SAT Reading & Writing · Rhetorical Synthesis
A student has researched lead exposure and compiled the following notes: - Lead is a neurotoxin, and no blood lead level in children has…
A student has researched lead exposure and compiled the following notes:
- Lead is a neurotoxin, and no blood lead level in children has been identified as completely safe.
- Lead exposure can impair cognitive and behavioral development in children.
- Lead-based paint and contaminated dust remain major sources of exposure in older housing.
- Average blood lead levels in children fell substantially after environmental regulations were introduced.
- Observational studies link early childhood lead exposure with worse outcomes later in life.
- Neighborhood poverty can be correlated with both higher lead exposure and other risk factors that independently affect child development.
The student wants to caution against attributing observed developmental outcomes solely to lead exposure, without considering other contributing factors. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
- Lead is a neurotoxin, and no blood lead level in children has been identified as completely safe.
- Lead exposure can impair cognitive and behavioral development in children.
- Lead-based paint and contaminated dust remain major sources of exposure in older housing.
- Average blood lead levels in children fell substantially after environmental regulations were introduced.
- Observational studies link early childhood lead exposure with worse outcomes later in life.
- Neighborhood poverty can be correlated with both higher lead exposure and other risk factors that independently affect child development.
The student wants to caution against attributing observed developmental outcomes solely to lead exposure, without considering other contributing factors. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
Answer and explanation
Answer: C: Because neighborhood poverty can be correlated with both higher lead exposure and other risk factors that independently affect child development, observed outcomes cannot be attributed to lead…
The goal specifically requires cautioning against attributing outcomes to lead alone, and C is the only choice that names the actual confounding mechanism, correlated poverty-related risk factors, that complicates a simple lead-only explanation. A and B each describe real facts about lead's danger and sources without addressing the attribution problem. D describes a policy success unrelated to the attribution question.
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