Question 165·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• Bee hotels are wooden or bamboo structures containing drilled or natural holes that provide nesting sites for solitary bees.
• In a 2021 survey of 600 bee hotels installed in urban parks, ecologists found that 55% of the occupants were parasitic wasps rather than bees.
• The researchers warned that poorly designed bee hotels could actually harm bee populations by giving parasites a place to breed.
• They advised using smaller entrance holes and periodically cleaning the hotels to reduce parasite infestations.
The student wants to highlight the researchers’ warning and proposed solution in a single sentence. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For “notes to sentence” questions, first identify the exact goal words in the question (for example, a warning and proposed solution). Then scan the notes and mentally label which bullets match that goal. Eliminate any answer choice that: (1) only repeats background or data, (2) includes only one of the needed parts, or (3) contradicts the attitude or conclusion in the notes. The correct choice will accurately combine all required elements in one clear, concise sentence without changing the meaning of the original notes.
Hints
Focus on the task words
Underline the words “researchers’ warning” and “proposed solution.” Ask yourself: which notes describe a problem or danger, and which notes describe what to do about it?
Match content, not just keywords
Don’t pick a choice just because it mentions “parasitic wasps” or “bee hotels.” Make sure it clearly communicates both a negative consequence the researchers are worried about and specific actions they recommend.
Watch for wrong tone or emphasis
Check whether each option presents bee hotels as mainly helpful or potentially harmful. Compare that tone with what the notes say the researchers did and did not recommend.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify exactly what the question is asking for
The question says the student wants “to highlight the researchers’ warning and proposed solution in a single sentence.”
So the correct choice must include:
- the warning: a danger/problem the researchers pointed out, and
- the solution: what they advised doing about that problem.
Anything that only gives background, only data, or only one of these pieces will not fully answer the task.
Locate the warning and solution in the notes
Look back at the bullet points:
- Warning: “The researchers warned that poorly designed bee hotels could actually harm bee populations by giving parasites a place to breed.”
- Solution: “They advised using smaller entrance holes and periodically cleaning the hotels to reduce parasite infestations.”
So we are looking for a choice that captures both:
- harm to bees from parasites in poorly designed hotels (warning), and
- using smaller holes and regular cleaning (solution).
Check each option against the task
Go through the answer choices:
- A) Describes what bee hotels are and what they are intended to do. This is background only—no warning, no solution.
- B) Gives the statistic about 55% parasitic wasps. That is data from the study, but it doesn’t actually state the warning or the solution the researchers gave.
- D) Says the researchers recommended building bee hotels because they still offer safe nesting sites. This directly contradicts the notes, which say the researchers warned that poorly designed hotels can harm bees, not that they simply recommended them as safe.
Only one option both states a warning about harm to bees and includes the specific advice about smaller holes and cleaning.
Confirm the best match
Choice C says that ecologists surveyed 600 bee hotels in 2021, found that more than half of the occupants were parasitic wasps, and “warned that the structures could harm bees unless redesigned with smaller holes and regular cleaning.”
This sentence:
- correctly reflects the warning (the hotels could harm bees), and
- clearly states the solution (redesign with smaller holes and regular cleaning), all based on the notes.
Therefore, the correct answer is: Ecologists surveyed 600 urban bee hotels in 2021 and, finding that more than half of the occupants were parasitic wasps, warned that the structures could harm bees unless redesigned with smaller holes and regular cleaning.