Question 145·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- In 2015, engineers launched a project called “Net-Works,” turning discarded fishing nets into nylon thread for 3-D printing.
- The project collected more than 100 metric tons of nets from coastal communities in the Philippines.
- Selling the cleaned, shredded nets to a textile mill created a new income source for local fishers.
- Removing the nets reduced “ghost gear” that can entangle and kill marine animals.
- The recycled nylon has been used to print low-cost prosthetic limbs.
The student wants to emphasize an environmental benefit of the “Net-Works” project in a research paper. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, first underline the task words in the question (here, “emphasize an environmental benefit”). Then, quickly scan the notes and mark which bullet(s) match that exact focus. Next, go through the answer choices and eliminate any that do not clearly express that same focus, even if they are true statements from the notes or sound impressive. Choose the option that most directly and specifically restates the relevant note without adding unrelated information.
Hints
Focus on the type of benefit
Underline the phrase in the question that describes what kind of benefit the student wants to emphasize. Ask yourself: Is the question about money, technology, people’s health, or the natural environment?
Scan the notes for environmental impact
Look through the bullet points and find which one talks about an effect on nature or wildlife, not on jobs, profits, or medical uses.
Eliminate off-topic answer choices
For each answer choice, ask: Does this sentence mainly talk about environmental effects, or something else like when the project started, how much it collected, or how it helped people’s income or medical needs?
Match wording, not just topic
Make sure the answer choice you pick closely matches the specific environmental effect described in the notes, not just the general idea of helping or being beneficial.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task in the question
The question says the student wants to emphasize an environmental benefit of the Net-Works project. That means we must choose the option that clearly shows a positive effect on the natural environment (for example, on oceans, animals, pollution), not on money, technology, or people’s jobs.
Find the environmental detail in the notes
Look at each bullet in the notes and ask what kind of benefit it shows:
- 2015 launch, turning nets into nylon thread → mainly about when and what the project does, not a benefit.
- More than 100 metric tons collected → mainly a quantity.
- New income source for fishers → an economic benefit.
- Removing nets reduced “ghost gear” that can entangle and kill marine animals → a direct environmental impact (protecting animals, reducing harm in the ocean).
- Recycled nylon used to print low-cost prosthetic limbs → a medical/social benefit for people. Only one bullet clearly gives an environmental benefit: the reduction of ghost gear that harms marine animals.
Match the answer choices to the correct note
Now compare the answer choices to the notes. You want the choice that is based on the note about reducing ghost gear and helping marine animals, since that is the environmental benefit. Eliminate choices that instead talk about when the project began, how much it collected, money for fishers, or prosthetic limbs, because those are not environmental benefits.
Select the choice that clearly states the environmental benefit
The only choice that restates the environmental-impact note is D) By removing ghost gear from the ocean, “Net-Works” protected marine life from entanglement and harm. This directly describes how the project helped the environment (protecting marine life), so D is the correct answer.