Question 36·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has compiled the following notes:
- Climatologists often identify drought using the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI).
- By this measure, 22% of the United States experienced severe drought in 2022.
- Hydrologists define drought as reservoir levels falling below 60% of capacity.
- Using this criterion, only 8% of the United States was classified as being in drought that same year.
- Agricultural economists describe drought as topsoil moisture dropping beneath 20%.
- According to this standard, 35% of the United States was in drought in 2022.
The student wants to make and support a generalization about how professionals gauge drought conditions. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, first underline the task words (e.g., “make and support a generalization”). Then quickly scan the notes to see the pattern across them: note what is similar (all are professionals measuring drought) and what differs (their criteria and percentages). Next, eliminate any choices that only restate one bullet; these almost never satisfy a request for a generalization. Among the remaining options, choose the one that both (1) matches the overall pattern you saw in the notes and (2) uses multiple pieces of information (such as a range of values or references to several groups) to back up the claim. Avoid bringing in outside knowledge—stick strictly to what the notes provide.
Hints
Focus on the task words
Underline the phrase “make and support a generalization” and “how professionals gauge drought conditions.” Ask yourself: which choices talk broadly about multiple professionals and not just a single group?
Compare the structure of the notes
The notes mention three different kinds of experts, each with its own way of measuring drought and its own percentage. Which answer choice reflects this idea of having several groups with different measures?
Look for use of multiple data points
A strong generalization will usually be backed up by more than one number or fact from the notes. Which choice uses a range or combination of the percentages, rather than just repeating one of them?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The prompt says the student wants to “make and support a generalization about how professionals gauge drought conditions.”
- A generalization is a broad statement that covers a pattern or trend across multiple cases.
- To support that generalization, the sentence must use information from the notes, and not just a single detail.
- So the right answer must:
- Talk about how professionals (plural) gauge drought, and
- Use more than one of the notes to back that up.
Examine what the notes have in common
Look at the three sets of notes:
- Climatologists: use the PDSI and get 22% in severe drought.
- Hydrologists: use reservoir levels under 60% and get 8% in drought.
- Agricultural economists: use topsoil moisture under 20% and get 35% in drought.
Ask yourself:
- What pattern do you see in how they measure drought?
- What pattern do you see in the percentages they get?
You should notice that each profession uses a different standard (index, reservoir level, soil moisture), and this leads to different estimates (from 8% up to 35%). Any good generalization should capture both ideas: different standards and different resulting percentages.
Check each choice against the task
Now compare each answer choice to what the question wants:
- Does it make a broad statement about professionals (more than one group)?
- Does it use information from multiple bullets in the notes?
Mentally sort the choices:
- Some options only repeat one bullet point (a single profession’s method and number).
- One option refers to multiple disciplines and mentions a range of percentages, which matches the pattern in the notes.
Only the choice that talks about each discipline and gives a range of percentages is truly making and supporting a generalization based on all the notes.
Identify the best-supported generalization
The only answer that both (1) makes a broad statement about how professionals gauge drought across disciplines and (2) supports that statement using the full range of percentages from the notes is:
Because each discipline applies its own benchmark—from soil moisture to reservoir levels—the estimated extent of U.S. drought in 2022 ranged from 8 percent to 35 percent.
This choice:
- Refers to each discipline applying its own benchmark, matching the three different standards in the notes (PDSI, reservoir levels, and topsoil moisture).
- Uses the range from 8% to 35%, which comes from hydrologists (8%) and agricultural economists (35%), and implicitly includes the climatologists’ 22% in between.
Therefore, that sentence most effectively makes and supports the required generalization.