In Composition you judged whether a source is credible; in rhetorical analysis you read one text closely. A synthesis puts several sources in conversation. Before you can use them, read them together and ask how they relate.
| Relationship | Means | Signal it with |
|---|---|---|
| Agree | they support the same point | Like A, B finds … |
| Disagree | they reach opposite conclusions on the same question | Where A sees …, B warns … |
| Qualify | one accepts the other’s point, with a limit | B agrees, but only for … |
| Answer different questions | they don’t conflict; each covers a different part of the issue | A shows the benefit; C shows the cost. |
A practice set on school start times (The four sources here are made up for practice; they are not real studies or letters.)
- Source A, a sleep researcher: teenagers’ body clocks shift later in adolescence, so early starts cut sleep.
- Source B, a district transportation memo: a later high school start would require more buses or later elementary routes.
- Source C, a student survey: most students who answered want a later start, but many with after-school jobs worry about working later.
- Source D, a coach’s letter: later starts push practices toward dark in late fall.
Key idea
Read sources against each other. For each pair, ask: do they agree, disagree, qualify, or answer different questions? A grid of sources and questions makes the conversation visible.
Why it works
Summarizing sources one at a time leaves the hard thinking to your reader. Seeing that A and B answer different questions (benefit and cost) is what lets you argue that a later start is worth its cost, or not. The relationships are where your own argument comes from.
Worked example: Pairs in the set
How do A and B relate? A and C? C and D?
- A and B: different questions. A is about students’ sleep; B is about bus costs. They don’t contradict each other.
- A and C: mostly agree, since students want what the research suggests; C also qualifies it with a worry about jobs.
- C and D: agree on a concern: later afternoons cost something, for jobs and for practices.
Answer: A/B different questions; A/C agree, with C qualifying; C/D agree on a cost.
Common mistake
Summarizing sources one at a time instead of putting them in conversation. A paragraph per source (“Source A says … Source B says …”) is a book report. Check: do your sentences name two sources at once and say how they relate?