Expressions of ideas (Rhetorical Synthesis)

1- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Oracles of the Pink Universe was a 2021 exhibition at the Denver Museum of Art
in Colorado.
• It featured eight artworks by South African artist Simphiwe Ndzube.
• One of these works is a painting titled Assertion of Will.
• Assertion of Will depicts three standing figures.
• The figures wear clothing made of fabric pieces stitched to the painting’s canvas.

The student wants to describe how fabric is used in Assertion of Will. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. In Assertion of Will, the figures’ clothing is made of fabric pieces stitched to the
painting’s canvas.
B. The exhibition Oracles of the Pink Universe featured artworks by artist Simphiwe
Ndzube.
C. Depicting three standing, clothed figures, Assertion of Will is a painting by
Simphiwe Ndzube.
D. Simphiwe Ndzube’s Assertion of Will was one of eight artworks exhibited
in Oracles of the Pink Universe at the Denver Museum of Art.

2- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The Azores is a group of islands about 870 miles off the coast of Portugal.
• Historians have long believed that in the fifteenth century Portuguese mariners
were the first humans to populate the Azores.
• A 2015 study coauthored by Sofia Gabriel and Maria da Luz Mathias found that
Vikings from Scandinavia may have populated the Azores as early as the ninth
century.
• The researchers found a genetic connection between house mice in the Azores
and house mice in Scandinavia.
• House mice may have traveled from Scandinavia to the Azores on Viking ships.

The student wants to specify who may have first populated the Azores, according to the 2015
study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish
this goal?
 A. Historians have long believed that the first humans to populate the Azores, a
group of islands about 870 miles off the coast of Portugal, arrived in the fifteenth
century.
B. Portuguese mariners may not have been the first humans to populate the Azores.
C. In their 2015 study, the researchers found a genetic connection between house
mice in the Azores and those in Scandinavia.
D. According to a 2015 study, the first humans to populate the Azores may have
been Vikings from Scandinavia, not mariners from Portugal as previously
believed.
3- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Yellowstone is a national park in the northwest United States.

• In 1995, gray wolves were reintroduced into the park.
• Since then, the number of gray wolves in the park has stabilized at roughly 100.
• This number is believed to be the park’s carrying capacity.
• Carrying capacity describes the maximum number of a species that a specific
environment’s resources can sustain over time.

The student wants to specify the number of gray wolves in Yellowstone. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Gray wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone, a national park in the northwest
United States, in 1995.
B. As of 1995, there were gray wolves living in Yellowstone, a national park in the
northwest United States.
C. The carrying capacity of an environment, such as Yellowstone, describes the
maximum number of species that the environment can sustain over time.
D. Yellowstone is a national park that has roughly 100 gray wolves living in it

4- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Novelist Willa Cather grew up in Nebraska and attended the University of

Nebraska-Lincoln.
• Some of Cather’s best-known novels are set in Nebraska.
• Two such novels are O Pioneers! (1913) and My Ántonia (1918).
• Cather’s novels describe the experiences of immigrants who settled in the Great
Plains.
The student wants to identify the setting of Cather’s novel My Ántonia. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. My Ántonia is set in Nebraska, where Cather grew up.
B. Cather, author of My Ántonia, described the experiences of immigrants in her
novels.
C. Among Cather’s best-known novels are O Pioneers! (1913) and My
Ántonia (1918).
D. Cather attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and set some of her novels in
Nebraska

5- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Organisms release cellular material into their environment by shedding

substances such as hair or skin.
• The DNA in these substances is known as environmental DNA, or eDNA.
• Researchers collect and analyze eDNA to detect the presence of species that are
difficult to observe.
• Geneticist Sara Oyler-McCance’s research team analyzed eDNA in water samples
from the Florida Everglades to detect invasive constrictor snake species in the
area.
• The study determined a 91% probability of detecting Burmese python eDNA in a
given location.

The student wants to present the study to an audience already familiar with environmental
DNA. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish
this goal?
A. Sara Oyler-McCance’s researchers analyzed eDNA in water samples from the
Florida Everglades for evidence of invasive constrictor snakes, which are difficult
to observe.
B. An analysis of eDNA can detect the presence of invasive species that are difficult
to observe, such as constrictor snakes.
C. Researchers found Burmese python eDNA, or environmental DNA, in water
samples; eDNA is the DNA in released cellular materials, such as shed skin cells.
D. Sara Oyler-McCance’s researchers analyzed environmental DNA (eDNA)—that is,
DNA from cellular materials released by organisms—in water samples from the
Florida Everglades.
6- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Sam Maloof (1916–2009) was an American woodworker and furniture designer.

• He was the son of Lebanese immigrants.
• He received a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation in 1985.
• The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, owns a rocking chair that
Maloof made from walnut wood.
• The armrests and the seat of the chair are sleek and contoured, and the back
consists of seven spindle-like slats.

The student wants to describe the rocking chair to an audience unfamiliar with Sam Maloof.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?
A. With its sleek, contoured armrests and seat, the walnut rocking chair in Boston’s
Museum of Fine Arts is just one piece of furniture created by American
woodworker Sam Maloof.
B. Sam Maloof was born in 1916 and died in 2009, and during his life, he made a
chair that you can see if you visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
C. Furniture designer Sam Maloof was a recipient of one of the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grants.”
D. The rocking chair is made from walnut, and it has been shaped such that its
armrests and seat are sleek and contoured.

7- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Species belonging to the Orchidaceae (orchid) family can be found in both

tropical and temperate environments.
• Orchidaceae species diversity has not been well studied in temperate forests,
such as those in Oaxaca, Mexico.
• Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández led a study to determine how many different
Orchidaceae species are present in the forests of Oaxaca.
• Muñoz-Hernández and her team collected orchids each month for a year at a site
in Oaxaca.
• Seventy-four Orchidaceae species were present at the site.

The student wants to present the study and its findings. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
 A. A study led by Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández identified a total of 74
Orchidaceae species in the temperate forests of Oaxaca, Mexico.
B. There are orchids in many environments, but there are 74 Orchidaceae species in
Oaxaca, Mexico.
C. Oaxaca, Mexico, is home to temperate forests containing 74 Orchidaceae species.
D. Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández and her team wanted to know how many
different Orchidaceae species are present in the forests of Oaxaca, Mexico, so
they conducted a study to collect orchids.

8- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Platinum is a rare and expensive metal.

• It is used as a catalyst for chemical reactions.
• Platinum catalysts typically require a large amount of platinum to be effective.
• Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum catalyst that
combines platinum with liquid gallium.
• Their catalyst was highly effective and required only trace amounts of platinum
(0.0001% of the atoms in the mixture).

The student wants to explain an advantage of the new platinum catalyst developed by Jianbo
Tang and his colleagues. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum catalyst that
combines platinum, a rare and expensive metal, with liquid gallium.
B. Like other platinum catalysts, the new platinum catalyst requires a particular
amount of the metal to be effective.
C. Platinum is a rare and expensive metal that is used as a catalyst for chemical
reactions; however, platinum catalysts typically require a large amount of
platinum to be effective.
D. While still highly effective, the new platinum catalyst requires far less of the rare
and expensive metal than do other platinum catalysts.
9- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Allan Houser was a Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache sculptor, illustrator, and
painter.
• Many of his sculptures featured Native American figures.
• He depicted this subject matter using abstract, modernist forms, developing a
distinctive style that influenced many other artists.
• His well-known sculpture Sacred Rain Arrow was pictured on the State of
Oklahoma license plate.

The student wants to describe the distinctive style of Houser’s sculptures. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. A sculptor, illustrator, and painter, Houser developed a distinctive style for
portraying Native American figures.
B. Houser’s sculptures employ abstract, modernist forms to depict Native American
figures.
C. Many other artists have been influenced by the style of Houser’s sculptures.
D. The sculpture Sacred Rain Arrow is a well-known example of Houser’s style.

10- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In the midst of the US Civil War, Susie Taylor escaped slavery and fled to Union-
army-occupied St. Simons Island off the Georgia coast.
• She began working for an all-Black army regiment as a nurse and teacher.
• In 1902, she published a book about the time she spent with the regiment.
• Her book was the only Civil War memoir to be published by a Black woman.
• It is still available to readers in print and online.

The student wants to emphasize the uniqueness of Taylor’s accomplishment. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Taylor fled to St. Simons Island, which was then occupied by the Union army, for
whom she began working.
B. After escaping slavery, Taylor began working for an all-Black army regiment as a
nurse and teacher.
C. The book Taylor wrote about the time she spent with the regiment is still
available to readers in print and online.
D. Taylor was the only Black woman to publish a Civil War memoir.
11- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In 2013, archaeologists studied cat bone fragments they had found in the ruins of
Quanhucun, a Chinese farming village.
• The fragments were estimated to be 5,300 years old.
• A chemical analysis of the fragments revealed that the cats had consumed large
amounts of grain.
• The grain consumption is evidence that the Quanhucun cats may have been
domesticated.

The student wants to present the Quanhucun study and its conclusions. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. As part of a 2013 study of cat domestication, a chemical analysis was conducted
on cat bone fragments found in Quanhucun, China.
B. A 2013 analysis of cat bone fragments found in Quanhucun, China, suggests that
cats there may have been domesticated 5,300 years ago.
C. In 2013, archaeologists studied what cats in Quanhucun, China, had eaten more
than 5,000 years ago.
D. Cat bone fragments estimated to be 5,300 years old were found in Quanhucun,
China, in 201

12- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Muckrakers were journalists who sought to expose corruption in US institutions

during the Progressive Era (1897–1920).
• Ida Tarbell was a muckraker who investigated the Standard Oil Company.
• She interviewed Standard Oil Company executives, oil industry workers, and
public officials.
• She examined thousands of pages of the company’s internal communications,
including letters and financial records.
• Her book The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904) exposed the company’s
unfair business practices.

The student wants to emphasize the thoroughness of Ida Tarbell’s investigation of the
Standard Oil Company. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?
 A. Ida Tarbell not only interviewed Standard Oil executives, oil industry workers, and
public officials but also examined thousands of pages of the company’s internal
communications.
B. Ida Tarbell, who investigated the Standard Oil Company, was a muckraker (a
journalist who sought to expose corruption in US institutions during the
Progressive Era, 1897–1920).
C. As part of her investigation of the Standard Oil Company, muckraker Ida Tarbell
conducted interviews.
D. Published in 1904, muckraker Ida Tarbell’s book The History of the Standard Oil
Company exposed the company’s unfair business practices.

13- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• John Carver was one of the 41 signatories of the Mayflower Compact.

• The Mayflower Compact was a legal agreement among the pilgrims that
immigrated to Plymouth Colony.
• It was created in 1620 to establish a common government.
• It states that the pilgrims who signed it wanted to “plant the first colony in the
northern parts of Virginia” under King James.
• Carver became the first governor of Plymouth Colony.

The student wants to specify the reason the Mayflower Compact was created. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Stating that its signatories wanted to “plant the first colony in the northern parts
of Virginia,” the Mayflower Compact was a legal agreement among the pilgrims
that immigrated to Plymouth Colony.
B. Created in 1620, the Mayflower Compact states that the pilgrims wanted to
“plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia.”
C. The Mayflower Compact was created to establish a common government among
the pilgrims that immigrated to Plymouth Colony.
D. The Mayflower Compact had 41 signatories, including John Carver, the first
governor of Plymouth Colony.
14- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Jordan Bennett is a Mi’Kmaq visual artist.

• The Mi’Kmaq are a First Nations people in North America.
• Bennett’s paintings pay homage to traditional Mi’Kmaq craftsmanship and have
been displayed in over 75 exhibitions.
• His 2017 exhibition Wije’wi was held at the Grenfell Art Gallery.
• His 2018 exhibition Ketu’elmita’jik was held at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.

The student wants to emphasize the order in which two of Jordan Bennett’s exhibitions were
held. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish
this goal?
A. Jordan Bennett’s 2017 exhibition Wije’wi was followed a year later by his
exhibition Ketu’elmita’jik.
B. Jordan Bennett’s paintings, some of which appeared in 2017 and 2018
exhibitions, pay homage to traditional Mi’Kmaq craftsmanship.
C. Mi’Kmaq visual artist Jordan Bennett has displayed his work in over 75
exhibitions, including Wije’wi and Ketu’elmita’jik.
D. Jordan Bennett’s 2018 exhibition Ketu’elmita’jik was held at the Art Gallery of
Nova Scotia; another was held at the Grenfell Art Gallery.

15- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Neuroscientists Krishnan Padmanabhan and Zhen Chen sought to better

understand the workings of the brain’s olfactory system.
• They devised a study using mathematical models.
• They found that certain fibers allow the brain to toggle from one method of
processing smells to another.
• In one method, cells in the piriform cortex (where the perception of odor forms)
capture olfactory information at a given moment.
• In the other, the cells track changes in olfactory information over time.

The student wants to summarize the study’s findings. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
 A. To arrive at these findings, which describe dual methods of processing smells in
the piriform cortex, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study using mathematical
models.
B. Padmanabhan and Chen showed that olfactory information is captured by cells in
the piriform cortex, where the perception of odor forms.
C. Using mathematical models, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study to better
understand the workings of the brain’s olfactory system.
D. According to Padmanabhan and Chen, the brain can toggle between capturing
olfactory information at a given moment and tracking changes in that
information over time.

16- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Nissologists are scientists who study islands.

• Some nissologists define an island as any piece of land surrounded by water.
• Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 221,000 islands.
• Other nissologists define an island as being 1 kilometer square, a certain distance
from the mainland, and having at least 50 permanent residents.
• Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 24 islands.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an
island. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish
these goals?
A. The definition of an island as any piece of land surrounded by water is supported
by some nissologists, scientists who study islands.
B. Multiple counts of Sweden’s islands have been based on different definitions of
an island.
C. Based on a recent count, Sweden has a relatively small number of islands with at
least 50 permanent residents.
D. Nissologists’ different definitions can result in huge disparities in counts of
islands, as the example of Sweden shows.
17- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In 1978, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the
Alta River in Norway.
• The dam would disrupt Sámi fishing and reindeer herding.
• The dam was ultimately built, but the Alta conflict had a lasting impact.
• It brought international attention to the issue of Sámi rights.
• It led to a set of 2005 legal protections establishing Sámi rights to lands, waters,
and resources.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about the Alta conflict. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. During the Alta conflict, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction
of a dam on the Alta River in Norway that would disrupt local fishing and
reindeer herding.
B. Although the dam that the Sámi activists had protested was ultimately built, the
Alta conflict had a lasting impact.
C. Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources received international attention and
legal protections as a result of the Alta conflict.
D. The Alta conflict had a lasting impact, resulting in international attention and
legal protections for Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources.

18- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Stars form in a galaxy when gravity causes a massive cloud of dust and gas to
collapse.
• A galaxy in a phase of rapid star formation is called a starburst galaxy.
• Quenching is a process in which a galaxy loses star-forming gas.
• A galaxy that no longer forms stars is called a quenched galaxy.
• A quenched galaxy has entered the poststarburst phase.

The student wants to explain what a quenched galaxy is. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Before quenching, a starburst galaxy will form stars at a rapid rate.
B. When it becomes quenched, a starburst galaxy enters the poststarburst phase.
C. Having entered the poststarburst phase, a quenched galaxy is one that no longer
forms stars.
D. A starburst galaxy will lose star-forming gas and eventually become quenched.
19- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In North America, woodlands have expanded into areas that were once
grasslands.
• Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell of Wichita State University investigated
whether woodland expansion is related to changes in climate.
• Rogers and Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a site that was not
wooded in the past and indexed the age of the trees with historical climate data
to see if tree populations and climate were correlated.
• Tree population growth was associated with dry intervals.
• Droughts may have played a role in woodland expansion.

The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell, researchers at Wichita State University,

wanted to know if woodland expansion is related to changes in climate.
B. Thanks to the work done by Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell, we now know
that droughts may have played a role in woodland expansion.
C. Wichita State University researchers have determined that tree population growth
was associated with dry intervals.
D. Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a
site that was not wooded in the past, indexing the age of the trees with historical
climate data.

20- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• The tundra is a type of environment characterized by especially harsh winter

conditions.
• Winter temperatures in the tundra average a frigid −30negative 30 degrees
Fahrenheit.
• Animals that have adapted to these conditions can survive tundra winters.
• During the tundra’s short growing season, average temperatures can reach a
relatively mild 54 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Around 1,700 different kinds of plants are able to grow in the tundra.
The student wants to emphasize how harsh the conditions can be in the tundra. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Winters in the tundra are especially harsh, with temperatures averaging a
frigid −30negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit.
B. Animals that have adapted to harsh winter conditions can survive tundra winters.
C. There are around 1,700 different kinds of plants that can live in the tundra, where
average temperatures can reach a mild 54 degrees Fahrenheit.
D. Along with animals that have adapted to the tundra’s conditions, around 1,700
different kinds of plants can live in the tundra.