SAT OwlQuestion bank / Rhetorical Synthesis
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was an American-Canadian writer and activist.
• In 1961 she published The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
• In the book, she argued that dense neighborhoods with mixed uses and busy sidewalks make cities safer and livelier.
• She criticized large "urban renewal" projects that demolished existing neighborhoods.
• She opposed a plan by New York official Robert Moses to build an expressway through Lower Manhattan.
The student wants to introduce Jacobs's book and its main argument to an audience unfamiliar with Jacobs. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Jane Jacobs opposed a plan by Robert Moses to build an expressway through Lower Manhattan.
In her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, writer Jane Jacobs argued that dense, mixed-use neighborhoods with busy sidewalks make cities safer and livelier.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities criticizes urban renewal projects that demolished existing neighborhoods.
Jane Jacobs, an American-Canadian writer and activist, lived from 1916 to 2006.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
The sentence needs to name the book, identify Jacobs for readers who don't know her, and state the main argument. Choice B does all three. Choice C mentions the book and one of its criticisms, but it never says who wrote it. Choice A is about her activism, and choice D doesn't mention the book.
Choice C names the book and part of its argument, but readers unfamiliar with Jacobs wouldn't learn who wrote it.
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