DALF C1 Synthèse: How to Write It

What a synthèse is, and is not

A synthèse brings together the ideas of several documents on one theme into a single, organized text. It is not a series of mini summaries, one per document. It is also not an opinion piece. The reader of your synthèse should learn what the documents say about the topic, in a neutral voice, without needing to read the originals.

Step one: find the problématique

Read every document once for the general picture and once with a pen. For each, note the main idea, the arguments, and the examples. Then ask what question they all address. This shared question is the problématique, for example: how can cities reduce car traffic without penalizing local businesses? Your introduction will state the theme and this question in your own words. Pay attention to the standpoint of each author. Where two documents disagree, show it with a contrast such as alors que le document 1 insiste sur les coûts, le document 2 met en avant les bénéfices. Disagreement between sources is useful material for a paragraph.

Step two: plan by ideas, not by document

Group the information into two or three themes that cut across the documents. A plan such as Document 1, then Document 2, then Document 3 is a sequence of summaries and misses the point of the task. A plan built on ideas, such as the problems identified, the solutions proposed, and the limits of those solutions, shows that you have connected the sources. Within each paragraph, mention where ideas come from: selon le document 1, d'après l'auteur du document 2, les deux textes s'accordent sur ...

Step three: write in your own words

Reformulate rather than copy. Replace words with synonyms, change the structure of the sentence, or turn a verb into a noun. Le chômage a fortement augmenté can become la forte hausse du chômage. Keep the register neutral, use the present tense and the third person, and leave out personal comments such as à mon avis or je pense que. Connectors help the reader follow your plan: d'une part, d'autre part, en revanche, par ailleurs, toutefois, ainsi, de plus.

Step four: check length and accuracy

The instructions give a word range, so count your words the way the paper says to count them and adjust. Then check that no important idea from the documents is missing, that no idea was added from your own knowledge, and that you have not copied entire sentences. In the last minutes, reread for agreement, verb endings, and accents. After the synthèse, you will write the essay, where your own opinion and examples are welcome and where a clear structure with an introduction, argued paragraphs, and a conclusion is expected.

A model outline

Suppose the documents discuss cars in city centers. The introduction names the theme and the problématique in one or two sentences: Les documents traitent de la place de la voiture en ville et de la manière de la réduire sans pénaliser les commerces. The first paragraph covers the problems that the documents raise, such as congestion and pollution, with sources attached: selon le document 1, d'après le document 3. The second paragraph covers the solutions, for instance public transport and pedestrian zones. The third paragraph covers the limits mentioned, such as the effect on local shops and the cost of new systems. A one-sentence conclusion can tie the themes together without adding an opinion.

Typical problems are easy to prevent. Candidates copy whole phrases, add examples from their own knowledge, list documents one after another, ignore the word range, or forget to attribute ideas. A quick checklist before you finish is: one problématique, two or three idea-based paragraphs, every document used, no opinion, and the word count inside the range.

For practice, take any set of two or three short articles on one subject. Underline the main idea of each, write the problématique, and draft the outline in note form. Do this several times before you write complete syntheses, because planning is where the task is won. Then compare your finished text with the notes: every sentence should trace back to a source.

Practice set

Test your understanding, then check the answers.

1. Is "À mon avis, ce projet est utile" acceptable in a synthèse?
2. Reformulate with a noun: "Le chômage a fortement augmenté."
3. Which plan is stronger: by document or by idea?
4. Which connector marks a contrast: ainsi, en revanche, de plus?
5. Complete: "Les deux auteurs s'accordent ___ le rôle de l'école."