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Difficulty: HardRhetorical Synthesis: Supporting Claims

While preparing a presentation on medieval economic history, a student takes the following notes:
* Economic historian Dr. Aris Thorne investigated the economic impact of paving roads in medieval England between 1200 and 1350 CE.
* He compared towns that paved their main access roads with towns that kept unpaved dirt roads.
* Towns with newly paved roads saw a 25% increase in market tax receipts, which Thorne used as a measure of trade volume.
* Towns with unpaved roads showed no change in market tax receipts during the study period.
* Critics suggest that a general increase in regional population, rather than the paved roads, caused the trade volume growth.
* Thorne's data revealed that both groups of towns experienced the same rate of regional population growth.

The student wants to present Thorne's study and support the claim that the paving of roads, rather than general population growth, drove the increase in local trade volume. Which choice most effectively uses information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

  1. A
    Dr. Aris Thorne compared towns with paved roads to those with unpaved roads in medieval England to determine if road paving influenced market tax receipts and overall trade volume.
  2. B
    Because paved roads made travel faster and safer for medieval merchants, towns with paved roads experienced a 25% increase in trade volume that was unaffected by regional population growth.
  3. Although both groups of towns experienced the same rate of regional population growth, only the towns with newly paved roads saw a 25% increase in market tax receipts.Answer
  4. D
    Towns with unpaved dirt roads showed no change in market tax receipts because they did not experience the regional population growth that occurred in towns with paved roads.

Answer

Although both groups of towns experienced the same rate of regional population growth, only the towns with newly paved roads saw a 25% increase in market tax receipts.
The correct option effectively supports the claim by contrasting the two groups of towns. It points out that despite having identical rates of population growth, only the towns with newly paved roads experienced a 25% increase in market tax receipts. This directly addresses the critics' counter-argument by demonstrating that population growth alone cannot account for the difference in trade growth.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the goal of the prompt.
The goal is to support the claim that paved roads, and not regional population growth, led to the increase in local trade volume (measured by market tax receipts).
Understanding the specific rhetorical goal allows us to filter out choices that do not directly address it.
2
Analyze the notes for relevant evidence.
The notes show that towns with paved roads had a 25% increase in market tax receipts, while towns with unpaved roads saw no change, despite both groups experiencing identical population growth.
This comparative evidence shows that population growth cannot explain the difference in trade volume between the two groups.
3
Evaluate the choices against the evidence and goal.
The correct choice compares the two groups, noting that although population growth was identical, only towns with paved roads experienced the tax receipt increase. Other choices either ignore the goal, add external speculation, or misstate facts.
Selecting the choice that uses only explicit notes to directly support the target claim ensures the rhetorical goal is met.

Key Concept

Rhetorical Synthesis: Supporting Claims
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Rhetorical Synthesis: Supporting Claims

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