Question 41·Medium·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has gathered the following notes:
- The eBird citizen-science project was launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2002.
- Bird watchers worldwide upload their sightings through a website or mobile app.
- The database now holds more than 1 billion observations representing roughly 10,000 bird species.
- Scientists use the data to track migration patterns and population trends.
- Participation in eBird is free and open to anyone with internet access.
The student wants to write a sentence that explains why eBird is valuable to both bird enthusiasts and scientists. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For questions asking which sentence best uses notes to achieve a specific purpose, start by underlining exactly what the sentence must do (for example, show benefits to two different groups). Then scan the notes and mentally group them by idea (here: what bird watchers do/get, what scientists do/get). Eliminate any answer that only addresses one required part, uses only trivial details, or just restates facts without clearly serving the stated goal. The correct choice will combine all necessary elements from the notes into one clear, efficient sentence that directly matches the task.
Hints
Restate the goal
Underline the part of the question that says the sentence must explain why eBird is valuable to both bird enthusiasts and scientists. Any choice that focuses on only one group is incomplete.
Use the notes to find benefits for each group
From the bullet points, find what benefits bird watchers get and what benefits scientists get. Look for words like "upload," "free," "track," and "database."
Check which choice combines both sets of information
Ask yourself: which option shows what bird watchers do or get and what scientists do with the results? Eliminate any option that leaves out either group or just lists facts without showing value.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task in the question
The prompt asks for one sentence that explains why eBird is valuable to both bird enthusiasts and scientists. So the correct sentence must:
- Mention bird watchers (enthusiasts) and
- Mention scientists, and
- Show why each group finds eBird valuable (benefits or uses), using information from the notes.
Pull out notes about value to bird enthusiasts
From the notes, value to bird enthusiasts (bird watchers) includes:
- "Bird watchers worldwide upload their sightings through a website or mobile app."
- "Participation in eBird is free and open to anyone with internet access."
These points show that enthusiasts can easily and freely share their sightings online.
Pull out notes about value to scientists
From the notes, value to scientists includes:
- "The database now holds more than 1 billion observations representing roughly 10,000 bird species."
- "Scientists use the data to track migration patterns and population trends."
Together, these show that eBird has created a huge data set that scientists can use for research.
Match answer choices to both groups and the notes
Now check each answer:
- Choice A focuses only on the size of the database and number of species; it doesn’t show why bird watchers or scientists find it valuable.
- Choice B talks only about what bird watchers can do (upload sightings), not how scientists benefit.
- Choice C talks only about what researchers can do (track migration), not how bird watchers are involved or benefit.
- One choice explicitly shows bird watchers using eBird to share sightings and explains that this creates a large database scientists rely on to study migration and population trends, also tying in the launch information and that it’s a free project.
The last choice is therefore the only one that fully and effectively explains eBird’s value to both bird enthusiasts and scientists, so D is correct.