Question 129·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when mold contaminated one of his petri dishes.
- Penicillin entered widespread clinical use in the early 1940s.
- By 1942, Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to penicillin had already been identified.
- In his 1945 Nobel Prize lecture, Fleming warned that overuse of penicillin could encourage bacterial resistance.
The student wants to highlight a cause-and-effect relationship between the early use of penicillin and the emergence of resistant bacteria. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, first restate the task in your own words (for example, “I need a sentence that shows X causes Y”). Then scan the notes to identify the exact facts that correspond to X and Y. Go through the choices and eliminate any that (1) leave out one side of the relationship, (2) introduce irrelevant details, or (3) use the wrong logical connection (like contrast instead of cause). Prefer the option that uses the most relevant notes and clearly signals the required relationship with precise wording (such as "because," "therefore," or similar causal language).
Hints
Clarify the goal
Ask yourself: what exact relationship does the student want to show—just a timeline of discoveries, or a specific cause-and-effect link?
Match notes to ‘cause’ and ‘effect’
Look back at the bullet points and decide which one describes the early use of penicillin and which one describes what happened to the bacteria afterward.
Look for clear causal language in the choices
Among the answer choices, which one uses the notes about early 1940s clinical use and resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and also uses wording that clearly signals causation (not just "even though" or a simple list of facts)?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task and the needed relationship
The question says the student wants to highlight a cause-and-effect relationship between the early use of penicillin and the emergence of resistant bacteria.
So you need a choice that:
- Names the cause: early/widespread clinical use of penicillin.
- Names the effect: resistant bacteria appearing.
- Clearly connects them as cause and effect, not just as a timeline or a contrast.
Locate the relevant notes for cause and effect
From the notes:
- Cause: "Penicillin entered widespread clinical use in the early 1940s."
- Effect: "By 1942, Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to penicillin had already been identified."
The discovery in 1928 and the 1945 warning are background details. The key relationship you must show is:
- Early 1940s: widespread use of penicillin → by 1942: resistant S. aureus strains appear.
Check which options actually show cause-and-effect using those notes
Now see how each option uses the notes:
- Choice A: Talks about the 1928 discovery and the 1945 warning about possible resistance. That describes a prediction or concern, not the actual emergence of resistant bacteria following early use.
- Choice B: Mentions resistance by 1942 and the 1928 discovery, but uses "even though," which shows contrast, not cause. It also leaves out the fact that penicillin was in widespread use by the early 1940s.
- Choice C: Mentions the 1928 discovery and early 1940s widespread use (cause) but never mentions resistant bacteria (effect), so it does not complete the cause-and-effect relationship.
- Choice D: Uses the early 1940s widespread use as the cause and the emergence of resistant S. aureus by 1942 as the effect, and links them explicitly with "Because."
Choose the sentence that fully and explicitly states the relationship
The only option that (1) uses the fact that penicillin went into widespread use in the early 1940s, (2) uses the fact that penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains appeared by 1942, and (3) clearly connects them as cause and effect is Choice D: "Because penicillin was put into widespread use in the early 1940s after Alexander Fleming’s 1928 discovery, penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains emerged as early as 1942."