SAT OwlQuestion bank / Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• Cicadas are insects that spend most of their lives underground as nymphs.
• Some cicadas, known as annual cicadas, appear above ground every summer.
• Periodical cicadas emerge in huge synchronized broods only every 13 or 17 years.
• Periodical cicadas are found only in eastern North America.
The student wants to contrast annual cicadas and periodical cicadas. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Cicadas, including periodical cicadas found only in eastern North America, spend most of their lives underground.
While annual cicadas appear above ground every summer, periodical cicadas emerge in synchronized broods only every 13 or 17 years.
Periodical cicadas emerge in huge synchronized broods every 13 or 17 years.
Both annual and periodical cicadas spend most of their lives underground as nymphs.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
A contrast has to put both kinds of cicada side by side and show how they differ. Choice B does this: annual cicadas appear every summer, while periodical cicadas emerge only every 13 or 17 years. Choice C mentions only periodical cicadas, and choice D gives a similarity.
Choice D refers to both types, but it describes something they share, not a difference.
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