Question 112·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Cold brewing: coffee grounds steeped in cool water for 12 to 24 hours.
- Produces a smoother taste with lower perceived acidity.
- Hot brewing: hot water passes through grounds in a few minutes.
- Extracts aromatic compounds quickly, producing a brighter taste.
The student wants to highlight a key difference between the two brewing methods. 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, “highlight a key difference”). Then scan the notes and quickly list the main contrasts or main idea you must express. Go through the answer choices and eliminate any that (1) add information not in the notes, (2) ignore the stated goal (e.g., show a similarity when a difference is asked for), or (3) use only a small, less important detail. Choose the option that directly fulfills the goal and uses multiple, central details from the notes as efficiently as possible.
Hints
Focus on the question’s purpose
The question asks for a sentence that highlights a key difference between cold brewing and hot brewing. Ask yourself: which choice is clearly contrasting the two methods?
Use the notes as a checklist
Look back at the bullet points. Which details show how the methods differ in process (time and temperature) and in flavor? The correct answer should use several of these details.
Watch for irrelevant or extra information
Eliminate choices that talk about things like popularity, personal preference, or warm weather—those ideas are not in the notes and do not directly compare the methods.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task in the question
The prompt says the student wants to highlight a key difference between the two brewing methods using the notes.
So the correct choice must:
- Directly compare cold brewing and hot brewing, and
- Emphasize how they are different, not how they are similar or how people feel about them.
Extract the key differences from the notes
From the notes, identify what is different about each method.
Cold brewing:
- Coffee grounds steeped in cool water
- Steeping for 12 to 24 hours
- Produces a smoother taste
- Has lower perceived acidity
Hot brewing:
- Hot water passes through the grounds
- Takes only a few minutes
- Extracts aromatic compounds quickly
- Produces a brighter taste
The big contrasts are:
- Temperature and time: cool water for many hours vs. hot water for a few minutes
- Resulting taste: smoother, lower acidity vs. brighter taste.
Check each option against the goal and notes
Now compare the answer choices to the goal and the notes:
- Eliminate any choice that does not show a clear difference.
- Eliminate any choice that adds new information not supported by the notes (like popularity or preferences).
- Prefer a choice that uses multiple details from the notes about both methods.
Select the sentence that best highlights the difference
The only option that:
- Directly contrasts the two methods (using a word like "unlike"), and
- Uses specific details about time, temperature, and taste from the notes for both cold and hot brewing
is:
B) Unlike hot brewing, which passes hot water through the grounds in minutes and produces a brighter taste, cold brewing steeps grounds in cool water for 12 to 24 hours and yields a smoother taste with lower perceived acidity.