Question

A student is writing a research paper on shark attacks in tropical waters for her marine biology class at school. The student wants to revise the draft to provide better supporting details. Read a paragraph from the draft of the research paper below and complete the task that follows.

Since there are large quantities and plentiful varieties of fish in tropical waters, sharks are more prominent, which makes swimming in these waters more dangerous. After a lethargic winter season with cold waters and scarce food, many sharks flock to tropical waters because of their growling stomachs. When sharks are on the prowl, they cannot distinguish whether or not the potential food they see is fish or human; instead, they just bite. Even though they come for the tropical fish, when humans invade their territory, all bets are off.


Choose the sentence that provides the best fact to support the thesis.
A.
According to marinebio.org, a human is ten times more likely to get attacked by a shark in tropical waters than in non–tropical waters.

B.
Marine biologist Kathleen Kelly claims that she frequently sees sharks in Hawaii, but "has never felt threatened or has been attacked herself."

C.
People who scuba dive or snorkel in tropical waters put themselves at a greater risk of a shark attack.

D.
Hunger can change the migratory path of a shark, drawing them to certain concentrated areas of the world.

Answer 1

A

Explanation: Option A gives a specific, sourced statistic directly supporting the claim that swimming in tropical waters is more dangerous.