Synthesis Connection Chart

Paste short readings, highlight evidence, name the kind of connection you see, and build a source-by-source synthesis matrix you can export for class.

Created by Marc WatkinsUniversity of MississippiCC BY 4.0

How This Activity Works

Synthesis is not just finding quotes that agree. It is the work of noticing how readings speak to, complicate, extend, or pressure one another.

  1. Paste three to five short readings. Add a quick title for each source.
  2. Customize the connection labels so they match your class, exam, or prompt.
  3. Select a phrase or sentence in any reading, choose one or more labels, then add it to your connection log.
  4. Use the log to explain how the quote connects to another source, idea, question, or pattern.
  5. Review the chart and matrix, then export a visual report as HTML or use print to save a PDF.
Exemplars and Moves
Extend: Reading 2 gives a concrete example that makes Reading 1's abstract claim easier to see.
Complicate: Reading 3 agrees with the goal, but questions whether the proposed method can actually work.
Tension: Two sources use the same key term but attach different values or consequences to it.
Synthesize: Together, the readings suggest a broader pattern none of them fully states alone.

Try writing connection notes with this stem: "This matters because Source A helps me see Source B differently by..."

Add Readings

Paste up to five short readings. Three is usually enough for a rich synthesis chart; five gives more room for comparison.

Customize Labels

Rename labels and prompts before students begin, or let students adapt them to the assignment. Existing highlights keep following the same label slot even if the wording changes.

Highlight Evidence

Select text inside a loaded reading. The sticky bar at the bottom will let you tag it and add a connection note.

Load readings above to begin highlighting.

Keyboard-friendly manual evidence entry

Use this if text selection is difficult. Paste a short excerpt, choose its source and labels, then add it to the same chart and matrix.

Connection labels

Connection Log

Each highlight becomes a row of thinking. The strongest synthesis reports explain both the local quote and the relationship across sources.

No highlights yet. Select evidence in a reading to begin.

Synthesis Connection Chart

This chart turns individual highlights into a comparative reading map. Sort your thinking by source, label, connection, and emerging synthesis.

Interactive Matrix

Click a numbered cell to filter the log to that source and connection type. Click it again to clear the filter.

Step Back and Synthesize

Use the matrix to turn your connections into a claim about the readings as a group.

Export

Build a visual report, print it, save it as PDF through your browser print dialog, or download a standalone HTML report.

For PDF, choose Print / save PDF, then set the browser destination to Save as PDF.

Plain-text backup

Select text in a loaded reading, then choose one or more connection labels.

Pick at least one label for the selected evidence.