Question 181·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists mainly of tiny plastic fragments.
- Scientists estimate the patch covers an area roughly twice the size of Texas.
- Marine animals often mistake plastic for food and ingest it.
- Such ingestion can block digestive tracts, leading to starvation.
- One study found that 90% of northern fulmars (a seabird species) had plastic in their stomachs.
The student wants to emphasize the widespread and harmful impact of plastic pollution on marine animals. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For questions where you must pick a sentence that "uses relevant information from notes" to achieve a specific goal, start by circling the key purpose words in the question (for example, "widespread," "harmful impact," "on marine animals"). Then scan the notes and quickly mark only those that match all parts of that purpose. Finally, eliminate any answer choices that (1) ignore those key notes, (2) focus on unrelated details like size, location, or background, or (3) include true facts but fail to directly support the stated goal. Choose the option that most directly and efficiently connects the most relevant notes to the goal.
Hints
Restate the goal clearly
Underline the words "widespread," "harmful impact," and "marine animals" in the question. Any good answer must cover all three.
Locate the most relevant notes
Which notes talk specifically about animals and what happens to them because of plastic, rather than just describing the garbage patch itself?
Connect notes to answer choices
Look for a choice that uses details about how many animals are affected and the damage caused by ingesting plastic, instead of focusing on the patch’s size or location.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task in the question
Focus on the exact goal: the student wants to emphasize the widespread and harmful impact of plastic pollution on marine animals.
Key parts:
- "widespread" (affects many animals)
- "harmful impact" (causes serious damage)
- "on marine animals" (not on the ocean in general or on geography)
Find the most relevant notes
Look back at the notes and mark which ones talk about marine animals and the effects on them:
- "Marine animals often mistake plastic for food and ingest it." (about animals)
- "Such ingestion can block digestive tracts, leading to starvation." (shows harm)
- "One study found that 90% of northern fulmars (a seabird species) had plastic in their stomachs." (shows how common it is)
These three notes together best support the idea that the impact is both widespread and harmful.
Determine what the best sentence must include
From those key notes, the best sentence should:
- Mention marine life/animals.
- Show how common plastic ingestion is (for example, a high percentage of affected animals) to capture "widespread."
- Explain a serious negative effect, like blocked digestive tracts and starvation, to capture "harmful impact."
Any option that mainly describes the size/location/composition of the garbage patch instead of these points will not fully meet the goal.
Match the best option to the goal and notes
Only Choice C uses the study result (90% of northern fulmars had plastic in their stomachs) to show the widespread nature of the problem and explains that such ingestion can block digestive tracts and cause starvation, showing the harmful impact on marine life. Therefore, the correct answer is:
C) Plastic pollution threatens marine life: a study showed that 90% of northern fulmars had plastic in their stomachs, and such ingestion can block digestive tracts and cause starvation.