Question 111·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching renewable energy for a report, a student compiled the following notes:
• Rooftop A’s solar array produces 5,400 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year, enough to meet 60 percent of the office building’s annual demand.
• Rooftop B’s solar array produces 32,000 kWh of electricity per year, enough to meet 35 percent of the factory’s annual demand.
The student wants to highlight that despite generating less electricity, Rooftop A’s array supplies a larger share of its building’s energy needs than Rooftop B’s array supplies of its own. Which choice most effectively incorporates the information from the notes to make this point?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, first restate the task in your own words: what exact relationship or point does the writer want to make (comparison, cause-effect, contrast)? Then pull the key data from the notes (numbers, percentages, or ideas) and turn them into a short checklist of requirements. Quickly test each answer choice against that checklist, eliminating any that (1) leave out part of the relationship, (2) are just lists of facts without expressing the intended point, or (3) add an idea the prompt doesn’t support. Choose the sentence that is both factually accurate and directly expresses the specific contrast or connection the question describes.
Hints
Underline the key ideas in the question
Mark the phrases "despite generating less electricity" and "supplies a larger share of its building’s energy needs" in the prompt. Your answer must capture both the total amount and the share/percentage idea.
Turn the goal into a checklist
Ask yourself: Which choice (1) compares how much electricity each rooftop produces, and (2) compares what percentage of each building’s energy demand the arrays meet?
Look for contrast wording that fits the idea
Because the student wants to show a surprising contrast, look for a sentence that clearly signals that contrast (for example, structures similar to "even though" or "whereas") and actually uses both the kWh numbers and the percentages correctly.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify exactly what the question wants
The question says the student wants to highlight two related facts:
- Rooftop A generates less total electricity than Rooftop B.
- Despite this, Rooftop A supplies a larger share (higher percentage) of its building’s energy needs than Rooftop B supplies of its own building.
Any correct answer must clearly express both the total electricity comparison and the percentage-of-demand comparison, and show the contrast between them.
Restate the key information from the notes
From the bullet points in the prompt:
- Rooftop A: produces 5,400 kWh per year and meets 60% of the office building’s annual demand.
- Rooftop B: produces 32,000 kWh per year and meets 35% of the factory’s annual demand.
So:
- In absolute electricity, Rooftop B (32,000 kWh) > Rooftop A (5,400 kWh).
- In percentage of each building’s needs, Rooftop A (60%) > Rooftop B (35%).
The sentence we choose should connect these two comparisons and emphasize the surprising contrast.
Check which choices include both comparisons and the contrast
Now test each option against the requirements:
- Does it mention who produces more total kWh?
- Does it mention who covers a larger percentage of their building’s demand?
- Does it clearly express the “despite/although” contrast between these two facts?
Eliminate any choice that is missing one of these elements or just lists facts without highlighting the intended point.
Select the choice that fully matches the goal
Only Choice B states that Rooftop B generates far more electricity (32,000 kWh) and that Rooftop A covers a greater share of its building’s needs (60% vs. 35%), directly capturing the idea that despite generating less electricity, Rooftop A supplies a larger share of its building’s energy needs.