16Hit1600
Expression of IdeasEasyRhetorical synthesis: presenting an outcome or result

Expression of Ideas practice question

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: • In 2011, beavers were reintroduced to a stream in Devon, England. • Beavers build dams out of branches and mud. • Beavers were once widely hunted for their fur. • Researchers monitored the stream for five years after the reintroduction. • The beavers built 13 dams, and flooding downstream decreased.

The student wants to present the result of the beavers' reintroduction. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A. Beavers, which were once widely hunted for their fur, were reintroduced to a stream in Devon, England, in 2011.
  2. B. Researchers monitored the Devon stream for five years after beavers were reintroduced there in 2011.
  3. C. After their reintroduction to a Devon stream, the beavers built 13 dams, and flooding downstream decreased.Correct
  4. D. Beavers build their dams out of branches and mud gathered near the water.

Answer: C. After their reintroduction to a Devon stream, the beavers built 13 dams, and flooding downstream decreased.

C is correct: it reports what happened as a consequence of the reintroduction—13 dams were built and downstream flooding decreased. A supplies historical background about hunting, not an outcome. B describes the researchers' method (five years of monitoring) rather than the result. D states a general fact about beaver behavior that is true regardless of the reintroduction, so it reports no outcome.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. Beavers, which were once widely hunted for their fur, were reintroduced to a stream in Devon, England, in 2011.
The hunting detail is historical background about beavers, not something that happened as a result of the 2011 reintroduction.
B. Researchers monitored the Devon stream for five years after beavers were reintroduced there in 2011.
Five years of monitoring is how the researchers studied the stream — that's method, not the outcome they observed.
D. Beavers build their dams out of branches and mud gathered near the water.
This is a general fact about how beavers build dams anywhere; it would be true with or without the Devon reintroduction, so it reports no result.

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