Question 23·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The golden lion tamarin is a small monkey native to Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.
- In the 1970s, fewer than 200 golden lion tamarins remained in the wild.
- Zoos around the world began cooperative captive-breeding programs to boost numbers.
- By 2022, the estimated wild population had risen to about 2,500, although habitat loss is still a concern.
The student wants to highlight the role that captive-breeding programs played in the species’ recovery. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, first underline the specific goal in the question (for example, “highlight the role that X played in Y”). Then scan the notes to find which details match both parts of that goal—often a cause and its effect or a process and its outcome. Next, check each answer choice and quickly eliminate any that leave out a key element named in the question or add irrelevant information. The correct choice will be the one that uses the most relevant notes to directly and efficiently fulfill the stated purpose, not just any true statement about the topic.
Hints
Focus on the goal in the question
Underline the phrase “highlight the role that captive-breeding programs played in the species’ recovery.” The correct choice must connect those programs to the recovery.
Find the most relevant notes
Identify which note mentions captive-breeding programs and which notes provide before-and-after population numbers.
Check each choice for both parts
For each choice, ask: (1) Does it mention captive-breeding programs? (2) Does it show recovery (a clear increase over time)? Eliminate choices missing either part.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task
The student wants to highlight the role that captive-breeding programs played in the species’ recovery.
So the best sentence must do both:
- Mention captive-breeding programs, and
- Show a recovery in the wild population.
Pull the most relevant notes
The notes that match this goal are:
- “Zoos around the world began cooperative captive-breeding programs to boost numbers.”
- “In the 1970s, fewer than 200 ... remained in the wild.”
- “By 2022, the estimated wild population had risen to about 2,500 ...”
A strong synthesis will connect the programs to the increase.
Evaluate the choices against the goal
- Choice A mentions the low population and habitat loss, but does not mention captive-breeding programs.
- Choice C mentions captive breeding and habitat loss, but does not show the population recovery (no rebound/increase is described).
- Choice D mentions the 2022 population and habitat loss, but does not credit captive-breeding programs.
Only one choice clearly includes both the programs and the recovery.
Select the choice that links programs to recovery
Choice B explicitly credits cooperative captive-breeding programs and shows the wild population increasing from fewer than 200 in the 1970s to about 2,500 by 2022, directly meeting the student’s goal. Therefore, Choice B is correct.