Question 244·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Desertification is the spread of desertlike conditions that threaten farmland across the Sahel region of Africa.
- The Great Green Wall initiative was launched in 2007.
- The initiative’s aim is to halt desertification by planting a continuous belt of trees across the Sahel.
- More than 20 African nations are participating in the project.
- By 2030, the project seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land.
The student wants to emphasize the initiative’s international scope and its central objective. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions with notes, first read the task sentence very carefully and underline the exact aspects you must emphasize (for example, “international scope” and “central objective”). Then skim the notes and mark only the bullets that match those aspects. When you evaluate the answer choices, quickly eliminate any option that (1) leaves out one of the required ideas, (2) adds information not supported by the notes, or (3) shifts the emphasis to a different detail like a date or number. Choose the sentence that uses the most relevant notes and stays closest to the given information while directly fulfilling the stated goal.
Hints
Focus on the task words
Underline the phrase “international scope and its central objective” in the question. Any good answer must strongly highlight both of these ideas.
Locate the matching notes
Look back at the notes and find which bullets talk about how many countries are involved and what the initiative is mainly trying to do. Keep those two bullets in mind while you read the choices.
Check what each choice does and doesn’t include
For each answer choice, ask: Does it clearly show many countries working together and the main goal? Eliminate any choice that leaves out either idea or changes information from the notes.
Watch out for extra or distorted details
Some choices add the land-restoration target or make it sound like the countries started the project. Ask yourself: Is the sentence still focused mainly on the two ideas the question asks for, and is it strictly supported by the notes?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question says to emphasize
The prompt says the student wants to emphasize “the initiative’s international scope and its central objective.”
That means the best sentence must highlight:
- How many countries are involved (international scope)
- What the project is mainly trying to do (central objective)
Details that are not about these two ideas are less important for this specific task.
Match those ideas to the notes
Now connect the question’s two focus points to the bullets in the notes:
- International scope:
- “More than 20 African nations are participating in the project.”
- Central objective:
- “The initiative’s aim is to halt desertification by planting a continuous belt of trees across the Sahel.”
Other details (like the 100 million hectares or the year 2007) may be accurate, but they are not what the question says to emphasize.
Eliminate choices that don’t hit both targets accurately
Go through the options and quickly test each one:
- Does it clearly show that many nations are involved? If not, it fails on international scope.
- Does it clearly show that the main aim is to halt desertification (ideally mentioning the belt of trees)? If not, it fails on central objective.
- Does it stay faithful to the notes without adding or twisting information (like saying nations started the project if we only know they participate)?
Cross out any choice that misses one of the two key ideas or changes the meaning of the notes.
Choose the sentence that best fits both the goal and the notes
The only option that (1) mentions more than 20 African nations (international scope), (2) describes them planting a belt of trees to halt desertification (central objective), and (3) stays true to the notes is:
B) A project launched in 2007, the Great Green Wall involves more than 20 African nations planting a belt of trees to halt desertification.