STEP FIVE: SYNTHESIS—INTERPRETING AND ORGANIZING INFORMATION
	During this next step, students need to carefully evaluate the information gathered, compare information from different sources and draw conclusions based upon their needs. At this stage, students need to be able to: Draw conclusions based upon information found Synthesize or blend newly found information with previous information to create a new interpretation or analysis Compare the information found with the original information problem and locate additional information if necessary Create an original product Summarize and paraphrase information in their own words Organize information in a logical order STRATEGIES Compare the information from all of your sources. Decide which are the most important parts that should be included in your final product. Summarize what you have learned in your own words, remembering to give credit to the thoughts and words of others. Decide if your paper has a specific purpose (i.e. to inform, persuade, entertain). This will determine the tone that you use to communicate your information. Organize information in the order that it will appear in the final product. The standard format would include the following components: an introduction, the body of the research paper with all supporting information sources, and a conclusion. Click here for a quick guide to essay writing, written by a high school English teacher. Check that you have addressed all of the required topics and sub-sections of your research assignment and haven’t left anything out. Create an original final product. If a research paper is not the required final product, other suggestions include a journal, speech, videotape, or multimedia presentation. Make sure that you have given credit to all of your sources in your bibliography and (Grades 7-9) that you have inserted references to your sources in parentheses inside the text of your written work, called in-text citation. A title page should be the cover of your paper and your final component is the Works Cited page.