Question 116·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Peregrine falcons can reach diving speeds of more than 200 miles per hour when hunting.
- Their prey consists mainly of pigeons and other birds caught in mid-air.
- The pesticide DDT thinned peregrine falcon eggshells, causing populations to plummet in the 1950s and 1960s.
- The United States banned DDT in 1972.
- Since the ban, peregrine falcon numbers have rebounded, making the species a well-known conservation success story.
The student wants to add a sentence explaining what allowed peregrine falcon populations to recover. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions that ask you to add a sentence based on notes, first restate the task in your own words (for example, “I need a cause of recovery” or “I need a definition”). Then, scan the notes to find the exact detail or relationship (like cause-and-effect) that answers that task. Next, compare choices and pick the one that accurately expresses that specific idea without adding new, unsupported claims, even if other choices contain true but irrelevant facts from the notes. Always check that the choice directly answers the question’s wording (here, explaining what allowed populations to recover).
Hints
Clarify what the question is asking for
Focus on the phrase “what allowed peregrine falcon populations to recover.” You are looking for a cause of the recovery, not just any detail about peregrine falcons.
Locate the relevant note
In the notes, find the part that talks about populations going down and then later going back up. What specific change happened between those two periods?
Watch for cause-and-effect language
Look for an answer choice that clearly links a specific action or change in the environment to the rebound of peregrine falcon populations, rather than just describing their abilities, food, or reputation.
Eliminate irrelevant but true details
Some choices may mention facts that appear in the notes but do not actually explain the recovery. Cross out any option that doesn’t clearly answer the “what allowed them to recover” part of the question.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task in the question
The question says the student wants to add a sentence explaining what allowed peregrine falcon populations to recover. That means you need a cause or reason for the recovery (the population rebound), not just any fact about falcons.
Find the cause of the recovery in the notes
Look through the notes for information about why the population went back up.
- One note says DDT thinned eggshells and caused populations to plummet.
- Another note says the United States banned DDT in 1972.
- A final note says that since the ban, peregrine falcon numbers have rebounded.
Putting these together, the notes show that the key change that allowed recovery was the banning of DDT, the eggshell-thinning pesticide.
Match the relevant idea to the answer choices
Now look for the choice that:
- Mentions the ban on DDT (the key change), and
- Clearly connects that ban to the population rebound.
Eliminate choices that instead focus on diving speed, prey type, or the fact that the species is a success story, because those details do not explain what allowed the population to recover.
Select the answer that correctly expresses the cause
The only option that directly ties the population rebound to the banning of DDT is:
A) After the United States banned the eggshell-thinning pesticide DDT in 1972, peregrine falcon populations rebounded.
This accurately and completely uses the notes to show what allowed the populations to recover.