Question while-
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
- Some powerful works of literature have so influenced readers that new legislation has been passed as a result.
- The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789) is the autobiography of a man who endured slavery on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Equiano’s book contributed to the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
- The Jungle (1906) is a fictional work by Upton Sinclair that describes unsanitary conditions in US meatpacking animals.
- Sinclair’s book contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.
The student wants to emphasize a difference between the two books. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Although both are powerful works of literature that contributed to new legislation, Equiano’s book is an autobiography, while Sinclair’s is fictional.
They may have written about different topics, but Equiano and Sinclair both influenced readers.
The 1807 Slave Trade Act resulted in part from a book by Equiano, while the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act resulted in part from a book by Sinclair.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano and The Jungle are two works of literature that contributed to new legislation (concerning the slave trade and food safety, respectively).
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Some powerful works of literature
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Rhetorical Synthesis — Selecting a claim supported by multiple findings. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice A is the best answer. This choice emphasizes a difference between the two books by using relevant information from the notes to contrast their genres.
Choice B is incorrect. This choice mentions a difference between the books (their different topics), but it emphasizes a similarity between the books (their influence on readers). Choice C is incorrect. This choice provides information about the books that reflects both a similarity (both resulted in new laws) and a difference (the specific laws that resulted), without emphasizing either. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize a difference between the two books. Instead, it emphasizes a similarity.
More Rhetorical Synthesis practice questions
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: On January 3,
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Platinum is a
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: In 1851, German
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: In 2020, theater
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Chinese Tibetan
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: In the 1930s,
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: In 1897, African
- While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Astronomers estimate
Browse all Expression of Ideas practice questions or return to the full SAT question bank.