Question 1·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• The GreenBlock Community Garden launched in 2019 with 12 raised beds and 50 members.
• By 2022, it expanded to 40 raised beds and 400 members; the waiting list doubled in the last year.
• Gardeners harvested more than 3,000 pounds of produce in 2022.
• The garden hosts weekly workshops on composting and seed saving.
• Citywide, the average garden added about 30 new members over the same period.
The student wants to emphasize the rapid increase in participation at the GreenBlock Community Garden. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by underlining the goal words in the question (here, "rapid increase in participation"). Then quickly scan the notes and mark which bullets directly match that goal—especially numbers or comparisons over time that relate to the key idea. Next, eliminate any choices that (1) use unrelated notes, (2) focus on the wrong subject (like space, activities, or averages elsewhere), or (3) ignore the time/amount change the question wants. Choose the option that most directly and specifically uses the relevant note(s) to accomplish the stated purpose.
Hints
Clarify what the question is asking you to show
Focus on the words "rapid increase in participation." Ask yourself: which notes talk specifically about how the number of people involved changed over time?
Separate people-focused details from other details
Look at each bullet in the notes and decide: is this about people participating (members, people wanting to join), or is it about something else like plants, space, or the whole city?
Check which choices actually use those people-related notes
Once you know which notes are about participation, look for the answer choice that uses those notes, not the ones about beds, produce, workshops, or citywide trends.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task in the question stem
The question says the student wants to emphasize the rapid increase in participation at the GreenBlock Community Garden.
Key ideas:
- "participation" = people taking part (members, people wanting to join).
- "rapid increase" = a big change over time, not just a description of current activities or size. Your job is to pick the option that best shows that kind of fast growth in people involved.
Identify which notes relate to participation growth
Look back at the notes and ask: which bullets talk about people and change over time?
Relevant notes:
- "launched in 2019 with 12 raised beds and 50 members" (starting number of members)
- "By 2022, it expanded to 40 raised beds and 400 members; the waiting list doubled in the last year" (later number of members and a change in the waiting list)
These two notes clearly show a big increase in how many people want to be involved (members + waiting list). The other notes describe pounds of produce, workshops, and citywide averages—those are not focused on participation growth at this specific garden.
Match the relevant notes to the answer choices
Now compare each choice to the participation-related notes:
- A good choice will use the membership numbers over time and possibly the waiting list to show rapid change.
- A weaker choice will talk about beds, produce, workshops, or citywide averages instead of the number of people participating at GreenBlock.
Scan the options for the one that directly uses those participation details (members, waiting list) rather than other types of information.
Select the option that best emphasizes rapid participation growth
Only Choice A uses the key participation-growth details from the notes by stating that membership increased from 50 to 400 over three years and that the waiting list doubled in the last year. This directly and clearly emphasizes a rapid increase in participation, so A) Participation surged, with membership growing from 50 to 400 in three years and the waiting list doubling in the last year. is the correct answer.