Question 33·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Marine biologist Dr. Helena Suarez investigated coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
- Over the course of a 13-week heat wave, she monitored 200 coral colonies.
- Colonies that hosted thermally tolerant symbiotic algae had a 68% survival rate.
- Colonies with heat-sensitive algae had only a 34% survival rate.
- Suarez concluded that encouraging the spread of thermally tolerant algae could help reefs withstand rising ocean temperatures.
The student wants to add a sentence to the introduction of an essay that provides an accurate and concise overview of Suarez’s research conclusions. Which choice best fulfills this goal?
For “research notes to sentence” questions, first read the task sentence in the stem (what the new sentence must do: summarize conclusions, introduce a topic, show contrast, etc.). Then scan the notes and underline the core idea that matches that task—often in the last one or two bullets. Next, quickly compare each choice to the notes: eliminate any answer that (1) leaves out the key conclusion or relationship, (2) introduces information or claims not in the notes (especially extreme words like “all,” “never,” or broad global statements), or (3) focuses only on background details. Choose the option that is both accurate to the notes and as concise as possible while still capturing the main conclusion.
Hints
Focus on what the question is asking for
You are not being asked to restate all the notes. You only need a brief summary of Suarez’s conclusions to use in an essay introduction.
Locate the explicit conclusion in the notes
Look closely at the last bullet point: it directly states what Suarez concluded about how reefs might better withstand rising ocean temperatures.
Connect the result to the recommendation
Notice how the different survival rates for corals with different algae types support a specific recommendation. The correct answer should mention both the survival difference and the idea of encouraging a certain type of algae.
Watch for extreme or off-topic claims
Eliminate any choice that introduces ideas not supported by the notes (like solving all bleaching or global claims) or that just describes the setting without stating her main takeaway.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task
The question asks for an accurate and concise overview of Suarez’s research conclusions to use in the introduction of an essay. That means the correct choice must:
- Focus on what her study found and
- State what she concluded or suggested based on those findings,
- All in one clear, compact sentence.
Determine Suarez’s actual conclusion from the notes
Look at the bullet points, especially the last two:
- Colonies with thermally tolerant algae had a 68% survival rate.
- Colonies with heat-sensitive algae had only a 34% survival rate.
- Suarez concluded that encouraging the spread of thermally tolerant algae could help reefs withstand rising ocean temperatures.
So her key conclusion is that because corals with heat-tolerant algae survive better, promoting those algae can make reefs more resilient to warming oceans.
Check what a good overview sentence must include
A good overview must:
- Refer to her comparison between colonies with different types of algae (thermally tolerant vs heat-sensitive), and
- Capture her suggested solution: encouraging heat-tolerant algae to help reefs cope with rising temperatures.
It should not:
- Overstate her conclusion (for example, say bleaching will be prevented entirely), or
- Shift the focus to background details only (like location or number of weeks) without stating the main takeaway.
Match the option that reflects that conclusion accurately and concisely
The only choice that both (1) summarizes the survival advantage of corals with more heat-tolerant algae and (2) states her conclusion that promoting such algae could increase reef resilience to warming is Choice B: “By tracking 200 coral colonies, Suarez determined that those associated with more heat-tolerant algae were far likelier to survive, suggesting that promoting such algae could boost reef resilience.”