Rhetorical synthesis
What are "rhetorical synthesis" questions?
On the Reading and Writing section of your SAT, some questions will provide you with a
series of bulleted notes that contain related information about an unfamiliar topic. The
question will then ask you to effectively use relevant information from the notes to
accomplish a particular goal.
Rhetorical synthesis questions will look like this:
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Maika’i Tubbs is a Native Hawaiian sculptor and installation artist.
His work has been shown in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Germany,
among other places.
Many of his sculptures feature discarded objects.
His work Erasure (2008) includes discarded audiocassette tapes and magnets.
His work Home Grown (2009) includes discarded pushpins, plastic plates and
forks, and wood.
The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two works. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Erasure (2008) uses discarded objects such as audiocassette tapes and magnets; Home
Grown (2009), however, includes pushpins, plastic plates and forks, and wood.
B. Like many of Tubbs’s sculptures, both Erasure and Home Grown include discarded
objects: Erasure uses audiocassette tapes, and Home Grown uses plastic forks.
C. Tubbs’s work, which often features discarded objects, has been shown both within the
United States and abroad.
D. Tubbs completed Erasure in 2008 and Home Grown in 2009.
Your turn
PRACTICE: RHETORICAL SYNTHESIS
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Marine biologist Camille Jazmin Gaynus studies coral reefs.
Coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems that provide habitats to 25% of all marine
species.
Reefs can include up to 8,000 species of fish, such as toadfish, seahorses, and clown
triggerfish.
The Amazon Reef is a coral reef in Brazil.
It is one of the largest known reefs in the world.
The student wants to introduce the scientist and her field of study to a new audience. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Located in Brazil, the Amazon Reef is one of the largest known coral reefs in the
world.
B. Marine biologist Camille Jazmin Gaynus studies coral reefs, vital underwater
ecosystems that provide homes to 25% of all marine species.
C. Providing homes to 25% of all marine species, including up to 8,000 species of fish,
coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems and thus of great interest to marine
biologists.
D. As Camille Jazmin Gaynus knows well, coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems,
providing homes to thousands of species of fish.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 1897, African American inventor Andrew Beard invented an automatic coupler.
It improved on the existing design of train car couplers.
It made the job of connecting train cars safer.
In 1938, African American inventor Frederick Jones invented a mobile refrigeration system.
It improved on the existing design of food transport trucks.
It enabled trucks to carry perishable foods farther.
The student wants to emphasize a similarity between Beard’s invention and Jones’s invention. Which
choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Jones’s mobile refrigeration system, which he invented in 1938, made it possible for
food transport trucks to carry perishable foods farther.
B. In 1897, Beard invented an automatic coupler, which made the job of connecting train
cars safer.
C. Beard’s automatic coupler and Jones’s mobile refrigeration system both improved on
existing designs.
D. Beard’s invention made the job of connecting train cars safer, whereas Jones’s
invention enabled food transport trucks to carry perishables farther.
Practice tests
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. As part of her investigation of the Standard Oil Company, muckraker Ida Tarbell conducted
interviews.
C. Published in 1904, muckraker Ida Tarbell’s book The History of the Standard Oil Company
exposed the company’s unfair business practices.
D. 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).
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 1971, experimental musician Pauline Oliveros created Sonic Meditations.
Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based exercises called meditations.
Each meditation consists of instructions for participants to make, imagine, listen to, or remember
sounds.
The instructions for Meditation V state, “walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become
ears.”
Those for Meditation XVIII state, “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”
The student wants to provide an explanation and an example of Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations. Which
choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based meditations that
consist of instructions; Meditation XVIII, for instance, instructs participants to “listen
to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”
B. While both meditations consist of instructions, Meditation XVIII instructs participants
to “listen,” whereas Meditation V instructs participants to “walk.”
C. In 1971, Oliveros created Sonic Meditations, a series of meditations that consist of
instructions for participants to make, imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.
D. “Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears” is one example of the
instructions found in Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 2013, paleontology professor Hesham Sallam and his students from Mansoura University in
Egypt made a discovery.
The team found a partial dinosaur skeleton at a site in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis.
The skeleton belonged to a dinosaur species that lived approximately 80 million years ago.
The new species was named Mansourasaurus to recognize the team that discovered it.
The student wants to explain the origin of the species’ name. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. The new species was named Mansourasaurus to recognize the team that discovered it, a professor
and students from Mansoura University.
B. Mansourasaurus, a species that lived approximately 80 million years ago, was discovered in 2013
by Egyptian paleontologist Hesham Sallam and a team of university students.
C. Mansourasaurus, a new species discovered in Egypt in 2013, lived approximately 80 million years
ago.
D. A partial dinosaur skeleton found in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis belonged to a species named
Mansourasaurus.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
A wok is a cooking pan that originated in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).
The wok’s round, wide base helps to cook food evenly.
The wok’s high, angled sides help to contain oil splatters.
Grace Young is a cook and culinary historian.
Her book The Breath of a Wok (2004) traces the history of the wok.
The student wants to describe the wok’s shape. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information
from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Grace Young’s 2004 book, The Breath of a Wok, traces the history of the cooking pan.
B. A wok is a cooking pan with a round, wide base and high, angled sides.
C. The design of a wok, a type of cooking pan that originated in China during the Han dynasty, helps
the pan cook food evenly and contain oil splatters.
D. Able to cook food evenly and contain oil splatters, the wok is the subject of Grace Young’s 2004
book.
Practice tests
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. Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources received international attention and legal protections as
a result of the Alta conflict.
B. 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.
C. Although the dam that the Sámi activists had protested was ultimately built, the Alta conflict had a
lasting impact.
D. The Alta conflict had a lasting impact, resulting in international attention and legal protections for
Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Annie Wu is a prominent American flutist who graduated from the New England
Conservatory.
She has won multiple national flute competitions.
She is best known for a 2011 YouTube video that has been viewed over two million times.
The video shows her performing Three Beats for Beatbox Flute, an original work by composer
Greg Pattillo.
Wu combines flute playing and beatboxing in the video.
The student wants to emphasize Wu’s most well-known achievement. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Among her many achievements, prominent American flutist Annie Wu graduated from the New
England Conservatory and has won multiple national flute competitions.
B. Composer Greg Pattillo’s original work Three Beats for Beatbox Flute combines flute playing and
beatboxing.
C. Annie Wu is best known for a 2011 YouTube video performance of Three Beats for Beatbox Flute
that has been viewed over two million times.
D. Annie Wu, who has won multiple national flute competitions, has also combined flute playing and
beatboxing.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Muslins are woven cotton fabrics with a variety of uses.
Dhaka muslin is a handmade fabric produced in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
It has an extremely fine weave and is primarily used to make luxury clothing.
Sheeting muslin is a machine-made fabric produced in factories.
It has a coarse weave and is primarily used to upholster furniture and create backdrops for theater
sets.
The student wants to emphasize a difference between the two muslins. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Muslins can be used in a variety of ways, from making luxury clothing to upholstering
furniture and creating backdrops for theater sets.
B. Sheeting muslin is machine made, has a coarse weave, and is used for furniture and
theater sets.
C. Dhaka muslin is a handmade fabric with an extremely fine weave, while sheeting
muslin is machine made with a coarse weave.
D. Dhaka muslin and sheeting muslin are two different types of woven cotton fabrics.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
As engineered structures, many bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive.
A research team led by Yashraj Bhosale wanted to better understand the mechanics behind
these structural properties.
Bhosale’s team used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks into
nest-like structures.
The researchers analyzed the points where sticks touched one another.
When pressure was applied to the model nests, the number of contact points between the sticks
increased, making the structures stiffer.
The student wants to present the primary aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. The researchers used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible
sticks and analyzed the points where sticks touched one another.
B. As analyzed by Bhosale’s team, bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive
engineered structures.
C. Bhosale’s team wanted to better understand the mechanics behind bird nests’
uniquely flexible yet cohesive structural properties.
D. After analyzing the points where sticks touched, the researchers found that the
structures became stiffer when pressure was applied.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The painter Frida Kahlo is one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.
She was born in Coyoacán, Mexico, in 1907.
She is best known for her vivid and richly symbolic self-portraits.
The Two Fridas (1939) features two versions of Kahlo sitting together.
One version wears a European-style dress and the other a traditional Tehuana dress.
The student wants to introduce Kahlo to an audience unfamiliar with the artist. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. The 1939 painting The Two Fridas is one example of a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo.
B. One painting by Frida Kahlo features two versions of herself, with one version
wearing a European-style dress and the other a traditional Tehuana dress.
C. Known for being vivid and richly symbolic, Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits include The
Two Fridas (1939).
D. One of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Mexican painter Frida
Kahlo is best known for her self-portraits, which are vivid and richly symbolic.
Practice tests
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. Like other platinum catalysts, the new platinum catalyst requires a particular amount of the metal
to be effective.
B. 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.
C. While still highly effective, the new platinum catalyst requires far less of the rare and expensive
metal than do other platinum catalysts.
D. Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum catalyst that combines platinum, a
rare and expensive metal, with liquid gallium.
Practice tests
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
A thermal inversion is a phenomenon where a layer of atmosphere is warmer than the layer
beneath it.
In 2022, a team of researchers studied the presence of thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants.
Gas giants are planets largely composed of helium and hydrogen.
The team found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were also likely to contain heat-
absorbing metals.
One explanation for this relationship is that these metals may reside in a planet’s upper
atmosphere, where their absorbed heat causes an increase in temperature.
The student wants to present the study’s findings to an audience already familiar with thermal inversions.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Gas giants were likely to contain heat-absorbing metals when they featured a layer of
atmosphere warmer than the layer beneath it, researchers found; this phenomenon is
known as a thermal inversion.
B. The team studied thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants, which are largely
composed of helium and hydrogen.
C. Researchers found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were likely to contain
heat-absorbing metals, which may reside in the planets’ upper atmospheres.
D. Heat-absorbing metals may reside in a planet’s upper atmosphere.
