SAT OwlQuestion bank / Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Kansas in 1917 and raised in Chicago.
• Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950 for her collection Annie Allen.
• She was the first Black American to win a Pulitzer Prize.
• Rita Dove was born in Ohio in 1952.
• Dove won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987 for her collection Thomas and Beulah.
The student wants to emphasize a similarity between Brooks and Dove. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Both Gwendolyn Brooks and Rita Dove won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Brooks in 1950 for Annie Allen and Dove in 1987 for Thomas and Beulah.
Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1950, becoming the first Black American to win a Pulitzer Prize.
Rita Dove, who was born in Ohio, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1987.
Brooks was born in Kansas in 1917, while Dove was born in Ohio in 1952.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
A similarity has to involve both poets and point to something they share. Choice A says both won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and gives the year and collection for each. Choices B and C each mention only one poet. Choice D mentions both but points out a difference in their birthplaces and birth years.
Choice D mentions both poets, but it contrasts them instead of identifying a similarity.
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