Question 106·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Rain gardens are shallow, planted depressions designed to capture stormwater runoff from roofs, streets, and driveways.
- As captured water soaks into the ground, soil and plant roots remove many pollutants from the runoff.
- Rain gardens slow the movement of stormwater, reducing localized flooding during heavy rains.
- Designers often use native plants in rain gardens, which support pollinators and require less maintenance.
The student wants to explain how rain gardens help protect local waterways. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For “student notes” synthesis questions, start by underlining the task (for example, phrases like “explain how,” “emphasize,” or “show that”) and the specific focus (here, “help protect local waterways”). Next, quickly scan the notes and decide which bullet(s) directly address that focus—do this before reading the choices in detail. Then, eliminate any choices that are about different benefits or details (even if they’re true and from the notes) and select the one that both (1) accurately reflects the relevant note and (2) directly matches the stated goal of the sentence.
Hints
Focus on the task in the question
Underline the phrase “help protect local waterways.” Which answer choices talk about effects on the condition or cleanliness of water, rather than other kinds of benefits?
Connect answers to specific notes
Before looking at the choices, decide which bullet point in the notes is most clearly about what happens to water that would otherwise reach streams or other waterways.
Eliminate choices about different benefits
Some notes and choices talk about things like preventing flooding or helping pollinators. Are those directly about protecting local waterways, or are they different advantages?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the student’s goal
The question says the student “wants to explain how rain gardens help protect local waterways.”
So the correct choice must:
- Use information from the notes, and
- Explain a protective effect on local waterways (such as streams), not just any benefit.
Find the most relevant note(s)
Look at each bullet and ask: which one clearly connects rain gardens to water quality or streams?
- Note 1: Describes what rain gardens are and what they capture (stormwater runoff).
- Note 2: Says that as water soaks into the ground, soil and plant roots remove many pollutants from the runoff.
- Note 3: Says rain gardens slow stormwater and reduce localized flooding.
- Note 4: Says designers use native plants, which support pollinators and need less maintenance.
Only Note 2 directly mentions pollutants being removed from runoff, which is most clearly connected to protecting the quality of water that reaches local waterways.
Match answer choices to the goal and notes
Now see what each answer emphasizes:
- Choice A focuses on the structure and function of rain gardens (shallow depressions capturing stormwater), but not on how they protect waterways.
- Choice C focuses on habitat for pollinators, not waterways.
- Choice D focuses on reducing localized flooding, which is about flooding control, not directly about protecting waterways.
Only one choice clearly uses the idea that rain gardens deal with pollutants from runoff in a way that affects streams and waterways.
Select the answer that explains protection of waterways
The best choice must connect capturing stormwater to reducing pollutants that reach streams or waterways.
Choice B does exactly this by stating that by capturing stormwater and filtering it through soil and plant roots, rain gardens reduce pollutants that would otherwise flow into streams, directly explaining how they help protect local waterways.
Correct answer: B) By capturing stormwater and filtering it through soil and plant roots, rain gardens reduce the pollutants that would otherwise flow into streams.