Question 144·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While preparing a presentation, a student compiled the following notes:
- Many species of coral are threatened by rising ocean temperatures.
- Researchers at the University of Queensland developed synthetic coral mucus to study disease resistance.
- The synthetic mucus replicates the complex sugars found in natural coral mucus.
- Beneficial bacteria thrived in the synthetic mucus, whereas pathogenic bacteria did not.
- Mucus composition might be crucial to coral health and could guide conservation strategies.
The student wants to highlight how the study's findings could impact coral conservation efforts. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, restate the purpose (here: connect findings to conservation impact), then select the notes that provide (1) a concrete result and (2) its implication. Eliminate choices that only give background or methods, or that add specific recommendations not stated in the notes. Choose the option that accurately combines the key finding with a clear conservation-related takeaway.
Hints
Clarify the goal
Underline the words in the question that state the goal: the sentence must show how the study’s findings could impact coral conservation efforts.
Locate relevant notes
From the bullet points, which ones describe what happened in the experiments, and which ones talk about coral health or conservation strategies?
Connect findings to impact
Look for an answer choice that doesn’t just restate a fact from the notes, but also explains why that fact matters for protecting or conserving corals.
Watch for unsupported leaps
Be cautious of options that propose a specific action (what conservationists should do) if that action isn’t stated in the notes.
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate the goal
The student needs a sentence that emphasizes conservation impact, so it should include (1) a study result and (2) an implication for protecting corals.
Pull the most relevant notes
The notes give a key result (beneficial bacteria thrived; pathogenic bacteria did not) and an implication (mucus composition could guide conservation strategies). The best choice should combine these.
Check each option against the notes
Eliminate choices that only describe methods/background, propose actions not supported by the notes, or shift the focus away from the study’s findings and their conservation relevance.
Select the choice that links finding to conservation
The sentence that reports the bacteria result and explains that this knowledge could guide strategies to protect corals is:
In tests of the synthetic mucus, beneficial bacteria thrived while pathogenic bacteria did not, suggesting that understanding mucus composition could guide strategies to protect corals.