Question 124·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Environmental scientists Lisa Tiemann and Sheryl Halpern investigated soil microbial communities in urban gardens located in three different US cities.
- The scientists compared soil from raised beds in community gardens with soil from adjacent city parks.
- Raised-bed soils showed higher microbial diversity and greater nitrogen cycling activity than nearby park soils.
- In gardens older than five years, microbial diversity was especially high, regardless of city.
- The scientists conclude that raised-bed gardening practices enrich soil health over time.
The student wants to summarize the study’s results for a report. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For questions asking you to summarize research notes, first quickly underline the main result(s) and the type of comparison or measurement in the notes. Then scan each answer choice and cross out any that (1) introduce ideas not in the notes, (2) change what was measured or why, or (3) ignore key results you underlined. The correct summary will accurately reflect the study’s purpose and main findings in one clear sentence without adding or twisting information.
Hints
Focus on what needs to be summarized
Look back at the notes and ask: what did the scientists actually measure and compare, and what did they conclude about the soils?
Separate results from extra details
For a one-sentence summary, you want the main result of the study, not every detail. Which note bullets capture the core findings rather than just background or setup?
Check each choice against the notes word-for-word
For each answer choice, underline any phrase that does not clearly appear in the notes or that changes the purpose of the study. Eliminate choices that introduce new ideas (for example, about gardening practices or city-to-city differences) that the notes never mention.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task
The question asks for a summary of the study’s results using the notes. That means the best choice should:
- Focus on what the scientists found (the outcomes),
- Be accurate and fully supported by the notes,
- Be concise, without adding new ideas that aren’t in the notes.
Pull out the key results from the notes
From the notes, the important results are:
- The scientists compared soil from raised beds in community gardens with soil from adjacent city parks.
- Raised-bed soils had higher microbial diversity and greater nitrogen cycling activity than nearby park soils.
- In gardens older than five years, microbial diversity was especially high, in all three cities.
- They conclude that raised-bed gardening practices enrich soil health over time.
A good summary sentence should combine these main points, especially the comparison and what was found about raised beds, including the age effect.
Eliminate choices that distort or leave out key information
Now compare each option to the notes:
- Choice B: Says they "cataloged gardening practices" and "focused particularly on how long gardens had been in existence." The notes say they investigated soil microbial communities, not a list of practices; garden age mattered, but it was not the main focus described.
- Choice C: Talks about gardening practices varying from city to city and "often involve nitrogen cycling." The notes never mention variation in practices across cities or what practices "involve"; nitrogen cycling is a measured soil process, not a practice.
- Choice D: Says they measured microbial diversity in urban park soils to see how gardening practices change over time. The notes say they compared raised-bed soils to park soils and studied soil health over time, not how practices changed.
All three of these choices either change what was measured, change the purpose of the study, or introduce ideas not in the notes.
Select the choice that accurately and completely summarizes the results
The remaining choice is A, which:
- Correctly identifies the comparison between raised-bed soils and nearby park soils.
- Accurately states the results: raised beds had more diverse microbial communities and more active nitrogen cycling.
- Includes the important detail that these effects were especially strong in gardens older than five years.
Therefore, the best answer is:
A) Environmental scientists Lisa Tiemann and Sheryl Halpern compared raised-bed soils to soils in nearby parks, finding that raised beds, especially those older than five years, supported more diverse microbial communities and more active nitrogen cycling.