Use research notes for the requested rhetorical goal
| English | 中文 | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| rhetorical goal/reˈtɒrɪkl ɡəʊl/ | 修辞目标 | xiū cí mù biāo |
| synthesis/ˈsɪnθəsɪs/ | 综合 | zōng hé |
A decision before an answer
- A goal asking for a difference between two projects does not call for a biography of either project’s designer.
- Your goal: Translate a rhetorical goal into a specific information requirement.
Read the relationship
- Read the goal before the notes. Identify the action: introduce a subject, emphasise a similarity, contrast two cases, give an example or explain significance. Turn it into a brief requirement such as mention both objects and their different materials. This determines which facts matter.
- Select relevant accurate details from notes.
Notes: A is a solar-powered boat; B is a sailboat; both carry four people. Goal: emphasise a similarity. Choose:
The shared capacity satisfies the similarity goal.
Use the defining rule
- Select details that carry out that action. Accurate but irrelevant information can still fail the question. For a contrast, both compared objects and the relevant difference should be present; for a similarity, a shared property should be explicit. Do not assume that including more notes makes a stronger sentence.
- Combine notes without inventing a relationship or including irrelevant material.
Notes list different materials and opening dates. Goal asks about materials. Dates are:
Selection follows the goal, not every available fact.
Check the conditions
- Preserve relationships when combining facts. Notes saying a researcher visited a site and later published a book do not prove the visit caused the book. Avoid adding evaluative language such as revolutionary or superior unless the notes support it. Keep time, identity and numerical facts consistent.
- Combine notes without inventing a relationship or including irrelevant material.
Original notes: Project Alder used recycled wood; Project Birch used clay; both were temporary outdoor installations; Alder opened in May; Birch opened in June. Goal: emphasise a difference in materials. Suitable synthesis: “Although both were temporary outdoor installations, Alder used recycled wood whereas Birch used clay.” Opening months are accurate but unnecessary for this goal.
To emphasise a similarity, identify a ____ property.
The synthesis must make the common feature explicit.
Apply the task format
- Compare answer choices against both goal and factual accuracy. A sentence can meet the goal while misreporting a detail, or be fully accurate while answering a different goal. The correct choice must satisfy both conditions. Clear referents and concise structure help make the requested relationship explicit.
- Combine notes without inventing a relationship or including irrelevant material.
Do not mistake a factually accurate sentence for one that satisfies the rhetorical goal. Avoid unsupported causal or evaluative additions.
Which answer fits this case?
Translate a rhetorical goal into a specific information requirement
Combining two facts automatically establishes causation between them.
Causation needs supporting evidence beyond coexistence in notes.
Keep the distinctions
- rhetorical goal 修辞目标 — The specific communicative action requested for the response.
- synthesis 综合 — Combining selected information into a purposeful accurate statement.
- Translate a rhetorical goal into a specific information requirement.
- Select relevant accurate details from notes.
- Combine notes without inventing a relationship or including irrelevant material.
Match each term with its precise meaning in this lesson.
Keep the distinctions stated in the teaching example.
Put this lesson’s reasoning or event sequence in order.
The order follows the stated process; check each stage before the next.