Question 54·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Environmental engineers compared traditional asphalt schoolyards with “green” schoolyards that incorporate permeable playing surfaces and vegetation.
- During heavy rainstorms, schools with green schoolyards experienced 48% less stormwater runoff entering municipal sewers.
- On summer afternoons, surface temperatures on green schoolyards were up to 12 °C cooler than on asphalt yards.
- Student surveys revealed that children in green schoolyards felt calmer and more focused during recess.
- The researchers conclude that green schoolyards offer both environmental and psychological benefits over asphalt ones.
The student wants to present the researchers’ main conclusion. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For questions asking you to present a researcher’s or author’s main conclusion from notes, first locate any bullet or sentence that explicitly states a conclusion or summary. Then identify the main categories of ideas in that conclusion (for example, environmental and psychological benefits) and choose the answer that captures all those categories without adding new claims. Avoid options that zoom in on one statistic or detail, or that introduce purposes or implications (like “more research is needed”) that are not supported by the notes.
Hints
Locate the explicit conclusion
One of the bullets directly states the researchers’ conclusion. Focus on that bullet more than on the specific numerical results.
Separate details from big-picture ideas
Ask yourself: Which bullets are just examples or evidence, and which bullet tells what these examples are supposed to show overall?
Think about categories of benefits
Notice the different types of outcomes: effects on the environment and effects on students. Which answer choice captures both types, rather than just one statistic?
Watch for extra or missing ideas
Avoid choices that add ideas not in the notes (like calling for more research) or that mention only one benefit instead of summarizing the full conclusion.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task
The question asks which sentence most effectively presents the researchers’ main conclusion based on the notes. That means you are not looking for a single data point or detail; you are looking for a broad statement that sums up the overall finding.
Find the conclusion in the notes
Look at the bullet points in the notes. The first four bullets are specific results (runoff percentage, temperature difference, student feelings). The last bullet clearly states the researchers’ conclusion:
The researchers conclude that green schoolyards offer both environmental and psychological benefits over asphalt ones.
So the correct answer must reflect both kinds of benefits and present them as the overall takeaway.
Break down the key types of benefits
From the notes:
- Environmental benefits:
- 48% less stormwater runoff entering municipal sewers
- Up to 12 °C cooler surface temperatures
- Psychological benefits:
- Children felt calmer and more focused during recess
A good answer choice should mention multiple environmental effects and student well-being/psychological effects, not just one of these.
Match a choice to the main conclusion
Now scan the options for a sentence that combines the environmental outcomes (runoff and temperature) and the student well-being outcome into a single overall claim. Choice B) Green schoolyards may simultaneously reduce stormwater runoff, lower temperatures, and improve student well-being. does exactly this, so B is the best answer.