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Rhetorical Synthesis SAT question

Reading and Writing · Expression of Ideas · Medium · Answer it here, explanation included.

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

  • Pinnipeds, which include seals, sea lions, and walruses, live in and around water.
  • Pinnipeds are descended not from sea animals but from four-legged, land-dwelling carnivores.
  • Canadian paleobiologist Natalia Rybczynski recently found a fossil with four legs, webbed toes, and the skull and teeth of a seal.
  • Rybczynski refers to her rare find as a “transitional fossil.”
  • The fossil illustrates an early stage in the evolution of pinnipeds from their land-dwelling ancestors.

The student wants to emphasize the fossil’s significance. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

ExplanationShow

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence effectively emphasizes the fossil’s significance, explaining that the fossil is rare and illustrates an early stage in the evolution of pinnipeds from their land-dwelling ancestors.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence describes the fossil Rybczynski found; it doesn’t emphasize the fossil’s significance. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence mentions that a fossil resembling both pinnipeds and their ancestors was found; it doesn’t emphasize the fossil’s significance. Choice D is incorrect. The sentence notes a term used to describe the fossil Rybczynski found; it doesn’t emphasize the fossil’s significance. 

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