What should be true about the divisor (the number you are dividing by) in order for synthetic division to be

pretty straightforward?

In order for synthetic division to be pretty straightforward, the divisor must be of the first degree (that is, the power of x must be exactly one.) and must have the binomial form x - a.

Unlike Long Division which makes use of the polynomials given directly, Synthetic Division makes use of the coefficients of this polynomials.