Synthesising across multiple texts
Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably, combining information without plagiarising
What a learner can do afterwards
- Combine information from three sources into a coherent paragraph using own words
- Create a fact sheet that synthesises key information from multiple texts on one topic
- Present information orally that draws on multiple sources while crediting the sources
1 · Read
You have combined two texts. Synthesising across several texts means connecting relevant ideas to answer a question or explain a topic. Read the sources and note useful details beside their titles or assigned labels. Group related ideas and write your explanation. You may need one paragraph or several. Listing sources alone does not explain how their ideas connect.
Imagine three class texts. A says our bean pots sit on the tray marked leaf. B puts that tray in the greenhouse. C places the greenhouse beside the office. Together: 'Our bean pots are in the greenhouse beside the office (A, B and C).' Follow the same tray and greenhouse across the sources. Each text supplies a link; check every link before writing.
Credit helps readers find your source. Give a title or author, or a label linked to a source list. 'One article' alone may not identify it. Keep credit when you paraphrase: use your own sentence structure and wording without changing the meaning. Mark exact copied words with quotation marks and identify their source. A brief quotation can be part of a connected explanation. A joint credit names the sources used together.
For a fact sheet, sort related notes under topic headings. A heading about transport can group bus and train facts from different texts. When sources share a fact, state it once and add useful new details. Grouping by ideas helps readers follow the explanation.
Choose details that answer your question. You do not need every fact or every text you found. If an assignment requires three sources, use relevant information from all three. Reread difficult parts or ask for help. Reading one source twice still counts as one source for that task. You can name sources within a paragraph and explain how their ideas connect.
Check the draft against its sources. Keep numbers, conditions and meanings accurate. Do not add a detail and call it a paraphrase. Match each credit to the source that supplied the information. Report disagreements instead of hiding them. In a fact-only task, leave out personal preferences. If the task asks for your view, label it and support it.
Connect relevant ideas and keep their meaning accurate. Organise by topic, identify sources, and mark exact quotations.
This lesson, practice material and flashcards were written for this dataset.
These classroom readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Choose details for your question
Imagine researching preparations for a school assembly. A timetable gives rehearsal times. A class note describes seating. A lunch menu lists meals. All concern school life, but the menu may not answer your assembly question.
Choose information because it helps your purpose. Reading a text does not mean every detail belongs in the report. If your task names required sources, find useful information in each or ask for help when one seems unsuitable.
Explain how the selected details connect. Rehearsal and seating plans both prepare pupils for the event. A report about that preparation can join those details while leaving out unrelated lunch information.
Build paragraphs around ideas
Suppose three classroom texts describe a museum visit. One lists activities, one records the route and one gives the schedule. Plan around questions: Where did the class go? What did pupils do there?
Gather notes that answer the same question. A paragraph about activities may use both the activity list and the schedule. A route paragraph may use the route record and the schedule.
You can name sources while explaining their connections. Several paragraphs may help readers follow the information. You do not need every source in every paragraph. Check that each paragraph answers its question and that the whole report meets the assignment.
Make notes you can trace
For each useful detail, record the source title or assigned label beside it. Add a page number or link when that helps you find the passage again.
Keep your questions separate from source information. A note marked 'My question: why did this happen?' should not later become a fact supposedly stated by the text.
If two sources give the same detail, attach both labels to one note. If their claims conflict, keep both claims with their labels.
Before sharing the report, trace its facts back through the notes. Check the information and the credits together. A correct fact can still be credited to the incorrect source.
Keep meaning and borrowed words clear
Here is an invented notice: 'The book cart visits our room every Thursday.' A paraphrase could say, 'Books are brought to our classroom on Thursdays.' It keeps the schedule while changing the sentence.
'Books arrive every day' changes the meaning. When using your own wording, preserve dates, quantities and conditions. Credit the notice by its title or assigned label.
You may instead quote the exact sentence. Put quotation marks around the borrowed words and identify the source. Explain how the quotation connects to your other information.
Compare the finished draft with its sources. Different wording alone does not make a claim accurate.
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.