Question 151·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Bamboo can be harvested just 3–5 years after planting, whereas oak trees require 40–60 years to reach maturity.
- Bamboo biomass is high in cellulose and low in lignin, which reduces the amount of chemical processing needed to make paper pulp.
- Oak wood is valued for furniture and flooring because of its hardness and attractive grain.
- Both bamboo and oak absorb carbon dioxide, but bamboo does so more rapidly because of its fast growth.
The student wants to highlight why bamboo is considered a more sustainable raw material for paper production than oak. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by underlining the task words (for example, “more sustainable raw material for paper production than oak”) so you know exactly what the sentence must do. Then scan the notes and quickly mark which bullets are clearly relevant and which are off-topic. Eliminate answer choices that rely on off-topic notes (such as furniture, flooring, or reforestation) or that fail to mention the main focus (here, paper and sustainability). Among the remaining options, choose the one that uses the most directly relevant notes and clearly states the required comparison or explanation in one concise sentence.
Hints
Focus on the exact goal
Underline the words in the question that state the goal. Does the sentence need to be about furniture, reforestation, or specifically about sustainable paper production?
Pick out the relevant notes
From the bullet points, which details are about how easy or environmentally friendly it is to make paper from bamboo compared with oak? Which details seem off-topic for that goal?
Check each option for relevance
For each answer choice, ask: Does it directly explain why bamboo is more sustainable for making paper than oak, or does it drift into other topics (like flooring or reforestation)?
Look for both comparison and reasoning
The best option should both compare bamboo to oak and give reasons connected to paper production and sustainability, not just mention one fact about either plant.
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify the task
The question asks for a sentence that explains why bamboo is considered a more sustainable raw material for paper production than oak. So the correct answer must:
- Mention paper (or being a paper source),
- Emphasize sustainability, and
- Make a comparison to oak using information from the notes.
Identify the most relevant notes
Look back at the bullet points and pick out which ones relate to paper production and sustainability:
- Bamboo can be harvested in 3–5 years; oak takes 40–60 years.
- Bamboo has high cellulose and low lignin, which reduces chemical processing for paper pulp.
- Oak is used for furniture and flooring (this is not about paper or sustainability).
- Both absorb CO₂, but bamboo does so more rapidly (this is about climate impact overall, not specifically paper making).
The key notes for this task are the growth time and the low lignin/less chemical processing for paper pulp.
Eliminate answers that use irrelevant information or miss the goal
Check each option against the task and the relevant notes:
- Choice A: Mentions paper, but shifts focus to oak’s strength for furniture and flooring, which is irrelevant to paper sustainability.
- Choice C: Focuses on carbon dioxide absorption and reforestation projects, which does not address why bamboo is better for paper production.
- Choice D: Talks about oak’s long maturity time and dense wood for premium flooring, again focusing on flooring instead of explaining why bamboo is a better paper source.
All three fail to directly explain bamboo’s sustainability advantage for paper production.
Confirm the choice that fully matches the task
The remaining option uses the notes about bamboo’s:
- Rapid 3–5-year growth compared to oak taking decades, and
- Low-lignin cellulose, which means less chemical processing for paper.
These details directly support the idea that bamboo is a more sustainable and less chemically intensive paper source than oak, exactly matching the student’s goal. Therefore, the correct answer is:
B) Bamboo’s rapid 3–5-year growth cycle and low-lignin cellulose make it a more sustainable and less chemically intensive paper source than oak, which takes decades to mature.