Question 91·Easy·Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- The axolotl is an amphibian native to lakes near Mexico City.
- Axolotls retain larval features into adulthood, a trait called neoteny.
- Their external gills resemble feathery fronds.
- Wild axolotls are critically endangered.
The student wants to define neoteny as it applies to axolotls.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
For rhetorical synthesis questions that ask you to define or explain a specific term using notes, first restate the task in your own words (for example, “I need the sentence that defines this word”). Then scan the notes for the term itself and see which note directly links that term to an explanation or trait. Finally, choose the option that most closely matches that defining note, ignoring other choices that are true but do not directly fulfill the goal stated in the question.
Hints
Clarify what the question wants
The student doesn’t want just any fact about axolotls; they specifically want a sentence that defines the term mentioned in the notes.
Focus on how the term is used in the notes
Look back at the bullet points and find the one where the word "neoteny" actually appears and is linked to something about axolotls.
Distinguish definition from description
Some notes only describe where axolotls live, what they look like, or their conservation status. Ask yourself: which note explains what the named trait is, rather than just adding a random detail?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the task
The question says: "The student wants to define neoteny as it applies to axolotls." That means you are looking for a sentence that explains what the word "neoteny" means in the context of axolotls, not just any interesting fact about them.
Check which note actually defines the term
Look at each bullet point in the notes and ask: Does this tell me what neoteny is, or does it tell me some other detail about axolotls?
- One note talks about where axolotls are from.
- One note talks about a serious conservation status.
- One note describes what their gills look like.
- One note connects a specific trait of axolotls to the word "neoteny" by naming it as that trait.
Only the note that connects a trait to the word "neoteny" is actually defining the term.
Match the defining note to the answer choices
Now match that defining note to the answer choices. The choice that directly states the trait and then names it as "a trait called neoteny" is:
Axolotls retain larval features into adulthood, a trait called neoteny.
This is the correct answer because it clearly defines "neoteny" in terms of what happens to axolotls.