have you ever given any thought to the
way you process information the truth is
you do it all the time not just online
but at home at work and in the
conversations you have every day you
read a negative review for the latest
Steven Spielberg movie you hear from a
friend that it's actually pretty good
you put both of those sources together
and use them to form an opinion based on
what you already know you know you like
Steven Spielberg but maybe you're not
really interested in the movie you
decide to wait till it comes out on DVD
believe it or not there's a word for
that it's called synthesis but for our
purposes it may be easier to think of it
as putting things together in your head
synthesis is something that happens
naturally in everyday life you hear or
read about something new in this case
differing opinions about the latest
Spielberg movie then you file that
information away in your own personal
database also in that database are
little bits of memory and other things
that you've learned or experienced all
throughout your life these things
combine to form an understanding of the
subject this is also how you form an
opinion on the subject the same thing
happens when you consume information
online for example when you read an
article or watch a video but what if you
had to form more than an opinion what if
you had to produce something tangible
like a blog post a presentation or a
research paper for school the process is
remarkably similar first it wouldn't be
right to just throw your research
together save it in a Word document and
call it a day your work should be like
your opinions your work should be unique
instead think about your sources and
start putting them together in your head
in this example articles that talk about
green living look for connections
between the materials that might help
you understand the subject a little
better look for connections in your
personal database for example any
experience you have with recycling or
saving energy at home this will help you
draw your own conclusions so you can
eventually put your thoughts into your
own words that synthesis but really it's
as simple as putting all the information
together and combining it in order to
create something new remember that and
your next writing project is sure to be
a success
you