Question 15·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- The vaquita is the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise.
- Fewer than 20 vaquitas are estimated to remain in the wild.
- They inhabit the northern Gulf of California, Mexico.
- Illegal gillnet fishing intended for totoaba fish is the primary cause of vaquita deaths.
- Conservation groups have campaigned since 1997 for a permanent ban on gillnets.
The student wants to highlight both the critically low population of the vaquita and the chief cause of its decline. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions with notes, first read the question stem carefully and underline exactly what must be highlighted (for example, a specific fact plus a cause, result, or comparison). Then scan the notes and quickly mark the bullets that match those requirements. When you look at the answer choices, eliminate any option that leaves out one of the required ideas or adds details that don’t address the question’s goal. Choose the sentence that combines all required information clearly and directly, without extra, irrelevant focus.
Hints
Focus on what must be highlighted
Underline in the question the two things the student wants to highlight: the critically low population and the chief cause of the vaquita’s decline. Any correct answer must include both.
Match those ideas to the notes
Look back at the notes and find the exact bullet that tells you how many vaquitas are left and the bullet that explains the main cause of their deaths.
Eliminate incomplete choices
Check each answer option and cross out any that do not mention a specific population size or that do not clearly name the main cause (illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba). The correct answer will have both elements together.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand exactly what the question is asking for
The question says the student wants to highlight both:
- The critically low population of the vaquita.
- The chief cause of its decline.
So the correct sentence must clearly include both of these ideas, not just one, and it should come directly from the notes.
Locate the two key pieces of information in the notes
From the notes, identify the exact information that matches what the question wants:
- Critically low population: "Fewer than 20 vaquitas are estimated to remain in the wild."
- Chief cause of decline: "Illegal gillnet fishing intended for totoaba fish is the primary cause of vaquita deaths."
The right answer must combine these two points in one sentence.
Compare answer choices to the required information
Go through the choices and check: does each one mention both the very small population and the cause (illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba)?
- Some choices only talk about where vaquitas live or that they face "threats" without giving the number or the specific cause.
- One choice focuses on conservation efforts and difficulty studying vaquitas, which does not directly state population size or cause of decline.
- Another mentions that vaquitas are the world's smallest porpoise and talks about conservation efforts, again missing the two required points.
Eliminate any option that does not clearly state both the tiny population and the main cause of deaths.
Select the sentence that includes both key ideas
The only choice that directly states how few vaquitas are left (fewer than 20 remain in the wild) and clearly names the primary cause of their decline (illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba) is:
C) Fewer than 20 vaquitas remain in the wild because illegal gillnet fishing for totoaba has decimated the species.