In order to investigate the effects of sequence and synthesis in the teaching of taxonomically-related concepts, a study was conducted in which 27 students from Syracuse University were asked to examine printed instructions dealing with kinds of sailboats and then to respond to a test based on those instructions. The synthesizing structure employed in the instructions was a "kinds-conceptual" taxonomy which shows the relationship between concepts. Six versions of the instructions were employed: three with a general-to-detailed presentation sequence and three with a detailed-to-general sequence. Each set of three included a version without a synthesizer, a version with a synthesizer at the beginning, and a version with a synthesizer at the end. Statistical analysis was performed on the test scores of the students. Though the results did not support the hypothesis that a general-to-detailed sequence is superior to a detailed-to-general sequence, an interaction between synthesizer position and the sequence of instructions was found: learning relationships are facilitated when a synthesizer is presented before detailed-to-general instructions and after general-to-detailed instructions. A reference list, five figures, and two data tables are included. (Author/JL)