What Does Synthesis Mean
We explain what a synthesis is, its characteristics, how to make a synthesis step by step and what a summary is. Also, synthesis in biology.
What is a synthesis?
In the academic field, a synthesis is a writing in which the main concepts or ideas of a specific text or topic are written in an abbreviated way . You can synthesize books, scientific articles , films, among others. To make a synthesis, the text of interest is studied and interpreted and its main ideas are described and analyzed in a new text with one's own words . The word synthesis refers to the concept of synopsis or summary and the term comes from the Greek word synthesis , which means arrangement or composition. See also: Synoptic table
How to make a synthesis?
There are certain steps to follow to synthesize a text:
- Read carefully the text from which the synthesis will be made.
- Do a new reading and highlight or highlight the main ideas .
- Order the ideas according to their importance.
- Establish the possible relationships between the ideas or concepts highlighted.
- Make an outline in which the information is organized around three main axes: introduction , development and conclusions .
- Write the ideas so that they are clear, understandable and assimilable, always respecting the objective of the original text.
Characteristics of a synthesis
The main characteristics of a text synthesis are:
- It is done based on the reading or study of a topic.
- Includes the set of important and most relevant ideas or concepts about the topic or text.
- Use the editor's own words and vocabulary .
- It is useful when studying a topic.
- You must always respect the meaning or intention of the original text , although it allows you to add some information or develop a topic.
- It includes concepts that are logically related .
- It relies on lexical connectors to maintain textual cohesion .
- Aim to recognize the core ideas of the topic or text.
- Maintains order.
- It does not include unnecessary details .
Difference between synthesis and summary
The term synthesis and the term summary are often used synonymously , since both refer to techniques in which the main ideas of a text are extracted . However, this is a mistake because there is a big difference between them. In synthesis, the individual creates a writing based on the ideas of a text, but using his own words. While, on the other hand, in the summary the original information is transcribed verbatim . The writer of a synthesis can include his personal analysis on some concepts or add some information, while in a summary no modifications can be made to the original text, only a textual clipping. More in: Summary
Synthesis in biology
In biology , synthesis or anabolism is called the process of metabolism by which biomolecules are produced from simpler molecules . The complementary process to anabolism is catabolism in which biomolecules are transformed into simpler molecules. An example of synthesis is protein synthesis, which makes it possible to create proteins through the addition of amino acids. This type of synthesis is carried out in ribosomes, which are in the cell cytoplasm , and has three stages: transcription, activation of amino acids and translation. Continue with: Concept map