Question 175·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Honeybees perform a “waggle dance” that conveys the direction and distance of food sources. A 2021 University of California study outfitted forager bees with tiny trackers and recorded thousands of dances. Novice foragers initially performed imprecise dances that miscommunicated location. After following experienced dancers on about 20 foraging trips, those same bees performed far more accurate dances. Researchers concluded that waggle-dance precision is improved through social learning rather than being entirely innate.
The student wants to convey the primary finding of the 2021 University of California study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For note-synthesis questions, start by underlining the task words in the question (here, “primary finding” and the specific study). Then quickly label each note in your mind as background, method, result, or conclusion. Look for the conclusion/result note and any key supporting detail tied to it. Eliminate choices that focus on background facts, procedures, or ideas not mentioned in the notes, and select the option that directly summarizes the main conclusion while using the most relevant evidence from the notes—without adding new information.
Hints
Locate the conclusion note
Scan the notes and find the one that tells you what the researchers concluded about the waggle dance, not just what they did or what the dance is.
Separate background from findings
Ask yourself: which notes are just explaining what a waggle dance is or how the study was set up, and which notes show a change in the bees’ behavior and what that change means?
Check for evidence of learning
Focus on the notes about novice foragers and what happens after they follow experienced dancers for about 20 trips. How does that support the researchers’ conclusion?
Eliminate off-topic choices
Cross out any choice that talks mainly about general information, research tools, or comparisons (like mammals vs. insects) rather than the specific result this study found.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task
The question asks for the primary finding of the 2021 University of California study. So you are looking for the researchers’ main conclusion or result, not just background facts or how the study was done.
Find the study’s main conclusion in the notes
Look at the notes and ask: where do the researchers state what they learned?
- The early notes describe what the waggle dance is and how the study was conducted.
- The key conclusion appears at the end: researchers say waggle-dance precision is improved through social learning rather than being entirely innate.
- Just before that, there are notes showing how they know this: novice foragers were imprecise at first but became accurate after following experienced dancers on about 20 trips.
Decide what information is most relevant
To express the primary finding clearly and strongly, a good sentence should:
- Capture the idea that precision improves through social learning.
- Use a specific detail from the study (for example, how many trips or the change from imprecise to accurate dances) as evidence.
It should not focus mainly on what the waggle dance is, or only on the equipment used, or on broad statements about mammals vs. insects.
Match the best choice to the conclusion and evidence
Now check the answer choices:
- One choice reports only what the waggle dance communicates (background, not the new finding).
- One choice describes how the researchers used trackers and recorded dances (method, not the finding).
- One choice brings in a general comparison of mammals and insects that is not in the notes.
- One choice directly states that waggle-dance accuracy is improved through social learning and includes the detail that novice bees become precise only after about 20 trips watching experienced dancers. That is the primary finding supported by the notes, so this is the correct answer.