Question 136·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Research indicates that urban rooftop gardens can sustain a wide range of pollinators.
- A 2021 study in Chicago recorded 45 species of native bees visiting rooftop gardens.
- Pollinators increase fruit and vegetable yields in urban farms.
- Rooftop gardens also help moderate building temperatures.
The student wants to advance a claim about how rooftop gardens benefit urban pollinators and to support that claim with appropriate evidence. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, start by underlining exactly what the question wants (for example, a claim about X supported by evidence about Y). Then scan the notes and mark which ones directly relate to that focus. When you review the answer choices, eliminate any that (1) talk about the wrong benefit or topic, (2) misuse a note to support an unrelated idea, or (3) add information not in the notes. The correct answer will clearly state the required claim and back it up with specific, accurately used evidence from the provided notes only.
Hints
Clarify the goal of the sentence
Underline the key words in the question: the student needs a claim about how rooftop gardens benefit urban pollinators, plus supporting evidence from the notes. Which options actually talk about pollinators and rooftop gardens together?
Separate claim from evidence
Look for an option that first makes a general statement (claim) and then backs it up with a specific detail from the notes (e.g., a study result or number). Which answer has that structure?
Watch for off-topic or misused information
Some notes talk about yields and building temperatures. Be careful: using those details to support a statement about pollinators would be a mismatch. Eliminate any option that uses evidence for the wrong kind of benefit or adds ideas not in the notes.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The question says the student wants to advance a claim about how rooftop gardens benefit urban pollinators and support that claim with appropriate evidence from the notes. So the correct answer must:
- Make a clear claim about rooftop gardens helping pollinators, and
- Include specific supporting evidence taken correctly from the notes.
Identify the relevant notes
Look through the notes and pick out what directly relates to pollinators and rooftop gardens:
- "Research indicates that urban rooftop gardens can sustain a wide range of pollinators."
- "A 2021 study in Chicago recorded 45 species of native bees visiting rooftop gardens."
The other two notes (about increasing yields and moderating building temperatures) describe other benefits, not direct benefits to pollinators themselves.
Check each option against the task and notes
Now see whether each option (A–D):
- Makes a claim about how rooftop gardens benefit urban pollinators, and
- Uses accurate, relevant evidence from the notes to support that claim.
Eliminate any choice that:
- Focuses mainly on crop yields or temperatures (not pollinators),
- Misuses the bee study to support the wrong idea,
- Adds information not found in the notes, or
- Fails to clearly connect rooftop gardens and pollinators.
Select the option that correctly combines claim and evidence
Only one option clearly states that rooftop gardens help pollinators and supports that idea with accurate, specific evidence from the notes (the Chicago study with 45 bee species). That option is:
D) Urban rooftop gardens can support a variety of pollinators, as shown by a Chicago study that recorded 45 species of native bees visiting such gardens.