Looking for Common themes in the Sources – The Synthesis Grid
Use the Synthesis Grid
handout to organize and categorize information, ideas, and themes from five of the core readings.
The synthesis grid is a pre-writing tool that is meant to help you organize your thinking for the literature review and begin the process of synthesizing your research. After completing the grid you should be able to use this tool to present your sources’ discussion of the topic in your synthesis essay. The following process may be helpful in completing the grid:
Review your sources, looking specifically for patterns and common themes in the sources. What issues pertaining to your topic are often discussed in multiple sources? Narrow down to four or five common themes.
List the authors of your sources vertically on the grid.
List the common themes you pulled out of the research horizontally on the grid.
Fill in the grid by noting each author’s position on each of the common themes (Note: not all sources will discuss all themes but most squares should be filled in). It might also be helpful to note the page numbers of quotes or examples from the source you can use to support these views.
Click HERE
to view a completed sample of the Synthesis Grid assignment.
