Question 60·Hard·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The endangered Amur leopard population was estimated at about 30 individuals in 2007.
- A 2022 camera-trap survey counted 110 wild Amur leopards in the Russian Far East and Northeast China.
- Major conservation measures included anti-poaching patrols set up in 2009 and an extension of protected habitat in 2012.
The student wants to emphasize the dramatic improvement in the Amur leopard population. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by underlining the exact goal in the question (here, “emphasize the dramatic improvement in the population”). Then scan the notes and decide which 2–3 details best accomplish that goal (usually concrete data like numbers and clear causes). Next, quickly eliminate any answer choices that ignore those key details or focus on side information (such as location or dates without showing change). Among the remaining options, choose the one that most directly and efficiently uses the most relevant notes to meet the stated purpose, avoiding answers that are merely accurate but don’t fully address the goal.
Hints
Focus on the exact goal
Underline the phrase “emphasize the dramatic improvement in the Amur leopard population.” Ask yourself: what specific kind of information would best show a dramatic improvement?
Look for before-and-after information
Check which choices use both an earlier population figure and a later one, rather than just describing one moment in time or only the conservation actions.
Use the most powerful notes
From the notes, decide which details most strongly prove that conditions improved: is it dates, locations, number of animals, or something else? Then see which answer uses those details together.
Check for relevance, not extras
Eliminate choices that talk mainly about background (where the animals live, when measures were taken) without clearly showing a change in population size.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the writing goal
The question states that the student wants to emphasize the dramatic improvement in the Amur leopard population.
To do this well, a sentence should:
- Show a clear change over time (a “before” and “after”), and
- Make that change sound significant or dramatic, possibly by including numbers or the cause of the change.
Pull out the most relevant notes
From the notes, the details that best show dramatic improvement are:
- Population was about 30 individuals in 2007 (very low).
- Population was 110 wild Amur leopards in 2022 (much higher).
- Anti-poaching patrols in 2009 and extended protected habitat in 2012 are the major conservation actions that likely led to this improvement.
A strong answer will combine the before and after numbers and may also connect them to the conservation measures as the reason for the improvement.
Test each choice against the goal
Now compare each option to the goal of emphasizing dramatic improvement in the population:
- Choice A focuses on conservation measures and says they benefited many species, but it does not mention any population numbers or changes in the Amur leopard population.
- Choice B gives the 2022 number (110) but doesn’t mention the 2007 number (about 30), so it does not show a before-and-after improvement.
- Choice C explains when conservation measures were put in place, but it never mentions any population numbers at all, so it doesn’t show improvement.
Only one choice includes both the starting number, the ending number, and the connection to conservation actions.
Choose the sentence that best emphasizes improvement
The sentence that clearly emphasizes dramatic improvement is:
“The endangered Amur leopard population increased from about 30 individuals in 2007 to 110 in 2022, a growth attributed to anti-poaching patrols established in 2009 and habitat protections added in 2012.”
It directly states the population growth (from 30 to 110) and links that growth to the conservation efforts, fully using the most relevant notes to highlight the improvement.