Question 243·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- A severe cholera outbreak struck London’s Soho district in 1854.
- Physician John Snow marked each cholera death on a map and noticed a cluster around the neighborhood’s Broad Street water pump.
- Snow persuaded officials to remove the pump’s handle; new cholera cases fell almost immediately.
- Snow’s findings contradicted the then-dominant miasma theory, instead indicating that cholera spread through contaminated water.
The student wants to underscore how Snow’s investigation provided evidence that cholera is waterborne. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions where a student has notes and a specific goal (for example, to emphasize cause-and-effect or highlight a particular idea), start by underlining the exact goal words in the question. Then scan the notes and mentally group the pieces of information that directly serve that goal. Finally, eliminate answer choices that (1) ignore the goal, (2) use only a small, less-relevant part of the notes, or (3) state facts without making the intended relationship clear (such as cause-and-effect or contrast). Choose the option that most fully and explicitly connects the relevant notes to accomplish the stated purpose, even if other choices are factually correct but less complete or less focused.
Hints
Focus on the purpose, not just the facts
Underline the key task in the question: the sentence must show how Snow’s investigation provided evidence that cholera is waterborne. Which choices go beyond simply stating what happened?
Use the most relevant notes
Look at the notes about Snow’s map, the Broad Street water pump, the removal of the pump’s handle, and the idea that cholera spread through contaminated water. Which option weaves these together to show a clear cause-and-effect link?
Look for explicit connection to water and evidence
Prefer an option that clearly connects cholera to contaminated water and shows that changing access to that water (for example, disabling the pump) affected cholera cases. Avoid choices that sound like bare facts with no explanation.
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify the writing goal
The question says the student wants to underscore how Snow’s investigation provided evidence that cholera is waterborne. So the best sentence must:
- Highlight Snow’s investigation (what he did to study the outbreak)
- Emphasize evidence (cause-and-effect, not just a random fact)
- Make clear that this evidence shows cholera spreads through water, not air (miasma).
Pull out the most relevant notes
From the notes, the parts that most directly relate to proving cholera is waterborne are:
- Snow marked deaths on a map and found a cluster around the Broad Street water pump (investigative method + water source).
- He got officials to remove the pump’s handle, and new cases fell almost immediately (cause-and-effect evidence tied to the pump’s water).
- His findings contradicted the miasma theory and showed cholera spread through contaminated water (explicitly states waterborne transmission).
Define what a strong answer must include
Putting these notes together, the strongest answer should:
- Mention Snow’s investigation (such as mapping or tracing the cases to the pump).
- Explicitly connect cholera to contaminated water (not just mention a pump).
- Show cause and effect: when the pump was disabled, cholera cases dropped, which is strong evidence it was the water causing illness.
- Ideally also mention that this challenged the older miasma (bad air) explanation, reinforcing the waterborne conclusion.
Evaluate each option against the goal
Now compare each choice to that checklist:
- One option only states that Snow removed a pump handle; it does not mention the investigation or explain why that matters for showing cholera is waterborne.
- Another option focuses just on his map showing that many victims used the Broad Street pump; that hints at a water source but omits the outcome (cases dropping) and does not clearly spell out waterborne transmission.
- A third option only says the outbreak ended after officials shut down a pump; it leaves out Snow’s investigative role and does not explain that cholera spread through contaminated water.
- One option mentions Snow challenging miasma theory by tracing the outbreak to a contaminated water pump and notes that cases plummeted after the handle was removed. This fully captures his investigation, the water source, and the cause-and-effect evidence.
The option that best meets all parts of the goal is the one that describes Snow challenging miasma theory by tracing the outbreak to a contaminated water pump and noting that cases fell sharply after the handle was removed.