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Expression of Ideas / Rhetorical Synthesis Difficulty: Medium

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Crown shyness is a phenomenon in which the tops (crowns) of neighboring trees grow close together but don’t overlap.
To explain how this happens, Australian forester M.R. Jacobs proposes the mutual abrasion theory.
According to Jacobs’s theory, when trees brush against one another, branches break off.
Malaysian scholar Francis S.P. Ng posits the mutual shade avoidance theory.
According to Ng’s theory, when tree branches detect shade from nearby trees’ branches, they stop growing.

The student wants to compare the causes of crown shyness proposed in the two theories. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

While Jacobs proposes that crown shyness is caused by neighboring tree branches brushing against one another, Ng posits that it occurs when branches detect shade from nearby trees’ branches.

Both Jacobs and Ng have proposed theories to explain what causes crown shyness.

Ng posits the mutual shade avoidance theory, whereas Jacobs proposes an alternative theory.

Jacobs’s mutual abrasion theory proposes that when neighboring trees brush against one another, branches break off, resulting in a phenomenon in which the tops of trees grow close together but don’t overlap.

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Explanation

Choice A is the best answer. The sentence compares the two proposed causes of crown shyness, noting the theories’ differences: Jacobs cites branches brushing against one another as the cause, while Ng cites branches detecting shade from other branches as the cause.

Choice B is incorrect. The sentence merely identifies the existence of two theories for crown shyness; it doesn’t compare the causes proposed by each theory. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence merely indicates that there are two different theories for crown shyness; it doesn’t compare the causes proposed by each theory. Choice D is incorrect. The sentence merely explains one theory for crown shyness; it doesn’t compare two theories.