Question 148·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- In 2010, the United States had about 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of installed solar power capacity.
- By 2020, installed solar capacity had reached roughly 80 GW—a more than 65-fold increase in a decade.
- Installed wind power capacity grew from about 40 GW in 2010 to roughly 110 GW in 2020.
- Together, wind and solar helped raise the share of U.S. electricity generated from renewables from 3 percent in 2010 to 11 percent in 2020.
The student wants to emphasize how much faster solar power grew than wind power between 2010 and 2020. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, first read the question stem carefully and underline the writer’s goal (for example, “emphasize how much faster X grew than Y”). Then scan the notes for the specific pieces of data that relate directly to that goal, and mentally summarize the relationship (e.g., which is larger, which grew faster). Finally, choose the option that (1) uses only information supported by the notes, (2) directly targets the stated goal—often by making a clear comparison or contrast, and (3) does not drift into unrelated stats or reverse the relationship shown in the data. Eliminate any answer that’s only loosely related, combines data without comparison, or introduces unsupported details.
Hints
Focus on the goal in the question
Underline the phrase that explains what the student wants to do. What specifically does the student want to emphasize about solar power compared to wind?
Locate the relevant notes
From the bullet points, which two bullets give you the 2010 and 2020 numbers for solar and for wind? How do those changes compare in size?
Check what each answer actually emphasizes
Look for a choice that directly compares solar and wind growth over the decade, not just their combined total or the overall share of renewables. Which option clearly shows that one grew much faster than the other?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the writer’s goal
The question says the student wants to emphasize how much faster solar power grew than wind power between 2010 and 2020. So the best answer must:
- Talk about both solar and wind.
- Focus on their growth over time, not just totals or percentages.
- Make it clear that solar’s growth was much faster than wind’s.
Pull out and compare the relevant numbers from the notes
From the notes:
- Solar: 2010 → about 1.2 GW; 2020 → about 80 GW.
- This is described in the notes as a more than 65-fold increase.
- Wind: 2010 → about 40 GW; 2020 → about 110 GW.
- This is less than triple (roughly 2.75 times).
So solar capacity increased more than sixty times, while wind capacity increased less than three times. That’s the contrast the sentence should highlight.
Describe what the correct sentence must do
Using those numbers, the best sentence should:
- Mention solar’s jump from around 1.2 GW to around 80 GW, and note that this is a very large (over 60-fold) increase.
- Mention wind’s increase from 40 GW to 110 GW, and point out that this is much smaller (not even tripling).
- Directly contrast the two, so the reader clearly sees that solar grew much faster than wind.
Now look for the choice that does all of this accurately and in one concise sentence.
Match the reasoning to the correct choice
The choice that accurately uses the notes to show that solar’s capacity skyrocketed from 1.2 GW to about 80 GW, expanding more than sixty times, while wind capacity did not even triple during the same decade is:
Between 2010 and 2020, U.S. solar energy capacity skyrocketed from 1.2 GW to about 80 GW, expanding more than sixty times, while wind capacity did not even triple during the same decade.
This sentence directly compares the growth of solar and wind, uses the given numbers correctly, and clearly emphasizes that solar grew much faster than wind, which is exactly the student’s goal.