How this works
Synthesis is not summarizing texts one at a time — it is putting them in conversation. In this activity you build that conversation one connection at a time: a connection is two specific passages, from two readings, plus your account of how they speak to each other.
- Load 3–5 short readings below: paste each one with a title, or load the built-in sample set to practice.
- Select a passage in any reading (drag with a mouse, press-and-hold on a phone, or hold Shift + arrow keys with the keyboard) and press Capture passage in the bar at the bottom. That becomes Passage 1.
- Find a passage in another reading that speaks to it, select it, and capture it as Passage 2.
- Choose one or more connection types — a pair can both contradict and raise a question — then press Add connection.
- Answer the short reflection prompt that appears for each label in your Connection log.
- Watch the Synthesis connection chart and the reading-by-reading matrix fill in. Use the patterns to answer the wrap-up questions, then export a visual report as a web page, a PDF, or a printout.
“Platforms profit when you keep scrolling, so feeds are engineered to be endless.”
and Reading B claims:“Every new medium — the novel, radio, television — provoked the same alarm about captured attention.”
A strong connection tags this pair as Contradicts and Raises a question, with a reflection like: “B doesn’t deny A’s claim about design, but it reframes the alarm as a recurring panic. Together they make me ask: is engineered scrolling different in kind from earlier media, or only in degree?” Notice the reflection names both texts and says something neither says alone — that’s synthesis.Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. Everything stays in this browser tab and disappears when you close it, so export your report before you leave.
Customize your connection labels (optional)
These six labels are a starting vocabulary, not a rulebook. Rename any label — and rewrite its reflection prompt — to match your course or your own way of describing how texts talk to each other. Each label keeps its color everywhere: buttons, log, chart, matrix, and report.
Open the label editor
Your readings
Add between 3 and 5 short readings — excerpts work better than whole articles. Give each a short title so the chart and matrix stay readable.
Your connection log
Each connection lands here with a reflection prompt for every label you applied. Aim for at least four connections that touch every reading at least once — the chart below will show you which texts you’re leaving out of the conversation.
No connections yet. Capture two passages in the bar below to begin.
Synthesis connection chart
Your readings as anchors, your connections as arcs. Color shows the connection type; the number on each arc matches the connection in your log (click an arc to jump to it). A reading with no arcs is a text you haven’t yet brought into the conversation.
Reading-by-reading matrix
Every pair of readings, side by side. Each cell counts the connections between two texts and shows their types as dots. Click or press Enter on a cell to filter your connection log to just that pair; empty cells are pairs still waiting to be connected.
Step back & synthesize
These three questions turn a pile of connections into an argument about how the texts speak to each other.
Your visual report
Turn everything above into a visual report — a synthesis snapshot, your connection chart, the matrix, and every reflection — then save it as a web page or PDF, or print it, to submit to your instructor.
“Save as PDF / Print” opens your browser’s print box — choose Save as PDF as the destination for a PDF, or your printer for paper. Upload the PDF or the downloaded .html file to your course site.