Question 217·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- Modern community garden projects in the United States began to appear in the 1970s.
- Community gardens supply city residents with fresh produce and daily contact with nature.
- By adding vegetation, these gardens help lessen the urban heat island effect.
- Working together in a garden fosters social ties among neighbors.
- Studies indicate that gardeners often adopt healthier diets and engage in more physical activity.
The student is drafting an introduction that highlights the benefits of community gardens. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by restating the task in your own words (for example, “Write an introduction that highlights benefits”). Then quickly scan the notes and group them into main idea categories (here: health, environment, social ties, etc.). Next, compare the answer choices and ask: which one (1) actually fits the requested role in the passage (intro, conclusion, transition, etc.), (2) accurately uses information from multiple notes, and (3) keeps the main focus where the question tells you (here, on benefits rather than just background facts). Eliminate choices that use only one or two notes, leave out major points, or overemphasize side details like dates or study citations.
Hints
Clarify the purpose of the sentence
Ask yourself: which option sounds like a broad opening statement that could introduce a paragraph or passage about community gardens?
Focus on benefits, not just facts
Compare the notes to each option and count how many different positive effects (benefits) of community gardens are included, versus neutral background facts.
Look for synthesis of multiple notes
Which option combines information from several different bullet points in the notes, rather than just one or two?
Check that nothing important is off-topic
Make sure the choice doesn’t spend too much space on details that are less central to highlighting benefits, like dates, instead of emphasizing advantages for people and cities.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task: what must the sentence do?
The question says the student is drafting an introduction that highlights the benefits of community gardens. So the best answer must:
- Work well as an opening, general statement.
- Emphasize benefits (positive effects) of community gardens.
- Use information from the notes, not outside ideas.
List the main benefits in the notes
From the bullets, the benefits of community gardens include:
- Supplying city residents with fresh produce.
- Providing daily contact with nature.
- Lessening the urban heat island effect (cooling overheated city blocks).
- Fostering social ties among neighbors.
- Leading to healthier diets and more physical activity.
A strong introductory sentence should capture several of these benefits, not just one.
Check which options focus on benefits and how many
Evaluate each option against the benefit list:
- Choice A: Mentions healthier eating and more exercise, then shifts to a historical fact about when gardens started. Only one type of benefit is highlighted, and the sentence is half about history.
- Choice B: Mentions reducing the heat island effect and social cohesion (two benefits), but leaves out fresh produce and health/fitness.
- Choice C: Mentions fresh fruits and vegetables and time in nature (two benefits), but not the heat reduction, social ties, or health/fitness.
Look for the choice that pulls together multiple different benefits in one smooth introductory sentence, and can still include the 1970s information as helpful context.
Choose the sentence that best synthesizes the notes
Choice D is best because it:
- Accurately includes the historical context: "First appearing in the United States during the 1970s".
- States that community gardens supply fresh produce.
- Describes them as natural green space that cools overheated city blocks (urban heat island effect).
- Shows they bring neighbors together (social ties).
- Notes they encourage healthier, more active lifestyles (diet and exercise).
It uses multiple key benefits from the notes in one clear, introductory sentence, so the correct answer is: “First appearing in the United States during the 1970s, community gardens supply fresh produce and natural green space that cools overheated city blocks while bringing neighbors together and encouraging healthier, more active lifestyles.”