Synthesizing sources

Synthesize sources are ones that are made up of several different works. You find the
relationship to your thesis by analyzing them and connecting them. This prevents a biased / one
sided analysis and offers several support points. Synthesized sources can be used in a
multitude of different ways. Some examples being Analysis papers that explore the relation of
theories, or argumentative papers where sources are used to compare differing views and
support a claim that may be made in the thesis. These sources, the more there are, can be
important in adding credibility to the author. Rearranging them in a certain way can also help
enhance the argument.
Integrating sources

Signal phrases- a way to let your reader know that you are about to introduce a
source
Ex. According to, A recent study by _______,
Use quotes when you can't effectively reword a phrase
Summarizing- putting a large section of text into your own words
Synthesis- combining multiple sources
Paraphrasing- putting a small section of text into your own words
Quoting- be careful not to let quotes take away from your own voice

Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing

Quoting is used to site information used from a certain document. This is done by taking a quote
from whatever source and using it as your evidence or point while also sourcing the author of
the quote. Paraphrasing takes a passage or article and adds a small portion of it into your work
with a source. Summarizing is similar to paraphrasing because you summarize what was read
from the article, but this time it is your own words instead of taking a small portion of the
authors work. Another difference is that summarizing involves stating the main points of a
passage while paraphrasing makes use of the passage as a whole.

Literature Review

A literature review requires the writer to perform extensive research in order to explain how
one's work fits into the larger conversation regarding a particular topic. When writing a literature
review, you should always make sure to stay organized since it helps readers understand the
studies youre talking about. Chronological and Topical are two common approaches for
literature reviews. Chronological is ordering studies from oldest to most recent, while Topical is
grouping studies by subjects or themes. The writer should also use headings, summaries,
language from studies, as well as the domain of the writers research.
 But exactly how effective are Syringe Service Programs at reducing dirty needles

on the streets of US cities? Five large US cities have statistics on discarded syringes and

their prevalence before and after SSPs. Programs in Baltimore decreased the number of

improperly discarded syringes by almost 50%, while Portland Oregon saw an almost two-

thirds decrease. One study of particular interest that compares Miami and San Francisco

is profoundly ironic. Miami had eight times more improperly disposed of needles than

San Francisco, even though the California city is believed to have twice as many

injection drug users. What could possibly account for this drastic difference? San

Francisco has established syringe programs whereas Miami has none (amfAR). This

corresponds to the opinions of Shane Glen, an EMT in Summerfield, North Carolina. Glen

has extensive experience with drug overdose patients and drug-seeking patients who

call 911 and fake an injury just to get high off narcotics. Glen states that many prefer to

use clean needles, but will still use dirty or infected needles if they have no other option

(Glen). That can explain why Miami drug users still inject, they have no option to obtain

sterile needles like citizens of San Francisco. In New York City, the introduction of SSPs

accounts for a 78% decrease in HIV infections and a 27% decrease in Hepatitis C patients

(amfAR). It is clear that syringe programs play a dramatic role in the reduction of disease

and dirty needles across the United States.

The reason that this topic has continuously become a more important issue is

because of the scarcity of oil in the world. As we become more and more reliant on a

resource that is more and more difficult to procure, we must find alternatives. One of the

alternatives to fossil fuels is electricity. Unfortunately, the most EVs (electric vehicles)

available to the public right now are considered dumb. Dumb EVs will start charging

immediately after plugging in and would keep charging until their batteries are full
(Kiviluoma 1). This states how poorly EVs currently perform. Current EVs draw power

from the infrastructure that uses fossil fuels to produce the power it needs to run. Not only

is the reliance on fossil fuel powered electricity a drawback for EVs, their lack of range

and reliability is an issue as well.

Whenever people think of Donald Trump they think of all the things he has either done

right or done wrong. According to some people he is the best person to be president while

others think he should have never been allowed to run in the race. All of this usually will

involve Hillary Clinton, the one who ran against him for the presidency. People say the

same things, but no one seems to mention the fact that she had a significantly smaller

number of women than expected. Most people seemed to think that she would have had

many female votes like how Barack Obama had most of the black peoples votes. For some

reason Clinton missed out on all the white womens votes, but not many seem to know why.

How could she miss votes from just one demographic that surely would have been hers?

Social media is a big influence on the public and their perception on what is real and
what is not. One of the main reasons people do not believe in global warming is due to the
fact that there are multiple sources in social media that claim that global warming is a
hoax. Not only are there multiple sources available spreading this information, but the
sources are very credible sources. For example, President Donald Trump tweeted the
following information: The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese
in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. This tweet was shared more than
104,000 times (Wong, 2016). This exemplifies how seemingly credible sources can be
nothing more than propaganda. Trump is a credible source, seeing as he is the President,
and what he says is not scientifically supported, but people will continue to believe he is a
credible source because he has so much influence. Since this was shared thousands of times
on social media, it shows how people are believing what is said on social media and that
may be one of the leading causes as to why people believe that global warming is nothing
more than a hoax.

When you dont like the way you look you might go on a diet or cut your hair, some take
changing their appearance one step farther. People in this day and age are turning to a more
radical option to find the beauty in themselves. Piercings and tattooing among others are the
most common body modification for both men and women. You can pierce almost anything on
your body, and most if taken out your appearance will return to its original state. Piercings can be
seen as a gateway modification, meaning most people will start with something simple and
popular like an earlobe. While some stop there, you can take it further into eyebrows, tongues,
and noses. It can also bring people to tattooing. While piercings are semi-permanent, tattoos are
completely permanent for the most part, aside from laser removal treatment, and covering with
another tattoo. Even though these practices have been going on for thousands of years people
still discriminate those with visible modification. In Africa modifications are seen as beautiful
and show who is important or what a person has been through to earn these marking.
In America employers may pass on someone who has facial piercings or a tattoo on their hand,
not because they are unqualified for the job, but simply because they look different. They see
modifications as rebellious, unintelligent, and risky; traits they dont want in their business. This
is a huge problem for millennials and the Gen X because roughly forty percent have at least
one body modification. That being said, a small percentage of employers actually encourage
visible tattoos, they think it will appeal to the younger population and help create a larger
consumer market. People today, around the ages of eighteen through thirty especially see it as
wearable art that sets them out of the crowd in a good way; they find it is good to be different.
The younger generations are becoming more open minded, not only in the body mod world but
also with social issues such as gay rights and choice of abortion. Yet since the older generations
are the employers and we the employee, we become stuck in this tricky balance of being who we
want to be and who we have to be.
The topic of illegal immigration has lately become a huge topic in our media with new

articles coming out seemingly every day. Social media and major news organizations

are a major role in how we think so it is no surprise that most Americans see

immigration as a major issue in todays society. Recent studies have shown that there

has been a large rise of hate groups against immigrants in the past few years. The main

cause of Americans viewing Illegal immigrants in such a negative light is the partly due

to an ignorance to the real effect that illegal immigrants have on our economy. It is a

well-known fact that illegal immigrants hurt the economy but is that necessarily true in

the long run? ("HATE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.")

 When we use modern technology we typically stare at a screen that displays the

information, and the effects can be felt by some, headaches, eye aches and discomfort, but what

is really happening to our eyes might not be so clear. According to Elaine Kitchel Md. from the

american printing house for the blind, when scientist studied rhesus monkeys they subjected

them to high- intensity blue light, at 441 nm, which is a specific wavelength, for a duration of

1000 seconds. Two days later lesions were formed in the Retinal Pigmented Epithelium (RPE) on

the eyes of the monkies. These lesions consisted of an "inflammatory reaction accompanied with

clumping of melanosomes and some macrophage invasion with engulfment of melanosomes

which produce hypopigmentation of the RPE.(Kitchel) In laymans terms, the light created a

clumping of little small bumps that have a yellow tint to them Over time our eyes develop a

yellow tinge to them, and this protects our eyes from the blue light, but in children, they have not

developed this yellow filter in their eyes. This can cause eye damage as well as headaches and

other head conditions affected by absorbing blue light. One way to effectively mitigate the

absorption of blue light in your eyes is to wear yellow tinted glasses that protect against blue

light. Your eye absorbs the light and when you wear the glasses, the glasses absorb the blue

light so your eyes don't have to. Even though most people don't always have headaches while

using technology it is still good practice to limit the amount of absorption of blue light that your

eyes can take on at one time.

So what happens when someone over consumes on protein? People can develop kidney

disease, cancer, Kidney Stones, and Osteoporosis. People can obtain kidney diseases because

When people eat too much protein, they take in more nitrogen than they need. This places a

strain on the kidneys, which must expel the extra nitrogen through urine. (6) Cancer can be
developed because researchers believe that the fat, protein, natural carcinogens, and absence

of fiber in meat all play roles...in the development of cancer cells. (6) Many health problems

can be associated with overconsumption of protein, such as higher stroke risk, double the risk of

lung disease, double the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and increased risk of

bladder and prostate cancer(7). Kidney stones and osteoporosis can occur since Diets that are

rich in animal protein cause people to excrete more calcium than normal through their kidneys

and increase the risk of osteoporosis.(7) England researchers did a study on protein and found

that when people add 34g of protein to their diet, their risk of urinary tract infections increases

by 250%.(7)

The downsides to farming with GMO foods is that the seeds are more expensive and

cannot reproduce with fertile offspring. Since theyre genetically modified they are unable to

pollinate and die after one crop cycle meaning new seeds must be purchased each season. Other

downsides include the strengthening and mutating of plant diseases making them much more

dangerous to both GMO and normal crops. This can cause a simple plant diseases like Cankers,

which rot the flesh of fruits and vegetables, to become increasingly resilient to methods of

extermination. These mutated diseases can sweep through fields of non-GMO crops decimating

them and ruining the harvest for the year (Center for Food Safety).

The question many people are asking is where do GMO crops belong in our society?

Since the rise of GMO foods this question has been answered on a country to country basis with

laws and bans in some places and acceptance into the agriculture in other places. Russia along

with most European nations recently placed bans on the cultivation of genetically modified foods

for human consumption but not for livestock. There were many reasons behind these restrictions,
some because of possible undiscovered health issues, and other for economic reasons. Since

these bans were put in place many people have begun to question the safety of the modified

foods, though this has had little impact on the plague like spread of GMO agriculture.

Research was performed to find out the future of cars. As this is a

popular topic there were plenty of sources that included information about

this inquiry. The start of researching came down to the sales records of

electric cars. Information was discovered that the sales of electric cars has

increased over the past five years, and is subject to grow in the future.

According to a publisher called Marketline Electric cars are subject to

increase by 20 percent in the next 10 years. ( Hybrid & Electric Cars Industry

Profile: United States) This information was based off of the sales records of

many top companies such as Toyota. After reviewing the author came to the

assumption that the sales would grow for electric vehicles.

The United States has long been known as a country rife with violence. Among all of the

modern nations, the U.S. has one of the highest crime indexes. According to Numbeo, a website

that gathers the crime and safety indexes of countries around the globe, the United States is

ranked 53rd out of 125 countries and has a crime index of 48.76. While this may not seem too

abhorrent, the vast majority of these countries are significantly less developed and are in states of

turmoil. Compared to the United States, other modern nations such as Japan only have a crime

index of 20.89, more (less?) than half that of the United States (Numbeo).
 When the gender wage gap is brought up many people think that its driven by

discrimination. However, in an article by Jessica Schieder and Elise Gould they state

that, skeptics contend that the gender wage gap is driven not by discrimination, but

instead by voluntary choices made by men and women particularly the choice of

occupation in which they work. Meaning that most women were drawn to lower paying

occupations when compared to men. Even though these women make the choice of which

occupation they go into, many people like to give their opinions on which jobs are for women

and which jobs are for men. But this idea of sorting different genders into specific jobs in a way

can be a form of discrimination. For example, when most people think of nurses they think of

female workers and when it comes to doctors people mainly think of males. When honestly

either gender can become whatever they want and they dont have to listen to the opinions of

others.

Up until recently, marketing was very expensive and and often ineffective, especially for

small business owners who couldnt afford to blow large amounts of cash on billboards or TV

commercials. Today, social media is a much more effective medium for marketing. The top

social media marketing benefits for businesses are driving more traffic and increasing brand

awareness. Over 90% of marketers have increased their brand exposure through the use of

social media. There are many ways to grow your personal brand and connect with others on

social media for free, however paid advertisement can be a very effective tool in targeting niche

groups of people. According to a 2014 report, Facebook advertisements were by far the most

popular paid social media marketing techniques.

With the idea of a Martian base or colony, comes many dangers, challenges, and random

or unidentifiable variables. The first of these challenges which will have to be bypassed is
gravity. On Mars, the gravity is only 38% of what is on earth. This difference in gravity could

prove to one of the bigger challenges that Civil engineers will have to face when designing the

structure of a Mars colony. Due to the low gravity, Pipes that carry liquids will have to be

situated at much higher slopes to account for the weak gravity(Schock)[1]. On Earth, most water

pipes built around municipal systems like towns and cities are designed so that gravity does most

of the job of delivering water around a city. If this design approach was to be used in a colony on

Mars however, different equipment like pumps and pressurizers would be needed to ensure that

water can be directed around a colony.

When it comes to art and its societal definition, its meaning can be perceived in several alternate

ways; the main difference is a pieces location and how it fits in with its surroundings. In a study

done by Mr. Gartus and associates, they placed work originally located in museums on the streets

and vice versa. They found .... (Gartus 20). People who were unfamiliar with the negative

appeals of graffiti actually found it more aesthetically pleasing compared to why it was actually

considered modern art. Nash, a ___, found that the location of a piece deals with its ancient

roots dating back to prehistoric times. Things like cave paintings are considered art, yet it

remains in similar locations to that of graffiti. It is just there has been an accumulating amount

of societal stigma built up towards graffiti. Cave art simply utilizes an alternative canvas.

It is hard to decide whether being undecided is actually a benefit or just a road block

for a student entering college. You can either take it as a way of thinking out all the possible

options, if you are confused and unsure of what you want to be. Or, being undeclared can be

considered just a time waster, keeping one from beginning what needs to be completed which

ultimately delays something that needs to be finished, such as getting your intended major. While
looking for sources, I needed to decide who I could feel I could trust with getting their opinion,

and figured, the best place to look would be a professional here at the school, someone who I

knew worked with this everyday. That someone, was Stephanie Saunders, one of the University

College advisors who works with students, like myself, in getting to their career goals.