“Synthesis” means aligning ideas from various sources together in one essay to generate new theses,
critiques, and insights. In this class, you have read many articles and books, watching documentaries, and
engaging in a variety of class discussions. The synthesis paper is your chance to organize some ideas that
you found important or relevant around a specific theme or a question of your choice. Your synthesis paper
will produce your own arguments, make critiques, and suggest generalizations by using the quotes,
describing stories or survey numbers, highlighting findings, and drawing from conclusions of three course
materials (of any genres) and one external reading.
