Question 180·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While preparing a brief statement for the city council, a student has compiled the following notes on the city’s urban heat island (UHI) problem:
- The UHI effect raises average daytime temperatures in the city by about 3–7°F.
- The city spends roughly $2 million each year on additional electricity because higher temperatures increase air-conditioning use.
- Planting 10,000 street and park trees could lower surface temperatures by about 2°F.
- Energy analysts estimate that this temperature reduction would cut annual electricity costs by approximately $500,000.
- Mature trees also remove common air pollutants, improving public health.
The student’s goal is to persuade council members to allocate funding for the proposed tree-planting program. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to achieve this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, always start by underlining the goal in the question stem (for example, persuade, explain, or summarize). Then scan the notes and identify which specific details most directly support that goal—often a proposed action plus its strongest concrete result (like cost savings, big effects, or clear benefits). Choose the option that combines those key details into a focused, persuasive sentence, and eliminate answers that only restate background, describe the problem without the solution, or use weaker or less relevant information than what’s available in the notes.
Hints
Focus on the specific goal
Reread the sentence that states the student’s goal. Is the goal to describe the problem, explain background information, or persuade the council to take a particular action?
Look for the solution, not just the problem
In the notes, find where the proposed tree-planting program is mentioned. Which choice talks about that proposed action, not just the effects of the urban heat island?
Think about what persuades a city council
City councils often care about clear, concrete benefits like money saved or major public advantages. Which option gives a specific, measurable benefit connected to the proposed program?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the writer’s goal
The question states that the student’s goal is to persuade council members to allocate funding for the proposed tree-planting program. So the best sentence must:
- Clearly involve the tree-planting program, and
- Give a strong, specific reason that would motivate the city council to fund it (especially something important to them, like money or major public benefit).
Decide which notes are most persuasive for that goal
Look at the notes and ask: which ones would make a city council most likely to say yes to funding the trees?
- Notes about the problem alone:
- Higher temperatures (3–7°F) because of UHI
- The city spending about $2 million more on electricity
- Notes about the solution and its benefits:
- Planting 10,000 trees could lower surface temps by about 2°F
- That temp drop could cut electricity costs by about $500,000 per year
- Trees also improve air quality and public health
To persuade, the statement should connect the tree program directly to a clear benefit, and a large dollar savings is especially compelling to council members who manage the budget.
Match each answer choice to the goal
Now compare each option to the persuasive goal:
- Choice A talks only about the UHI effect raising temperatures and increasing air conditioning use. It describes the problem, but says nothing about planting trees or what the program would accomplish.
- Choice C mentions trees and improved air quality, which is a real benefit, but it is general and does not use the specific numbers from the notes or connect the benefit strongly to the proposed 10,000-tree program.
- Choice D gives the large number ($2 million) for the current cost of the problem, but it never mentions the tree-planting solution or how it would change anything.
Only one choice clearly ties the specific tree-planting plan to a big, concrete benefit that directly addresses the UHI-related costs.
Select the most effective persuasive statement
The best option must (1) describe the proposed action (planting 10,000 trees) and (2) explain the major benefit (large annual cost savings) that would matter to the city council.
Choice B does exactly this: *“Planting 10,000 trees, which could lower surface temperatures by 2°F, would save the city roughly 500,000 savings) and clearly links the tree program to a big financial benefit. Therefore, B is the correct answer.