Question 216·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- Many municipalities are replacing traditional high-pressure sodium streetlights with light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures.
- LEDs consume about 50% less electricity than high-pressure sodium lamps.
- LEDs have a life span of up to 20 years, whereas high-pressure sodium lamps typically last about 5 years.
The student wants to highlight the primary advantage of LEDs over high-pressure sodium lamps by referencing both energy efficiency and longevity. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions based on notes, first restate the task in your own words (what exactly must the sentence do?), then underline the specific pieces of information in the notes that relate to that task. Next, scan each answer choice and quickly eliminate any that (1) leave out a required idea, (2) add an unrelated focus, or (3) talk about the wrong subject. The correct choice will usually be the only one that includes all required elements from the question stem and uses only relevant information from the notes, without extra or missing pieces.
Hints
Focus on what the question is asking you to do
Underline the words “primary advantage” and “by referencing both energy efficiency and longevity” in the question. Any answer that doesn’t clearly include both of these ideas is wrong.
Match the needed ideas to the notes
Look back at the bullet points and find the specific details that show energy efficiency and lifespan. Ask yourself: which exact phrases from the notes capture those two points?
Eliminate incomplete or off-focus choices
Cross out any option that talks only about lifespan, only about energy use, or mainly about high-pressure sodium lamps instead of emphasizing what makes LEDs better.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task in the question stem
The question says the student wants to highlight the primary advantage of LEDs over high-pressure sodium lamps by referencing both energy efficiency and longevity.
So, the right answer must:
- Compare LEDs to high-pressure sodium lamps, and
- Mention energy efficiency, and
- Mention lifespan/longer life.
Identify the key facts in the notes
From the notes, pull out the pieces that match what the question wants:
- Energy efficiency: “LEDs consume about 50% less electricity than high-pressure sodium lamps.”
- Longevity: “LEDs have a life span of up to 20 years, whereas high-pressure sodium lamps typically last about 5 years.”
Any correct sentence should use both of these ideas (or very clear paraphrases of them).
Check which choices include both efficiency and longevity
Go through each option and see what it does:
- Choice A talks only about LEDs lasting up to 20 years (longevity) but says nothing about energy use.
- Choice C talks only about the 5-year lifespan of high-pressure sodium lamps, not about LEDs’ efficiency or even their longer life.
- Choice D talks only about LEDs using 50% less electricity (efficiency) and municipal interest, but not about how long LEDs last.
All of these miss one of the two required advantages, so they cannot fulfill the goal stated in the question.
Select the sentence that uses both advantages correctly
The remaining option, choice B, directly compares LEDs to high-pressure sodium streetlights and includes both key advantages from the notes: that LEDs “consume 50% less electricity” (energy efficiency) and “can last up to 20 years” (longevity). It also clearly frames these as making LEDs “more energy efficient and longer-lasting,” which matches the goal exactly.
Correct answer: Many municipalities are replacing high-pressure sodium streetlights with LEDs that consume 50% less electricity and can last up to 20 years, making them both more energy efficient and longer-lasting.