Question 79·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Many city parks currently feature large turfgrass lawns.
- Turfgrass lawns require frequent mowing and substantial irrigation.
- Once established, native plant gardens require less watering and little mowing.
- Native plant gardens provide habitat and food for local pollinators and birds.
- A city council member proposes replacing some lawns with native plant gardens.
The student wants to explain a benefit of replacing some turfgrass lawns with native plant gardens. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For questions that ask you to choose a sentence based on notes, start by underlining the task words (here, “explain a benefit of replacing…”). Then quickly label each note as context, problem, benefit, or proposal. Decide what type of information the answer must contain (for example, a clear benefit tied to a specific action), and eliminate any options that: (1) don’t match the task (such as describing the situation but not the benefit), (2) bring in ideas that aren’t in the notes, or (3) use only one note that doesn’t fully answer the question. The correct choice will usually combine the required relationship (like cause/effect or problem/solution) using only relevant details from the notes.
Hints
Focus on the task word "benefit"
Ask yourself: which notes describe something good that results from using native plant gardens instead of turfgrass lawns?
Sort the notes by type of information
Identify which notes describe the current situation, which describe problems or requirements, which describe positive effects of native plant gardens, and which describe the proposal itself.
Match the answer choice to both the replacement and a positive result
The correct choice should mention replacing some turfgrass lawns and also state a positive outcome of doing so, using only information given in the notes.
Beware of answers that just restate a single note
Eliminate options that only repeat a problem, a neutral fact, or the proposal without clearly explaining why the replacement is helpful.
Step-by-step Explanation
Clarify the task in the question
The prompt says: “The student wants to explain a benefit of replacing some turfgrass lawns with native plant gardens.”
So the correct answer must:
- Mention the idea of replacing some turfgrass lawns with native plant gardens, and
- Clearly state at least one positive outcome (a benefit) of doing this, based on the notes.
Identify which notes describe benefits
Look at the bullet points and sort them by type:
- Current situation: “Many city parks currently feature large turfgrass lawns.”
- Problem/requirement: “Turfgrass lawns require frequent mowing and substantial irrigation.”
- Benefits of native plant gardens:
- “Once established, native plant gardens require less watering and little mowing.”
- “Native plant gardens provide habitat and food for local pollinators and birds.”
- Proposal: “A city council member proposes replacing some lawns with native plant gardens.”
The benefits we can use are:
- Less watering
- Little mowing
- Habitat and food for pollinators and birds
Define what a good answer must include
A strong answer will:
- Refer to replacing some turfgrass lawns (not just describing lawns or gardens alone), and
- Use one or more of the benefits of native plant gardens from the notes, and
- Present that information as a positive result of the replacement.
Any choice that only repeats the situation, the problem, or the proposal without giving a clear benefit is not correct.
Evaluate each answer choice against the goal
Now check each choice:
- Choice B: Talks about visibility of changes. The notes never say visibility is a benefit, so this adds an unsupported idea.
- Choice C: States a drawback of turfgrass (needs mowing and irrigation) but does not mention the replacement or give a direct benefit of switching.
- Choice D: Just restates the proposal that a council member suggests replacement; it does not explain why that proposal is beneficial.
- Choice A: Clearly connects the replacement to two benefits from the notes: less mowing and irrigation (from the “less watering and little mowing” idea) and more habitat for pollinators and birds.
Therefore, the correct answer is: “Replacing some turfgrass lawns with native plant gardens would reduce mowing and irrigation while creating habitat for pollinators and birds.”