Question 76·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Wangari Maathai was a Kenyan environmentalist and activist.
- In 1977, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement to address deforestation and empower rural women through tree planting.
- The Green Belt Movement has helped plant millions of trees in Kenya.
- Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.
The student wants to state the year in which Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions like this, start by restating the task in your own words: what specific piece of information must the answer include (for example, a date, a cause, or a result)? Then scan the notes for the one bullet that directly matches that requirement. Finally, choose the answer that most directly restates that note and fully satisfies the goal, and eliminate choices that are true but about different details or that leave out the key information the question asks for. Focus on relevance to the stated goal, not on which sentence sounds nicest or has the most information.
Hints
Clarify the goal
Underline or note the key words in the question: you are asked for the year when Maathai received a specific award. What is the name of that award?
Locate the matching note
Scan the bullet points for the one that mentions that award by name and includes a year. Ignore details about her background or tree planting for now.
Check for both the event and the year
Among the answer choices, which one clearly states both the award and the year from the relevant note, instead of other facts about Maathai or her movement?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify exactly what the question is asking for
Focus on the task: “state the year in which Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize.”
That means the correct answer must:
- Mention the Nobel Peace Prize, and
- Give the year she received it.
Find the relevant note
Look at the four bullet points in the notes and ask: Which one talks about the Nobel Peace Prize and includes a year?
You should find a bullet that says Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize and gives a specific year.
Match the answer choice to that exact note
Now compare each answer choice to the note you found about the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Eliminate any choice that talks about Maathai or her movement but does not mention the Nobel Peace Prize.
- Eliminate any choice that gives a different year or no year at all for the prize.
Only one choice restates the information about Maathai receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and includes the correct year from the notes: “Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.”
State the correct answer
The choice that most effectively uses the relevant note to state the year Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize is:
D) Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.