Question 230·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While drafting a slide for a class presentation, a student gathered the following notes:
- Ynes Mexia was a Mexican-American botanist and explorer.
- She began her botanical career at age 55.
- Mexia collected over 145,000 plant specimens.
- She discovered about 500 new plant species; roughly 50 are named in her honor.
- Her expeditions took her to Mexico, South America, and Alaska.
The student wants to introduce Mexia by highlighting her extraordinary productivity despite her late start in the field. Which choice most effectively uses information from the notes to achieve this purpose?
For rhetorical synthesis questions, first underline the purpose in the question stem (here, productivity despite a late start). Then match specific notes to each part of that purpose (late start vs. productivity, especially numbers). Eliminate choices that cover only one side of the purpose or drift to unrelated background details, and choose the sentence that most directly combines the relevant notes into one focused introduction.
Hints
Focus on the purpose phrase
Underline the words "highlighting her extraordinary productivity despite her late start" in the question. Ask yourself: what two ideas must the correct answer include?
Match notes to those two ideas
Look back at the notes and decide which bullet(s) show her late start and which bullet(s) show how much she accomplished, especially using numbers.
Eliminate incomplete options
Eliminate any choice that mentions only where she traveled or gives only one side of the goal (late start without productivity, or productivity without the late start).
Choose the best synthesis
From the remaining options, pick the one that combines the key notes into a single, clear sentence that would make a strong introductory statement.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the writing task
The student wants to introduce Mexia by highlighting her extraordinary productivity despite her late start in the field.
So the correct sentence must do two things at the same time:
- Mention that she started late.
- Show that she was still extremely productive.
Identify the key notes that match the task
From the bullet points:
- Late start: "She began her botanical career at age 55."
- Productivity: "Mexia collected over 145,000 plant specimens." and "She discovered about 500 new plant species; roughly 50 are named in her honor."
Notes about where she traveled help with background, but they don’t directly prove productivity despite a late start.
Check each answer against the goal and notes
Compare each option to the task:
- Choice A: Uses only travel/background information (Mexico, South America, Alaska), not the late start or productivity.
- Choice C: Shows productivity (500 new species, ~50 named in her honor) but does not mention that she started at 55.
- Choice D: Mentions the late start and travel, but does not give evidence of extraordinary productivity.
- Only one choice includes both the late start and strong numerical evidence of productivity.
Select the sentence that fulfills the purpose
The only option that both (1) mentions that Mexia began her botanical career at 55 and (2) emphasizes her extraordinary productivity using key numbers from the notes (145,000 specimens and about 500 new species) is:
Although she began her botanical career at 55, Ynes Mexia collected over 145,000 plant specimens and discovered about 500 new species.