SAT Reading & Writing: Hard Rhetorical Synthesis (Drill 15)

About This Drill

SAT Reading & Writing: Hard Rhetorical Synthesis (Drill 15) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Hard Rhetorical Synthesis. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

Hard Rhetorical Synthesis questions present a set of research notes and a specific writing goal, then ask you to choose the sentence that best accomplishes that goal using only the notes. The wrong answers are usually accurate statements that serve a different purpose than the one asked for, or that subtly misstate the notes. Match the rhetorical task exactly.

Questions in This Drill

1. The student wants to convey the key difference between tempera and oil paint in how each one dries. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
2. The student wants to introduce the tide mill to readers who already understand how an ordinary river watermill works. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
3. The student wants to provide historical context for why the old city declined. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
4. The student wants to define what a flying buttress is. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
5. The student wants to explain the significance of the basalt columns' strikingly regular shape. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?