Question 123·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• British fossil collector Mary Anning discovered the fossilized skeleton of an ichthyosaur.
• The discovery occurred in 1811, when Anning was 12 years old.
• The find helped spark public interest in prehistoric life.
The student wants to add a sentence to specify how old Anning was at the time of the discovery. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For note-based rhetorical synthesis questions, first read the question stem carefully to identify the exact goal (here, specifying age at the time of discovery). Then scan the notes and highlight the detail that matches that goal. Finally, test each answer choice: it must (1) directly fulfill the stated goal, and (2) use only information that appears in the notes without adding or changing facts. Eliminate choices that are generally true but don’t specifically achieve the goal.
Hints
Focus on the goal in the question
Underline the words in the question that state the goal: the student wants to "specify how old Anning was at the time of the discovery." Any correct answer must clearly do this.
Match the notes to the answer choices
Look back at the notes and find the one that tells you both the year and her age. Then look for an answer choice that uses that information accurately and directly.
Eliminate partial matches
Some choices might mention the fossil, the year, or her general life period. Eliminate any option that doesn’t clearly connect her specific age to the moment she made the discovery.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task
The question asks for a sentence that specifies how old Anning was at the time of the discovery. So the new sentence must clearly tell the reader her age when she discovered the fossil.
Identify the key note information
From the notes:
- Anning discovered the fossilized skeleton of an ichthyosaur.
- The discovery occurred in 1811, when Anning was 12 years old.
- The find helped spark public interest in prehistoric life.
The crucial detail for this question is that she was 12 years old at the time of the 1811 discovery.
Check which choices mention her age at the time of discovery
Go through each option and ask:
- Does it clearly state how old she was when she made the discovery?
- Does it stay accurate to the notes?
Choices that only say the year, or that talk about her life in general, but don’t connect her age to the discovery event, do not fully accomplish the goal.
Select the sentence that fully matches the goal and notes
Only one choice explicitly connects all the needed ideas: it says that when she was 12 years old in 1811, Mary Anning discovered the fossilized skeleton of an ichthyosaur, and that this find helped spark public interest in prehistoric life. This sentence is:
D) When she was 12 years old in 1811, Mary Anning discovered the fossilized skeleton of an ichthyosaur, helping to spark public interest in prehistoric life.