Rhetorical Synthesis
Explanation
Rhetorical Synthesis questions give you a short set of bulleted research notes that a student has taken on a topic, followed by a sentence describing a specific goal the student wants to accomplish (for example, introducing a subject to an unfamiliar audience, emphasizing a similarity or difference, presenting a main finding, or explaining a cause). The prompt then asks, “Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?”
Every answer choice will be a true sentence built from the notes, so the challenge is not identifying what is factually accurate—it is identifying which sentence actually accomplishes the stated goal. Wrong choices typically use real details from the notes but serve a different purpose than the one requested (for example, describing a method when the goal calls for a result), address only one of two subjects when a comparison is required, or state the point so vaguely that it fails to use the specific, relevant details available.
Example 1
Notes:
- The Golden Gate Bridge, completed in 1937, spans San Francisco Bay in California.
- It was designed by engineer Joseph Strauss along with architect Irving Morrow.
- The bridge is painted “International Orange” partly to increase its visibility in fog.
- At the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world.
- The bridge attracts more than 10 million visitors annually.
Goal: The student wants to introduce the Golden Gate Bridge to an audience unfamiliar with it.
Example 2
Notes:
- Chemist Rosalind Franklin used X-ray diffraction images to study the structure of DNA in the early 1950s.
- Franklin’s images, particularly “Photo 51,” provided key evidence for DNA’s helical structure.
- Franklin favored a slow, methodical approach, carefully calibrating her equipment before each exposure.
- James Watson and Francis Crick built physical models to test possible DNA structures based on available data, including Franklin’s.
- Watson and Crick’s model-building approach allowed them to quickly test and revise hypotheses about DNA’s shape.
Goal: The student wants to emphasize a difference between Franklin’s approach and Watson and Crick’s approach.
Tips for solving
- Identify exactly what the specific goal is asking for—introduce, contrast, present a similarity, state a main finding, explain a cause—before you evaluate any of the choices.
Example Notes:
The mantis shrimp has 16 color-receptive cones in its eyes.
Humans have 3 color-receptive cones in their eyes.
Scientists studied how both species perceive color spectrums.
Goal: The student wants to contrast the visual capabilities of mantis shrimp and humans.
Incorrect Choice (Introduce): Mantis shrimp and humans are two species whose visual systems have been studied by scientists. (Only introduces, does not contrast).
Correct Choice (Contrast): While humans possess only 3 color-receptive cones in their eyes, mantis shrimp possess 16. (Directly fulfills the goal to contrast).
- Watch for choices that are factually accurate but serve a different goal than the one stated, such as describing a method when the goal asks for a result, or a result when the goal asks for a cause.
Example Notes:
Archaeologists used LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to map the Amazon basin.
LiDAR shoots laser pulses from an aircraft to penetrate dense tree canopy.
The scan revealed over 20 previously unknown ancient settlement sites.
Goal: The student wants to present the main finding of the study.
Factually Accurate Trap Choice (Describes Method): Archaeologists mapped the Amazon basin by shooting laser pulses from an aircraft to penetrate the tree canopy. (Accurate to the notes, but describes the method instead of the finding).
Correct Choice (Presents Finding): Using LiDAR technology, archaeologists discovered over 20 previously unknown ancient settlement sites in the Amazon basin. (Focuses on the finding).
- When the goal calls for a similarity or difference, eliminate any choice that discusses only one of the two subjects—a valid comparison must address both.
Example Notes:
Plant Species A grows in nitrogen-poor soil and derives nutrients by trapping insects.
Plant Species B grows in nitrogen-poor soil and derives nutrients through symbiotic root fungi.
Goal: The student wants to highlight a similarity between the two plant species.
One-Subject Trap Choice: Plant Species A has adapted to survive in nitrogen-poor soil by trapping insects. (Discusses only Species A).
Correct Choice: Both Plant Species A and Plant Species B have adapted to thrive in environments with nitrogen-poor soil. (Addresses both subjects to highlight a similarity).
- Eliminate choices that are too vague or general to use the specific, relevant details available in the notes.
Example Notes:
Dr. Elena Rostova analyzed 150 ice core samples from Greenland.
The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in 1800 was 280 parts per million (ppm).
By 1950, atmospheric carbon dioxide had risen to 310 ppm.
Goal: The student wants to use a specific detail to show the change in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Vague Trap Choice: Ice core samples from Greenland demonstrate that carbon dioxide levels changed significantly over a 150-year period. (Too general; ignores the exact numbers in the notes).
Correct Choice: Ice core data reveals that atmospheric carbon dioxide increased from 280 ppm in 1800 to 310 ppm by 1950. (Uses specific, relevant data points).
- If the goal specifies an audience (already familiar or unfamiliar with the topic), check whether the choice provides the right amount of background—too much explanation is wrong for a familiar audience, and too little is wrong for an unfamiliar one.
Example Notes:
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism.
The dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense emits blue light when disturbed by water movement.
Goal: The student wants to introduce Pyrodinium bahamense to an audience already familiar with bioluminescence.
Over-Explaining Trap Choice (For Unfamiliar Audience): Bioluminescence is the process by which living organisms produce light, and an example is Pyrodinium bahamense, which glows blue when disturbed. (Wastes space defining bioluminescence).
Correct Choice (For Familiar Audience): The dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense exhibits bioluminescence by glowing blue whenever water movement disturbs it. (Skips the basic definition and focuses on introducing the specific organism).
Practice questions
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) was a Kenyan environmental and political activist.
- In 1977, she founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization focused on tree planting and environmental conservation.
- The organization has since planted over 50 million trees across Kenya.
- In 2004, Maathai became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
- She was also a member of the Kenyan Parliament from 2002 to 2007.
The student wants to introduce Wangari Maathai to an audience unfamiliar with her.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Researchers at a marine biology lab studied the diving behavior of Weddell seals in Antarctica.
- The team used data loggers attached to 22 seals to record dive depth and duration over one season.
- Seals were found to dive as deep as 900 meters and remain submerged for over an hour.
- Most dives, however, lasted less than 20 minutes and reached depths under 200 meters.
- The researchers concluded that Weddell seals adjust their diving strategy based on the location of prey.
The student wants to present the main finding of the study.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) wrote nearly 1,800 poems during her lifetime, most of which were unpublished until after her death.
- Dickinson lived most of her life in Amherst, Massachusetts, rarely leaving her family’s home.
- Walt Whitman (1819–1892) published his poetry collection Leaves of Grass in 1855 and continued revising it throughout his life.
- Whitman worked as a journalist and traveled widely across the United States.
- Both Dickinson and Whitman broke from traditional poetic forms, experimenting with irregular meter and unconventional punctuation.
The student wants to emphasize a similarity between Dickinson and Whitman.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The Internet Archive is a nonprofit digital library founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle.
- It aims to provide free access to digitized books, movies, music, and websites.
- Its Wayback Machine has archived more than 900 billion web pages since 2001.
- The organization is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
- Users can browse the Wayback Machine to view how a website looked at a specific point in the past.
The student wants to emphasize the scale of the Wayback Machine’s archive.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) was a Mexican painter known for her self-portraits.
- Kahlo painted The Two Fridas in 1939, shortly after her divorce from muralist Diego Rivera.
- The painting depicts two versions of Kahlo sitting side by side, holding hands.
- One Frida wears a European-style white dress, while the other wears a traditional Tehuana dress.
- The painting is held in the collection of the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City.
The student wants to describe the painting The Two Fridas to an audience unfamiliar with Frida Kahlo.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The Suez Canal, completed in 1869, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.
- It took about 10 years to construct and relied heavily on forced labor.
- The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
- Its construction took about 10 years as well but relied on machinery such as steam shovels.
- Both canals dramatically shortened shipping routes between major oceans.
The student wants to emphasize a difference between the construction of the Suez Canal and the construction of the Panama Canal.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Venus flytraps are carnivorous plants native to boggy regions of the Carolinas.
- Each trap has tiny trigger hairs on its inner surface.
- An insect must touch two trigger hairs within about 20 seconds for the trap to close.
- This two-touch requirement prevents the plant from wasting energy closing on non-prey, such as raindrops.
- Once closed, the trap secretes digestive enzymes to break down the insect.
The student wants to explain the method behind the Venus flytrap’s trap closure.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818 when she was only 20 years old.
- The novel was inspired partly by a ghost-story writing contest among Shelley and her friends during a stay in Switzerland.
- Shelley wanted to explore the ethical dangers of scientific ambition unchecked by moral responsibility.
- The novel’s narrator, Victor Frankenstein, creates a living being but abandons it out of horror.
- Frankenstein is often cited as one of the earliest works of science fiction.
The student wants to present the primary aim behind Shelley’s writing of Frankenstein.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- QR codes were invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara, an engineer at the Japanese company Denso Wave.
- QR codes can store much more information than traditional barcodes.
- Barcodes store data in a single line of parallel bars that must be scanned linearly.
- QR codes store data in a two-dimensional grid of squares that can be scanned from any angle.
- Both barcodes and QR codes are used to quickly link physical objects to digital information.
The student wants to emphasize a similarity between QR codes and traditional barcodes.
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The Sistine Chapel ceiling was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512.
- Michelangelo painted the ceiling while lying on his back on scaffolding for years.
- The ceiling covers approximately 5,000 square feet and includes over 300 figures.
- The central panels depict scenes from the Book of Genesis, including The Creation of Adam.
- The ceiling is located in Vatican City and remains a major tourist destination.
The student wants to emphasize the scale of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling.