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SAT Reading & Writing: Rhetorical Synthesis (Drill 1)

Drill 1 · Reading & Writing · Rhetorical Synthesis

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About This Drill

SAT Reading & Writing: Rhetorical Synthesis (Drill 1) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Rhetorical Synthesis. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

Rhetorical Synthesis questions present a set of notes on a topic and ask you to select the sentence that most effectively accomplishes a specific rhetorical goal, such as emphasizing a particular detail, presenting findings, introducing a topic to a specific audience, or contrasting two ideas.

Questions & Explanations

Notes
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: • The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications built over many centuries. • Construction began during the 7th century BCE under various warring states. • The most well-known sections were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 CE). • The wall stretches approximately 13,170 miles across northern China. • It was originally built to protect Chinese states from nomadic invasions.

Question 1. The student wants to emphasize the length of the Great Wall of China. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  • A) Originally built to protect against nomadic invasions, the Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications built over many centuries.
  • B) The most well-known sections of the Great Wall of China were built during the Ming Dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to 1644 CE.
  • C) Stretching approximately 13,170 miles across northern China, the Great Wall is a series of fortifications built over many centuries. ✓
  • D) Construction of the Great Wall of China began during the 7th century BCE under various warring states.

Explanation: Choice C is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes the length of the Great Wall by leading with its approximate distance of 13,170 miles. Choice A emphasizes the wall's purpose rather than its length. Choice B focuses on when the most well-known sections were built. Choice D emphasizes when construction began.

Notes
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: • Ecologist Dr. Marta Ruiz studied the effects of urbanization on monarch butterfly migration patterns. • She tracked butterfly populations in three major US cities over five years. • Monarch populations in cities with pollinator-friendly green corridors declined by only 8%. • Monarch populations in cities without such corridors declined by 37%. • Ruiz concluded that urban green corridors support monarch migration.

Question 2. The student wants to present the study's findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  • A) Dr. Marta Ruiz is an ecologist who studied monarch butterfly migration patterns in three major US cities over five years.
  • B) Urban green corridors are pollinator-friendly areas within cities that can be used by migrating butterfly species.
  • C) Ruiz's study found that monarch populations declined by only 8% in cities with pollinator-friendly green corridors, compared to a 37% decline in cities without them. ✓
  • D) Monarch butterfly populations have been declining in cities across the United States, according to a study by ecologist Dr. Marta Ruiz.

Explanation: Choice C is the best answer because it presents the study's specific findings, including the comparison between the 8% decline in cities with green corridors and the 37% decline in cities without them. Choice A describes who conducted the study and how, but not what was found. Choice B defines green corridors without presenting findings. Choice D mentions decline generally but omits the key comparative finding.

Notes
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: • The kora is a 21-string instrument from West Africa. • It is made from a large calabash gourd cut in half and covered with cowhide. • The kora produces a sound often compared to that of a harp. • Toumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player from a family of griots (oral historians and musicians). • Diabaté has recorded albums that blend traditional kora music with genres such as blues, flamenco, and electronic music.

Question 3. The student wants to introduce Toumani Diabaté to an audience already familiar with the kora. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  • A) The kora, a 21-string West African instrument made from a calabash gourd, produces a harp-like sound and has been played by musicians such as Toumani Diabaté, as the notes indicate.
  • B) Toumani Diabaté, a Malian kora player from a griot family, has recorded albums blending traditional kora music with genres such as blues, flamenco, and electronic music. ✓
  • C) The kora is a 21-string instrument from West Africa that is made from a large calabash gourd and covered with cowhide.
  • D) Toumani Diabaté plays the kora, which is a 21-string instrument from West Africa that produces a sound often compared to that of a harp.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer because it introduces Diabaté without providing background information about the kora that the audience already knows. It focuses on who Diabaté is and what makes his work distinctive. Choice A provides unnecessary background about the kora. Choice C describes the kora without mentioning Diabaté. Choice D defines the kora for the audience, which is unnecessary since they are already familiar with it.

Notes
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: • Aerogels are ultralight synthetic materials derived from gels in which the liquid component has been replaced with gas. • Silica aerogel is sometimes called "frozen smoke" because of its translucent, hazy appearance. • Silica aerogel is 99.8% air by volume. • Despite its low density, silica aerogel can support up to 4,000 times its own weight. • NASA has used silica aerogel as insulation on Mars rovers due to its extremely low thermal conductivity.

Question 4. The student wants to explain why NASA chose silica aerogel for Mars rovers. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  • A) Silica aerogel, sometimes called "frozen smoke," is an ultralight material that is 99.8% air by volume.
  • B) NASA has used silica aerogel on Mars rovers, and the material can support up to 4,000 times its own weight.
  • C) Aerogels are synthetic materials in which the liquid component of a gel has been replaced with gas, making them ultralight.
  • D) NASA selected silica aerogel as insulation for Mars rovers because the material's extremely low thermal conductivity makes it an effective heat barrier. ✓

Explanation: Choice D is the best answer because it explains NASA's reason for using silica aerogel: its extremely low thermal conductivity, which makes it effective insulation. Choice A describes properties without explaining why NASA chose it. Choice B mentions NASA's use and the material's strength but doesn't explain why it was selected for insulation. Choice C defines aerogels generally without mentioning NASA.

Notes
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: • Lake Baikal is located in Siberia, Russia. • It is the deepest lake in the world, reaching a maximum depth of 5,387 feet. • It is also the oldest lake in the world, estimated to be 25–30 million years old. • Lake Baikal contains approximately 20% of the world's unfrozen surface freshwater. • More than 2,500 animal species live in and around the lake, over half of which are found nowhere else on Earth.

Question 5. The student wants to emphasize the ecological significance of Lake Baikal. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  • A) Lake Baikal, located in Siberia, is the deepest lake in the world at 5,387 feet and the oldest at an estimated 25–30 million years.
  • B) Lake Baikal is home to more than 2,500 animal species, over half of which are found nowhere else on Earth. ✓
  • C) Containing approximately 20% of the world's unfrozen surface freshwater, Lake Baikal is located in Siberia, Russia.
  • D) Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world, estimated to be 25–30 million years old, and is located in Siberia, Russia.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer because it emphasizes the ecological significance by highlighting the extraordinary number of animal species and the fact that over half are endemic. Choice A emphasizes physical records (depth and age). Choice C emphasizes freshwater volume and location. Choice D emphasizes age and location.