/mapping-a-synthesis-essay
↑ https://www.bgsu.edu/content/dam/BGSU/learning-commons/documents/writing/synthesis/planning-synthesis-essay.pdf
↑ https://writingcenterofprinceton.com/synthesis-essays-a-step-by-step-how-to-guide/
↑ https://owl.excelsior.edu/argument-and-critical-thinking/logical-fallacies/logical-fallacies-straw-man/
↑ https://writingcommons.org/section/rhetoric/rhetorical-stance/point-of-view/third-person-point-of-view/
↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_quotations.html
↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/proofreading_suggestions.html
↑ https://www.edhs.org/ourpages/auto/2010/5/17/41759867/Synthesis%20Essay%20Introduction.pdf
↑ https://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/titles.pdf

About This Article

To write a synthesis essay, start by coming up with a thesis statement that you can support using all of the sources you've read for your essay. For example, your thesis statement could be "Texting has had a positive impact on the English language." Once you've got your thesis, go through your sources to find specific quotes, facts, and statistics that back up your claim. Structure your essay so it has an introduction that includes your thesis statement, a body that includes your arguments and evidence, and a conclusion that wraps everything up. For more tips on structuring your synthesis essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a Synthesis Essay: Examples, Topics, & Outline

A synthesis essay requires you to work with multiple sources. You combine the information gathered from them to present a well-rounded argument on a topic. Are you looking for the ultimate guide on synthesis essay writing? You’ve come to the right place!

In this guide by our custom writing team, you will find:

a step-by-step writing guide;
a list of 34 synthesis essay topics;
a full essay sample in MLA format.
📚 Synthesis Essay Definition
📝 Essay Types
✅ Step-by-Step Guide
✍️ Topics & Prompts
📑 Example & Formatting Tips

📚 What Is a Synthesis Essay?

A synthesis essay is an assignment that requires a unique interpretation of a particular topic using several reliable sources. To write it, you need to understand, analyze, and synthesize information. That is why this type of essay is used in the AP Lang exam to assess students’ reasoning skills.

The key features of the synthesis essay are:

Debatable topic . If your goal is to write a good synthesis essay, it’s necessary to choose an arguable topic. It’s best to choose something that people have different opinions about. This will allow you to use many sources with various viewpoints for your synthesis.
Clear thesis statement. It’s a sentence that briefly describes the main idea of your essay.
Reliable sources to prove your thesis . For a synthesis essay, your opinion is not enough. You also need to find the evidence. Keep in mind that simply reading an online encyclopedia won’t do; make sure to choose only reliable sources.

What Does It Mean to Synthesize Information?

Synthesis is a process that has huge importance in nature, science, and our everyday life. The word stems from Ancient Greek “synthesis,” which means “putting together.” In general, synthesis is the combination of components to form a connected whole.

The picture shows examples of synthesis usage in various spheres: biochemistry, physics, and sound creation.

In everyday life, we usually resort to it to synthesize information . This means taking the data from different sources and bringing it together. This process is the opposite of analyzing:

For an analysis , you break problems into pieces,
For a synthesis , you combine separate elements into a whole.

We use synthesis for analysis papers, research papers, argument papers, and business reports.

What Does Synthesis Mean in Writing?

Synthesis in writing means summarizing and connecting different sources considering a particular topic. Although synthesis and analysis are two opposite things, they usually go together in synthesis essays. The process consists of 2 stages:

Conduct the analysis. For that, you break down a problem into parts and analyze the sources. It’s helpful to highlight everything regarding your topic while reading.
Carry out the synthesis. The next step is to formulate an opinion and combine the highlighted information from the sources.

Synthesis is not only used in writing but also in reading comprehension . It’s useful to do this kind of reading while studying your sources. There are three reading comprehension stages:

Your previous knowledge about the topic.
Expansion of your knowledge while you are reading.
Understanding of the problem when you have finished reading.

So, synthesized reading comprehension means combining three stages in one and formulating one statement.

Synthesis vs Summary: What Is the Difference?

A summary is a paraphrasing of the written source in your own words. For a good summary, it’s necessary to include all of the text’s key elements. Meanwhile, synthesis means combining different ideas from different sources. You don’t have to include all the key points; just choose everything related to your topic.

The picture explains the difference between a synthesis and a summary.

Both of these techniques are used for the synthesis essay:

The summary goes in the conclusion. You briefly sum up your paper’s main ideas.
Synthesis goes in the body paragraphs. Here, you combine multiple sources to prove a point.

📝 Synthesis Essay Types

There are two main types of a synthesis essay: argument and explanatory synthesis.

Both of them require working with multiple reliable sources and analyzing information. The only difference is that an argument synthesis essay requires your own opinion, while an explanatory synthesis essay does not.

Argument Synthesis Essay: Outline and Definition

As you already know, an argument synthesis essay requires you to state your own opinion about the given topic and back it up with several reliable sources. The purpose of such an essay is to persuade the reader that your point is correct.

Here’s what an argument synthesis essay consists of:

Explanatory Synthesis Essay: Definition and How to Write

An explanatory informative synthesis essay requires you to stay neutral towards the problem you are discussing. This means you cannot express your own opinion considering the given question or a problem. Your task is just to inform the reader. That’s why this essay type is also called informative synthesis.

Check out this explanatory essay outline:

✅ How to Write a Synthesis Essay Step by Step

When it comes to the synthesis essay outline, it’s not too different from other assignments. Have a look at this template:

The picture shows a synthesis essay outline: introduction, main body, and conclusion.

How to Synthesize: Working with Sources

After you’ve decided on your topic, it’s time to figure out how to synthesize articles into one text. This is how you do it:

Choose reliable sources: the ones printed in journals or published on academic websites.
Become familiar with them and see if they fit into your essay.
Try to find a few sources for each point. It will increase your essay’s reliability.
Relate each source to your arguments and see similarities between them.
Don’t forget to list every source in the references.

When you are done with a comprehensive analysis of related literature, try to step back and imagine a person who has a different opinion on this topic. Think of some arguments that they can provide to prove their opinion. After you have the list of arguments, find the written evidence of why they are wrong and put them in your essay.

Analyzing and organizing sources is the first and very important step for the synthesis essay. So make sure you do understand what the text means before using it as a reference.

Synthesis Essay Outline: How to Write

For structuring your essay, it’s useful to try mapping . This technique means combining the information from different sources and rearranging it to create a new direction. To do it, you need to analyze the authors’ ideas and come up with your own conclusions.

The best way to do that is called synthesis matrix or graphic organizer. It’s a chart that you can make when you start working on your essay. Here you have a horizontal column that states the main ideas and a few vertical columns that present sources. Your task is to take sources you have chosen and write down the main ideas from them.

Here’s an example of a matrix chart:

Topic: The influence of technologies on teenagers

While doing that, you will see how many sources contain the same ideas. When you analyze them, you will be able to formulate your thesis backed up with evidence. The synthesis matrix also helps to see new arguments you can cover in your synthesis paper.

How to Write an Introduction for a Synthesis Essay

Now it’s time to start writing the paper. In the introductory part of the essay, you can include:

A short yet catchy sentence or a quotation that would present the topic. The start of your essay should make people interested. It’s best to make the first sentence not only informative but also easy to understand.
The texts that are used for the essay. Provide the titles and the authors’ names (use the appropriate guidelines depending on the writing style.)
The background information which is needed to understand your essay. Definitions of terms or unknown words considering the topic can be included in this part. Otherwise, people may find it hard to understand what they are reading about.

How to Write a Thesis for a Synthesis Essay

A thesis statement is a point of view on a certain problem that you will defend in your essay. It should contain the key points that you want to include in your paper. Here’s how to create a perfect thesis statement:

Find several central ideas in the chart.
Choose the ones that are repeated the most often and the ones that you feel need to be in your essay.
Combine them, and you have a thesis statement with all the key points.
Make a draft of the thesis statement. Try to formulate the main idea you want to present in your essay.
Elaborate on this idea. Add some details and expand it a bit further.

If the whole picture is coherent, and it conveys exactly what you wanted, then this is your perfect thesis statement. See the example below:

Gender inequality still exists at the workplace: women are less likely to get the most responsible positions, easily lose careers due to maternity leave, and often receive less pay for the same amount of work.

How to Write Synthesis Paragraphs for the Main Body

Your essay’s main body consists of a few paragraphs. Each of them presents a different argument considering the topic. When you start a paragraph, make sure to begin with a topic sentence, which informs the reader about the paragraph’s main idea. Then, include the synthesized sources and elaborate on them.

Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do when writing the main body:

✔️ Dos	❌ Don’ts
Make sure you make the essay as informative as possible. Try to show various opinions of the authors. Avoid shuffling unrelated information into it. Try to make smooth transitions from one paragraph to another.	Instead, show your understanding and present the conclusions you’ve drawn from the texts. If you do that, you are involved in plagiarism. This would damage your credibility.

You can use the following words to present the ideas from your sources. They will help you reflect the authors’ tone:

Talking about arguments	Talking about research	Adding emphasis
The author:	The author:	The author:

How to Conclude a Synthesis Essay

There are quite a few ways to conclude the synthesis paper. Have a look at some of the options:

Paraphrase the thesis. As you remember, the thesis is the main idea of your essay. The conclusion is a good place to remind your readers about it. When they are done with the reading, they remember the most important thing from your essay.
Synthesize the arguments. There is no need to repeat everything you wrote in your essay. Just briefly summarize the most crucial points.
Answer the “So what” question. Tell the readers why this topic matters, why you’ve chosen it, and why it’s valuable for the reader.
Provide a closure. It’s an effective strategy when you want to make the reader think. Leave them with a strong statement at the end of your essay.

Synthesis Paper Proofreading Tips

When you have finally written your paper, there is still one important thing left to do. You need to check your paper for any grammatical and contextual mistakes. You certainly can do it yourself, but it would be perfect if you could ask somebody else to read it.

The first thing you need to check grammar-wise is the tense you are using. There is no single tense you need to use for the synthesis essay. It depends on the format:

If you’re writing in MLA format, use the present tense;
For APA essays, you use the past tense.

The next step is to check whether your synthesis essay has everything that’s required. For that, we have prepared the checklist of questions you can ask yourself to proofread your essays.

Is there a clear thesis statement?
Did you include all of the key points from the synthesis?
Are there clear transitions between paragraphs?
Did you organize a paragraph around a single idea?
Did you use reliable and up-to-date sources?
Did you analyze sources rather than just summarize them?
Did you mention every source you’ve used?

If you’ve answered “yes” to all the questions—congratulations, you are done with the essay! Otherwise, you need to come back and fix everything that you’ve answered “no” to.

✍️ Synthesis Essay Topics and Prompts

Sometimes, when you don’t have a topic , it is tough to come up with a suitable idea. That is why we have prepared two lists of topics that you can use for any synthesis essay type.

Explanatory Synthesis Essay Topics

The topics below are suitable for an explanatory synthesis essay:

The beginning of Hollywood cinema. Cinema is a huge industry in the USA. Tell the readers about its history. Describe what it was like in the beginning, which movie was the first one, and who started this industry.
Tactics on dealing with noisy children. Sometimes kids can be very loud, especially in public places. Write about different tactics that can help with this issue.
The effects of climate change on the water cycle.  Climate change has affected the water cycle significantly. Your task is to explain how.
The best American cities to live in. Provide the list of the best cities and explain why you’ve included them.
The importance of a healthy diet . Keeping a healthy diet is beneficial in many ways. Write about all the advantages it brings.
Who can become an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurship is not for everybody. In this essay, you can describe the qualities needed for having your own business.
The correlation between overpopulation and poverty . Describe how overpopulation leads to poverty and vice versa.
The advantages of taking an active vacation.
Cultural shock as a part of moving to a different country.
The consequences of the first wave of feminism.
Synthesis of Tan and Rodriguez’ essays ideas.
Difficulties you may encounter during the job interview.
How does reading prevent Alzheimer’s disease?
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.
The connection between religion and politics in ruling the country.
What can non-verbal signals tell you about a person?
The psychology of leadership .
The origins of the most common  stereotypes  about Americans.
Role of social media in business communication.
The synthesis of personal nursing philosophy concept.
Behavioral components of schizophrenia and psychosis.
Main components of successful entrepreneurship.
Critical components of scientific research.
Change in religion and human beliefs throughout history.
The effect of global warming on modern life.

Argument Synthesis Paper Topics

The list of topics for the Argument Synthesis Essay:

Vaping is better than smoking. People are starting to exchange cigarettes for vapes and e-cigarettes. In what ways are they less harmful?
Rich people should pay higher taxes. The same percentage of money doesn’t equal for rich and poor people. Explain why the ones who can afford more should share with others.
Depression is a disease. Prove that psychological problems must be recognized as real health issues that should be cured and not ignored.
Social media affects young people’s lives. Social media has a massive influence on people. In this essay, you can discuss which life spheres are the most affected.
Beauty pageants should be banned. Provide the reasons why they should be banned and tell the reader about psychological problems they can cause.
People should cut meat from their diet to stop global warming. Describe how the meat industry influences climate change.
The voting age should be 25+. Your task is to show the reasons why the votes of people under 25 should not be taken into account during elections.
A healthy lifestyle requires a lot of money.
Each healthy man should serve in the military.
School bullying should be punished by immediate exclusion.
Does friendship exist between men and women?
Drinking coffee is a bad habit.
Working hard is more important than being talented.
Everybody should visit a therapist at least once.
Should universities be free?
Artificial intelligence will cause huge unemployment rates.
Gaming should not be allowed to children under 18.
Components and strategies of social responsibility
Integration of relevant ethical theory and conceptual principles in health care
Children under 10 should be banned from gadgets.
Social media platforms facilitate cyberbullying.
Issues of distance education.
Social media addiction is a serious disease.
Deforestation critically contributes to global warming.
Healthcare should be free for everyone.

📑 Synthesis Essay Example & Synthesis Essay Format Tips

Now let’s talk about formatting. There are two writing styles you can use for a synthesis essay: APA or MLA. You need to choose the one that is required for your assignment.

We will start with the paper in APA format. It is usually used in science and education.

Format
Title page
In-text citations	Example: The artworks from the past are entirely different from the modern ones (Benjamin, 1935) Example: According to Benjamin (1935), “Mechanical reproduction of a work of art…” (p.7)
References	Example: Benjamin, W. (1935). The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Random House

And these are MLA formatting rules:

Format
Title page
In-text citations	Example: The artworks from the past are entirely different from the modern ones (Benjamin 7)
References	Example: Benjamin, Walter. Random House, 1935

Finally, we’ve prepared a synthesis essay sample for you to check out. Feel free to download the PDF file below:

First introduced in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, affirmative action policies aim to mitigate the discrepancy in opportunities available for underrepresented social groups by taking into account one’s minority background. The policies have become a pressing public issue that obstructs previously marginalized individuals, particularly in the educational environment.

Thank you for reading the ultimate guide on synthesis essay writing. We hope you found it helpful. Don’t forget to share it with your friends. Good luck with your assignments!

🔍 References

Writing a Synthesis Essay: Bowling Green State University
What Is Synthesis: University of Manitoba
Synthesis: Biology Online
Reading Strategies: Difference Summarizing and Synthesizing: WordPress
Summary, Analysis, Synthesis Definitions: University of Utah
Argumentative Synthesis: University of Arkansas
How to Synthesize Written Information: Simply Psychology
Mapping of Synthesis Essay: University of Nevada, Reno
Writing a Literature Review and Using a Synthesis Matrix: Florida International University
Synthesis Essay: Cleveland State University
Literature Review: Synthesizing Multiple Sources: Louisiana State University
Writing a Conclusion: Texas Women’s University
General APA Guidelines: Purdue University
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Synthesis Essay

Writing a Perfect Synthesis Essay: Definition & Examples

16 min read

Published on: Mar 1, 2023

Last updated on: Jul 24, 2024

What is a Synthesis Essay?

Synthesis essay definition states:

It is a piece of writing that takes a unique perspective on a central idea, topic, or theme. Then backs it up with evidence from multiple sources.

A synthesis essay is an important part of academic writing. The main purpose of this essay is to show your ability to prove an argument.

To make sense of these arguments, you need to use different credible sources. It demonstrates your basic understanding of the main subject. This type of essay help to enhance your critical, analytical, and research skills.

A synthesis essay is made up of ideas and conclusions based on the information reviewed. Also, this essay asks you to summarize the topic and add your own thoughts about it in relation to what you have read.

Furthermore, the synthesis essays can be similar to analytical essays , argumentative essays , or compare and contrast essays .

Synthesis Essay Types

There are three types of a synthesis essay:

1. Argument Synthesis Essay

This essay's purpose is to debate or argue on a certain topic or issue. It justifies its claims by providing evidence in the body of the essay.

In contrast to the explanatory essay, you will perform the same thing as if you were writing a typical argumentative paper. First, state your argument, make supporting statements, and back up each claim with reliable facts.

2. Review Essay

A review essay is frequently written as a preparatory essay to an argument synthesis. Review essays are commonly used in social science and medicine classes.

It is a discussion of what has already been published on a topic, with a critical examination of the sources mentioned.

An unwritten thesis statement is added to it, which is not final and indicates that further study is needed in that area.

3. Explanatory Synthesis Essay

In this essay, the writer helps the reader to grasp deeper knowledge about the topic. Rather than arguing or debating on some points, the goal of this essay is to explain a certain topic.

Like any other essay, it needs backing up with supporting claims and credible sources.

How to Start a Synthesis Essay?

The following are some helpful techniques for writing an essay. These will help you start the process and avoid common errors that plague many writers.

1. Choosing a Synthesis Essay Topic

A prompt for a synthesis paper must be arguable. Based on your project, you may be required to select primary content. Select a book that may include contrasting perspectives. Here are some important tips for choosing a topic for a synthesis essay.

Look through the themes and ideas. Read from sources and investigate specific topics thoroughly to see if any of them catch your interest.
Select a topic and collect relevant and valuable references for your synthesis paper.
Outline your synthesis essay using concepts or ideas from the sources. This should make writing a lot simpler and save you a lot of time.

It is necessary to find an arguable topic to make your synthesis essay effective. Another reason is that these topics have been discussed in public for decades.

Examples of good synthesis essay topics are;

The process of hiring in the age of social media
Social networks promote suicide
Should higher education be free?
Is it necessary to remove marks in education
The importance of getting a good education
3D printers are not used efficiently nowadays.
Is technology really helping people?
Why has technology made surgery safe and effective?
What is the cause of widespread obesity in teens?
What is the role of gender today?

2. Analyze Your Topic

Here's how you can fully understand your synthesis essay topic.

Grasp the Idea of a Synthesis Essay

A synthesis essay's purpose is to establish meaningful connections between sections of a work. When conducting research on a topic, you have to look for connections to build a strong viewpoint on the subject. The ultimate goal of the essay is to present and prove a claim about a topic .

Select a Topic Appropriate for a Synthesis Essay

The subject and topic must be extensive enough to include multiple relevant sources. If you have a free hand in deciding what to write about, some preparatory research may assist you in researching and choosing the right topic.

Select and Study Your Sources Carefully

Research and find relevant information and sources. Generally, choose at least three references for your essay. It's a good idea to learn one or two additional sources for better understanding but no matter what it is, make sure that you study it properly.

Remember that it is better to read three sources properly than five sources poorly.

Compile each source by writing notes in the margins. This allows you to keep track of your thoughts, fresh ideas, and so on.

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Reread the Source Material

Reread your source material for elements that will help to support your argument.

Examine your sources for important statements, figures, thoughts, and facts that support your thesis. Make a note of them when you come across them. This will be very useful throughout your writing process.

3. Develop a Thesis Statement

Your thesis statement will be the central idea of your essay. It should cover the topic and express your viewpoint on it. After reading the sources and conducting your research, form an opinion on your topic.

It should be stated as a complete sentence. Based on the essay, your thesis statement could be the first sentence of the essay or the last sentence of the first paragraph.

Structure Your Thesis Statement Creatively

To present your thesis, use a more creative structure. You can use a more elaborate structure than the one outlined above. You can develop your essay using the following approaches:

Straw man: In this approach, you will present the counter-arguments first. Then demonstrate their weaknesses and flaws.

Such an approach demonstrates your awareness of the opposition as well as your readiness to respond to it. You present the counter-argument immediately following your thesis statement, followed by evidence to refute it. And conclude with a positive argument that supports your thesis.

Concession: In structure, concessions in essays are similar to the straw man. But this approach acknowledges the validity of the counter-argument while demonstrating that your argument is stronger. This structure is suitable for presenting papers to readers who hold opposing views.

Illustration/ Example: It could be a thorough narrative, synopsis, or quotation from your source material that provides support for your position. However, you should not make your paper a collection of examples at the expense of supporting your thesis statement.

Comparison and Contrast: In this approach, similarities and differences between two subjects or sources demonstrate both aspects. It requires a thorough reading of your source material to identify both subtle and major points of comparison.

This type of essay can present its arguments source by source or by points of similarity or difference.

4. Create an Outline for Your Essay

An essay outline is a method for outlining the framework of your essay. Here's what you have to do. Outlining can help you structure and plan your synthesis paper.

The standard outline of a synthesis essay is divided into three sections:

- Introduce your topic and thesis statement
- Discuss one point related to your thesis statement
- Discuss another point related to your thesis statement
- Discuss yet another point related to your thesis statement
- Summarize your points and reiterate why they support your thesis statement

Need detailed guidance on how to write a synthesis essay? Check out this video?

How to Write a Synthesis Essay?

For writing a great essay, you have to do extensive research on your subject. This essay connects sections of multiple works and develops a strong viewpoint on a subject.

There are some major steps of the process:

1. Start Writing Your Essay

After getting done with the preparation part, start to write your synthesis essay.

2. Write Your First Draft Using Your Outline as a Guide

But be prepared to change your strategy if you discover fresh ideas and information. And make sure it supports your thesis and the source material.

Your essay should have an introduction paragraph with your thesis statement at the end of it. A body with evidence that supports your main topic and thesis statement. Lastly, a conclusion that summarizes your point of view.

3. Use Transitions

To make the content flow logically, use transitions between paragraphs. Transition words are an excellent method to highlight areas where your sources complement one another.

Longer quotes of three lines or more should be presented as block quotes to draw emphasis to them.

4. Wrap Up Your Essay

Here you have completed the writing process, but still, you need to make sure that your essay is flawless.

5. Revise Your Essay

This is the time to enhance transitions between points and paragraphs and to reinforce arguments. You should strive to make your argument as concise and clear to understand as possible. It is beneficial to read your essay aloud so you can spot problematic phrases or unclear ideas.

Request someone else to proofread your paper. Have you heard the cliche "two heads are better than one"? Is it still valid?

Ask a friend or coworker what they would add or eliminate from the paper. Most importantly, does your thesis statement make sense, and are your references clearly supporting it?

Answer these questions in your essay.

6. Proofread Your Content

Examine your document for any grammatical, punctuation, or spelling mistakes.

Are all the terms, names, and words accurately spelled? Are there any extraneous English language or sentence fragments? As you go, correct them.

Read the essay loudly to ensure that you don't accidentally add or remove words when reading in your mind. If possible, ask a friend or classmate to edit your writing.

7. Must Cite Sources

Use footnotes to mention information in the body paragraph and bibliography of cited books at the conclusion. Footnotes and in-text citations should be used for any information that is quoted, paraphrased, or cited.

8. Title Your Essay

The point of view expressed in your thesis statement and supporting arguments should be reflected in your title. Therefore, choose a title that suits your essay rather than constructing your essay to fit the title.

Synthesis Essay Format

The format of your synthesis paper is chosen by your high school, college, or university professor. MLA, APA, and Chicago styles are the most often used styles.

The APA format is followed in the disciplines of science, education, and psychology. Chicago is commonly followed in the field of history, fine arts, and business. And MLA is the style of citation used in the humanities.

APA Style Format

The following are some APA style important details:

Add a page header to the top of each page.
Times New Roman, 1" margins, 12 pt. Font, double-spaced.
The format of a synthesis essay should be separated into four sections: title page, abstract, main body, and references.
Insert a page number in the upper right corner.

Chicago Style Format

The following are some Chicago style key points:

Use double-spacing between the paper's lines.
Make margins of one inch.
Font size: 12 pt. Times New Roman font style.
Create text that is left-justified with a rugged edge.
Mention the full name of a person, place, or organization.
At the start of the paragraph, use half-inch indents.
The bibliography should be on its own page.

MLA Style Format

The following are some MLA style significant points:

The title must be centered.
Font: Times New Roman, 1" margins, 12 pt font size, double-spaced
Mention your name, professor's name, the course number, and the date (dd/mm/yy).
On each page, the top right corner displays the last name and page number.
The final page provides a "Works Cited" list.

Synthesis Essay Rubric

A rubric is essentially a list of criteria that your professor will use to grade your paper.

Knowing how each criterion is weighted can help make sure you get the best grade possible on your synthesis essay.

The Basics of the Synthesis Essay Rubric

The basic elements of any synthesis essay rubric include organization, focus/development, and language use/style.

Organization refers to how well you structure your paper. It should flow logically and have clear transitions between sections.
Focus/development looks at how well you develop your argument throughout the paper. Are you able to clearly explain why each point supports your thesis?
Language use/style focuses on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Was the paper proofread thoroughly or did careless errors slip in?

For example , your synthesis essay thesis statement is

"Capital punishment should be abolished in all states."

Do you provide evidence from different angles, such as legal history, religious beliefs, or moral arguments to back up this claim?

Does this evidence prove why capital punishment should be abolished?

How to Write a Synthesis Essay - Ap Lang

Are you an AP Lang student who's been assigned the dreaded synthesis essay? Here's how to write a successful synthesis essay for AP Lang.

Understand the Prompt

The first step in writing any synthesis essay is to read and understand the prompt. It's also important to note any specific requirements such as word count, formatting style, or sources that must be used in your essay.

Organize Your Argument

Once you have all the information necessary, it's time to start organizing your argument.

Start by identifying any common themes or ideas between the various sources of evidence and create an outline with these points at its core.

Write Your Essay

Now comes the fun part - writing!

You should now have a comprehensive outline of all the points and evidence you want to include in your essay. So use this as a guide when crafting your argument.

Make sure that each point has supporting evidence from credible sources and that everything flows logically from one point to another.

Finally, don't forget to proofread and edit before submitting so that there are no errors in grammar or spelling. These small details can make all the difference!

Synthesis Essay Tips

Working on a synthesis paper requires a thorough study of a particular given prompt. To evaluate it properly, you must first understand the prompt's goal, argument, author's claim, and rhetoric.

To compose a successful synthesis essay, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind.

Use Multiple Reasons

It is well recognized that the use of various reasons (generally two) is a very successful approach.

Present one argument against your strong thesis statement. This type of evidence presents an introduction and description. The advantage of this method is to teach awareness of the other side of the argument. It is followed by the opposing view and a decisive factor.

This is one of the most basic ways of organizing. It enables you to summarise the sources that are most relevant to you. The problem is that this technique excludes any of your individual thinking.

Compare and Contrast

Comparing reveals similarities, while contrasting reveals distinctions. It is feasible to show an in-depth analysis of your chosen topic. It allows writers to compare and contrast two sources at the same time.

Write quotations from sources in your own words. This approach also allows the usage of quotable sources. Ensure to cite the reference when you use the reference.

This method depicts the opposing point of view. It demonstrates that the positives outweigh the negatives.

Writing a synthesis essay is not as difficult as it may seem. You can also try our AI essay writer to generate plagiarism-free content and make the process easier.

However, if you are having trouble understanding the concepts or writing a synthesis essay, it is best to hire professionals.

Our synthesis essay writing service is the perfect solution to your problems. We have a team of skilled writers who will help you through each step of the essay-writing process.

You contact our professionals at CollegeEssay.org to get essay writing help online . Our essay writer service is always ready to ace your assignments.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do you end a synthesis essay.

A strong ending fulfills these 3 things:

Restate your thesis.
Summarize or synthesize key points.
Make your argument's context explicit.

What is a synthesis paragraph?

A synthesis is a textual debate that includes support from multiple sources with opposing viewpoints. This type of work requires analysis by using different sources and determining their relevance to your thesis.

Why is synthesis important?

It is important because it allows us to:

Test and validate hypotheses.
Comprehend key processes.
Plan future research efforts.

How to conclude a synthesis essay?

Synthesize rather than summarize your argument. No need to go over your entire paper again. Instead, include a brief summary of the main points of the paper and explain to your reader how you've made points.

What is an example of a synthesis?

Making connections or putting things together is all that is required. We naturally synthesize information to assist others in seeing connections between things. For example, synthesis occurs when you report to a friend what other friends have said about a film or book.

How many paragraphs is a synthesis essay?

According to the standard outline provided, you should stick to the basic five-to-six paragraph structure. In rare cases, there may be more paragraphs in the main body.

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Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues

As governor of Minnesota, he has enacted policies to secure abortion protections, provide free meals for schoolchildren, allow recreational marijuana and set renewable energy goals.

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Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, center, during a news conference after meeting with President Biden at the White House in July.

By Maggie Astor

Aug. 6, 2024

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the newly announced running mate to Vice President Kamala Harris, has worked with his state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature to enact an ambitious agenda of liberal policies: free college tuition for low-income students, free meals for schoolchildren, legal recreational marijuana and protections for transgender people.

“You don’t win elections to bank political capital,” Mr. Walz wrote last year about his approach to governing. “You win elections to burn political capital and improve lives.”

Republicans have slammed these policies as big-government liberalism and accused Mr. Walz of taking a hard left turn since he represented a politically divided district in Congress years ago.

Here is an overview of where Mr. Walz stands on some key issues.

Mr. Walz signed a bill last year that guaranteed Minnesotans a “fundamental right to make autonomous decisions” about reproductive health care on issues such as abortion, contraception and fertility treatments.

Abortion was already protected by a Minnesota Supreme Court decision, but the new law guarded against a future court reversing that precedent as the U.S. Supreme Court did with Roe v. Wade, and Mr. Walz said this year that he was also open to an amendment to the state’s Constitution that would codify abortion rights.

Another bill he signed legally shields patients, and their medical providers, if they receive an abortion in Minnesota after traveling from a state where abortion is banned.

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A Synthesis Apa Paper Example : Synthesis Essay Writing Guide Format And Examples : 9+ apa
The purpose of Synthesis essay writing
the outline for an argument paper
Synthesis essay definition. What Is A Synthesis Essay? How to write it in an effective way
🌷 Synthesis of the study thesis. 8 Example of Synthesis of Review of Related Literature The
💐 Example of synthesis in thesis. Synthesis Essay: Writing Guide with Synthesis Essay Example

COMMENTS

How to Write a Synthesis Essay, WIth Examples
Structuring your synthesis essay by topic works best for more complicated ideas with different aspects that should be explored individually. Example outline: I. Introduction A. Thesis statement. II. Topic 1 A. Source A discussing Topic 1 1. A point or piece of evidence/data from Source A about Topic 1 2.
How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay + Example
Step 5: Write your Essay. Use the remaining 30-35 minutes to write your essay. This should be relatively easy if you took the time to mark up the sources and have a detailed outline. Remember to add special consideration and emphasis to the commentary sections of the supporting arguments outlined in your thesis.
How to Write a Perfect Synthesis Essay for the AP Language Exam
Paragraph 1: The prompt presents and briefly explains the topic that you'll be writing your synthesis essay about. That topic is the concept of eminent domain. Paragraph 2: The prompt presents a specific claim about the concept of eminent domain in this paragraph: Eminent domain is productive and beneficial.This paragraph instructs you to decide whether you want to defend, challenge, or ...
Guide to Synthesis Essays: How to Write a Synthesis Essay
The writing process for composing a good synthesis essay requires curiosity, research, and original thought to argue a certain point or explore an idea. Synthesis essay writing involves a great deal of intellectual work, but knowing how to compose a compelling written discussion of a topic can give you an edge in many fields, from the social sciences to engineering.
PDF Creating Effective Synthesis Essays
skills used to integrate outside sources are summary, paraphrase and quotation. To create effective synthesis essays, follow these best practices. Follow the rules for documentation (MLA, APA, etc.). Tips 1. Use the best evidence. Quote, summarize and paraphrase from a wide range of reliable and credible sources. Be sure the quote, summary or ...
PDF Guide to Writing the AP English Language Synthesis Essay
After you quote or paraphrase a source, cite it as you would in a paper: (Source F) or (Gilman). Be consistent. #3: Your essay needs a thesis. You need a strong, clear thesis. Everything which follows must relate back to this thesis. The thesis is the boss. Anything not working for the thesis should be fired. If you aren't proving your thesis ...
Synthesis Essays: A Step-by-Step How- To Guide
How to write body paragraphs for synthesis essays: 1.Pick three points to write about from your list of points about which the writers agreed or disagreed. When picking three to write about, pick the three that offer you ample evidence. 2.Decide the order of the three points to be written about in your body paragraphs.
Acing the AP® English Language and Composition Synthesis Essay
While this in some ways makes the AP® English Language and Composition synthesis essay easier than the argument essay (because you can use quotations, point to authoritative sources for support, etc.), there is an extra element of complexity, and the AP® readers want to see how well you can sort through your source material and put it to good ...
How to Write a Synthesis Essay
As a student, you'll probably have to write a synthesis essay at some point. Read on for our step-by-step guide on how to write one effectively. Step 1. Define Your Idea or Argument. If you haven't done so already, decide on a topic to write about. Read up about it using a variety of credible sources and make detailed notes while you research.
PDF Writing a Synthesis Essay
3. Tips for an effective synthesis essay: • Establish your purpose to shape the way you want to argue and form your thesis. The thesis is the main claim or idea of your essay. • Select your sources and become familiar with them so that you can discuss them in relationship to your thesis and supporting argument(s).
27 How do I Write a Synthesis Essay?
Synthesis essays will typically contain three body paragraphs. A good body paragraph contains three main sections: a topic sentence (or key sentence), relevant supporting sentences, and a closing (or transition) sentence. This structure keeps your paragraph focused on the main idea, providing clear, concise information.
How to Write a Synthesis Essay
To simplify the writing process, we suggest you to use a standard five-paragraph structure: one paragraph for your introduction, three paragraphs for the main body, and one more for your conclusion. Let's take a closer look at each part of a synthesis essay. 1. Introduction.
Writing a Synthesis Essay -- Body Paragraphs and Sources
You have three choices when you take someone else's words / ideas from their writing to put into your own writing: 1.) QUOTATION: copy the words and punctuation exactly like it is in the other writer's essay; be extremely accurate; use quotation marks. 2.) SUMMARY: you use your own words to "shrink" down another writer's ideas to the ...
Synthesis Essay
Do You Directly Quote in a Synthesis Essay? Yes, you can directly quote in a synthesis essay to support your points, but do so sparingly. Focus on synthesizing information by paraphrasing and analyzing evidence from your sources. Ensure all quotes are properly cited according to the required citation style. In conclusion, synthesis essays are ...
PDF Creating Effective Synthesis Essays
Avoid over-quotation. Using quote after quote after quote sends the signal to your reader, or teacher, that you have not taken the time to develop an understanding of your subject, that you do not have much to say, and can only offer what others have to say. Therefore, maintain authorship of your essay by using quotation sparingly.
PDF Help…I've Been Asked to Synthesize!
nnections or putting things together. We synthesize information naturally to help othe. see the connections between things. For example, when you report to a friend the things that several other friends have said about a song or. movie, you are engaging in synthesis. However, synthesizi.
How To Write A Synthesis Essay
1. Choose a Topic. Before you start writing the synthesis essay, it is important to choose a good topic. When brainstorming for an essay topic, avoid topics that are too broad or narrow in scope. 2. Gather Information. Once you have chosen your essay topic, start collecting the data for it.
Guide for AP Lang Synthesis Essay : r/APStudents
Sorry for the confusion, but you need at least 3 sources for the synthesis essay to do really well. Technically there's not a definitive number for argumentative essays, but I was always taught to use 4 pieces of evidence. 2 for each body paragraph. 3 pieces can be more than enough for a good score though I like to tie the evidence logically with each other. For example, I could do a personal ...
How to Write a Synthesis Essay
Your essay should have an introductory paragraph that includes your thesis, a body to present evidence that supports your thesis, and a conclusion that summarizes your point of view. 2. Write in the third person. Writing in the third person means using "he," "she," "it", and using complete, unambiguous sentences.
PDF The Synthesis Essay
Synthesis Essay Cont. 2. Quoting too much information from the sources. Effective synthesis occurs when you only use quotes that can be embedded in your own words. You probably don't want to quote full sentences. A good rule of thumb is to never quote more than six words in a string. Also, quoting both directly and indirectly
How to Write a Synthesis Essay: Examples, Topics, & Outline
Find several central ideas in the chart. Choose the ones that are repeated the most often and the ones that you feel need to be in your essay. Combine them, and you have a thesis statement with all the key points. Make a draft of the thesis statement. Try to formulate the main idea you want to present in your essay.
How to Write a Synthesis Essay: Step-by-Step Guide
First, state your argument, make supporting statements, and back up each claim with reliable facts. 2. Review Essay. A review essay is frequently written as a preparatory essay to an argument synthesis. Review essays are commonly used in social science and medicine classes.
How to Cite Sources in a Synthesis Essay
This video explains how to cite sources in a synthesis essay for AP Lang.Check out this blog post for more tips: https://coachhallwrites.com/how-to-cite-sour...
Where Tim Walz Stands on the Issues
As governor of Minnesota, he has enacted policies to secure abortion protections, provide free meals for schoolchildren, allow recreational marijuana and set renewable energy goals.

What are your chances of acceptance?

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How to Write the AP Lang Synthesis Essay + Example

What’s Covered:

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

Step 2: Read the Sources Carefully

Step 3: Write a Strong Thesis Statement

Step 4: Create a Minimal Essay Outline

Step 5: Write your Essay

Here are six must-have tips and tricks to get a good score on the synthesis essay:

Discover your chances at hundreds of schools

Here is an example prompt and essay from 2019 that received 5 of the 6 total points available:

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How to Write a Perfect Synthesis Essay for the AP Language Exam

Synthesis Essay AP Lang: What It Is and How It Works

Full Breakdown of a Real AP Lang Synthesis Essay Prompt

Step 1: Analyze the Prompt

Step 2: Read the Sources Carefully

Step 3: Write a Strong Thesis Statement

Step 4: Create a Bare-Bones Essay Outline

Step 5: Draft Your Essay Response

Real-Life AP Synthesis Essay Example and Analysis

Example Synthesis Essay AP Lang Response

Thesis Development

Evidence and Commentary

Sophistication of Thought

4 Tips for How to Write a Synthesis Essay

Tip 1: Read the Prompt First

Tip 2: Make Notes While You Read

Tip 3: Start With the Thesis Statement

Tip 4: Focus on Your Commentary

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Synthesis Essays: A Step-by-Step How-To Guide

The word “synthesis” confuses every student a little bit. Fortunately, this step-by-step how-to guide will see you through to success!

Before drafting your essay:

AP® English Language

1. Use Your 15-Minute Planning Period Wisely.

2. Evaluate Your Sources.

3. Keep Your Tone Consistent.

4. Use Rhetorical Technique to Your Advantage!

5. Your Argument Must be Well-Crafted.

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How to Write a Synthesis Essay

Step 1. Define Your Idea or Argument

Step 2. Create an Outline

Step 3. Write Your Introduction

Step 4. Write the Body Paragraphs

Step 5. Tie It All Together With a Conclusion

Different Types of Synthesis Essays

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Summary: Writing a Synthesis Essay

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is a synthesis essay?

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27 How do I Write a Synthesis Essay?

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