Building a Synthesis Claim · 建立一项综合主张
A sentence neither source could have written
- That is the target: a claim that needs two sources and belongs to neither.
- If your sentence could have come from one source alone, you have quoted, not synthesised.
- If it could have come from no source at all, you have asserted.
When two sources sit at the table, let them talk to each other instead of reading their own menus in turn.
一句任何一个来源都写不出的话
- 这就是目标:一项需要两个来源、却不属于其中任何一个的主张。
- 如果你的句子仅凭一个来源就能写出,那你是在引用,不是在综合。
- 如果它任何来源都不需要,那你是在断言。
两份材料坐到同一张桌旁，就让它们对话，别让它们轮流念各自的菜单。
The target for a synthesis claim is a sentence that... · 综合主张的目标,是这样一句话:它……
If one source could have written it, you quoted; if none was needed, you asserted. · 如果一个来源就能写出它,那你是在引用;如果一个也不需要,那你是在断言。
Three shapes that work
- Agreement that is thinner than it looks: both defend it, for reasons that do not survive together.
- Disagreement about the question: they differ not on the answer but on what is being asked.
- A gap: what neither source is in a position to see.
三种有效的形态
- 比表面更单薄的一致:两者都为它辩护,而其理由无法同时成立。
- 关于问题本身的分歧:它们的差异不在答案,而在被追问的是什么。
- 一处空白:两个来源都没有条件看到的东西。
Turn a source into evidence in three moves · 三步把材料变成证据
A synthesis essay is not a tour of the sources — the third move is where the synthesis happens. · 综合写作不是把材料逐个介绍一遍——综合发生在第三步。
Select all · 所有 the synthesis shapes this lesson gives. · 选出本课给出的所有综合形态。
The fourth is summary in sequence, which is the shape synthesis avoids. · 第四项是按顺序作概括,正是综合所要避免的形态。
Writing the paragraph
- Open with your claim, before either source is named.
- Bring the first source in with attribution inside the sentence.
- Bring the second in as what it changes about the first, not as a separate report.
写出这一段
- 以你的主张开头,在任何来源被点名之前。
- 引入第一个来源时,把归属放在句子内部。
- 引入第二个来源时,把它作为对第一个的改变来呈现,而不是作为另一份报告。
Put the parts of a synthesis paragraph in order. · 把综合段落的各部分排序。
The claim comes first, which is what makes the paragraph yours. · 主张放在最前,正是这一点使这一段属于你。
A synthesis claim that appears in one of the sources is a quotation with the marks removed. The test is not whether you used two sources but whether the claim needed both — search your own sentence for in the sources before you keep it.
出现在某个来源之中的综合主张,是去掉引号的引用。检验标准不是你是否用了两个来源,而是这项主张是否两个都需要——在保留自己的句子之前,先到来源中去搜一搜它。
Noting that a source never addresses an objection is legitimate evidence in a synthesis essay. · 指出某个来源始终没有回应某项反对意见,在综合写作中是正当的证据。
Consideration of other positions is a credibility measure the CED gives you. · 对其他立场的考虑程度,是 CED 交给你的一把可信度尺子。
Using a source's limits
- Consideration of other positions is a credibility measure you may apply in the essay.
- "Source A's account never addresses the objection Source D raises" is legitimate evidence.
- You are not attacking the source — you are weighing it, which is what synthesis requires.
利用来源的局限
- 对其他立场的考虑程度,是你可以在文中运用的一把可信度尺子。
- "来源 A 的陈述始终没有回应来源 D 提出的反对意见"是正当的证据。
- 你不是在攻击该来源——你是在权衡它,而这正是综合所要求的。
Test a synthesis claim by ____ every source name and checking a claim remains. · 检验综合主张的办法,是 ____ 所有来源名称,再看是否仍有主张。
Then search the sources for that claim — it should not be there. · 然后到各来源中去搜这项主张——它不应当出现在那里。
Two tests
- Delete every source name. Is there still a claim? There should be.
- Search the sources for that claim. It should not be there.
- A claim that passes both is yours, built from theirs — which is the definition of synthesis.
两项检验
- 删掉所有来源名称。是否仍有一项主张?应当有。
- 到各来源中去找这项主张。它不应当出现在那里。
- 两项检验都通过的主张,才是你自己的、由他人材料建成的——而这正是综合的定义。
"Sources B and D both defend the scheme, but B defends the operation and D the effect — so the agreement holds only while nobody asks which one the funding was for." Neither source says this; both are required to say it.
*"来源 B 与来源 D 都为这个方案辩护,但 B 辩护的是它的运作,D 辩护的是它的效果——因此这种一致只在无人追问经费究竟是为哪一个而拨时才成立。"*两个来源都没有说这句话;而说出它,两个都不可少。
Aim for a claim that needs two sources and belongs to neither. Useful shapes: agreement thinner than it looks, disagreement about the question, or a gap neither source can see. Open with your claim, attribute inside the sentence, and test by deleting the source names.
目标是一项需要两个来源、却不属于其中任何一个的主张。可用的形态有:比表面更单薄的一致、关于问题本身的分歧,或两个来源都看不到的一处空白。以你的主张开头,把归属放在句子内部,并通过删掉来源名称来检验。