Question 163·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The Bosco Verticale in Milan consists of two residential towers.
- Each tower hosts more than 900 trees and thousands of shrubs on its balconies.
- The vegetation absorbs about 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
- Architect Stefano Boeri designed the towers to serve as a model for urban reforestation.
- The project demonstrates how high-rise buildings can incorporate full-scale forests.
The student wants to emphasize that the Bosco Verticale is more than just an ordinary apartment building. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, underline the goal in the question stem, then select the notes that most directly support that goal. Pick the option that uses the most specific, relevant details from the notes and avoids adding unsupported ideas; eliminate choices that are merely general background (who/where) or that don’t clearly achieve the stated emphasis.
Hints
Clarify the goal
Underline the phrase in the question that states the writer’s goal; what exactly does the student want to emphasize about the Bosco Verticale?
Find unique features in the notes
Look back at the notes and list what makes the Bosco Verticale special compared with a typical apartment building. Focus especially on anything related to nature or forests.
Match content and purpose
Ask yourself: Which answer choice not only uses those unique features from the notes, but also clearly suggests that the building is different from an ordinary apartment building?
Watch out for weak or irrelevant details
Be careful with options that only mention basic facts (like who designed it or where it is) or that add opinions not supported by the notes. The best answer should be specific and clearly tied to the stated goal.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the writing goal
The student wants to emphasize that the Bosco Verticale is more than just an ordinary apartment building.
So the best choice should:
- Highlight what makes it unusual or innovative, and
- Use specific information from the notes.
Choose the most goal-relevant notes
The notes that best show the building is not ordinary are the ones about its forest-like features and purpose:
- More than 900 trees and thousands of shrubs on balconies
- Vegetation absorbs about 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year
- Designed as a model for urban reforestation
- Shows high-rises can incorporate full-scale forests
Eliminate choices that don’t strongly support the goal
- Choice 1 focuses mainly on the architect and the fact that there are two towers; that’s basic background.
- Choice 3 emphasizes comfort and balcony space for residents, which doesn’t show how the building is extraordinary (and adds ideas not found in the notes).
- Choice 4 mentions reforestation and plants but stays vague and doesn’t clearly convey the building as forest-like or fundamentally different from ordinary apartments.
Select the choice that most clearly shows it’s not ordinary
Choice 2 uses multiple specific, high-impact details (trees/shrubs + carbon dioxide absorption) and directly frames the building as a vertical forest, which best emphasizes that it is more than a typical apartment building.
The correct answer is:
With balconies hosting 900+ trees and thousands of shrubs that absorb about 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, the Bosco Verticale acts as a vertical forest, not just apartments.