Text Structure & Purpose on the Digital SAT

The following text is from Srimati Svarna Kumari Devi's 1894 novel The Fatal Garland. Shakti is walking near a riverbank that she visited frequently during her childhood.

She crossed the woods she knew so well. The trees seemed to extend their branches like welcoming arms. They greeted her as an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

1. It suggests that Shakti feels uncomfortable near the river.
2. It indicates that Shakti has lost her sense of direction in the woods.
3. It emphasizes Shakti's sense of belonging in the landscape.
4. It conveys Shakti's appreciation for her long-term friendships.

Click to reveal solution →

Astronomers are confident that the star Betelgeuse will eventually consume all the helium in its core and explode in a supernova. They are much less confident, however, about when this will happen, since that depends on internal characteristics of Betelgeuse that are largely unknown. Astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance and colleagues recently investigated whether acoustic waves in the star could be used to determine internal stellar states but concluded that this method could not sufficiently reveal Betelgeuse's internal characteristics to allow its evolutionary state to be firmly fixed.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?

1. It describes a serious limitation of the method used by Nance and colleagues.
2. It presents the central finding reported by Nance and colleagues.
3. It identifies the problem that Nance and colleagues attempted to solve but did not.
4. It explains how the work of Nance and colleagues was received by others in the field.

Click to reveal solution →

Archaeological excavation of Market Street Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American community in San Jose, California, provided the first evidence that Asian food products were imported to the United States in the 1800s: bones from a freshwater fish species native to Southeast Asia. Jinshanzhuang — Hong Kong–based import/export firms — likely coordinated the fish's transport from Chinese-operated fisheries in Vietnam and Malaysia to North American markets. This route reveals the (often overlooked) multinational dimensions of the trade networks linking Chinese diaspora communities.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

1. It explains why efforts to determine the country of origin of the items mentioned in the previous sentence remain inconclusive.
2. It provides information that helps support a claim about a discovery's significance that is presented in the following sentence.
3. It traces the steps that were taken to locate and recover the objects that are described in the previous sentence.
4. It outlines a hypothesis that additional evidence discussed in the following sentence casts some doubt on.

Click to reveal solution →

In the late 1970s, two graphic designers at the New York City Transit Authority, Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda, proposed a radical overhaul of the subway map. They argued that a literal geographic map, complete with parks and roads, made the system look more complex than it was. Their solution was a diagrammatic map that treated subway lines as colored lines on a uniform grid, with stations as evenly spaced dots. Riders complained that the new map distorted geography, but transit ridership improved measurably after its adoption.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

1. To explain why riders preferred the original geographic subway map.
2. To argue that all transit systems should use diagrammatic maps.
3. To describe a design intervention that succeeded despite initial criticism.
4. To analyze the relationship between graphic design and political authority.

Click to reveal solution →

Recent research suggests that the gut microbiome may significantly affect mood. Studies have found that mice without gut bacteria show different behavioral patterns than mice with typical microbiomes. In humans, several small clinical trials have linked specific probiotic strains to reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression. While these results are promising, researchers caution that the studies have been short-term and involved relatively few participants, making broader conclusions premature.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

1. It presents a scientific theory and then proves it definitively.
2. It compares two opposing schools of thought on a topic.
3. It introduces a claim, presents supporting evidence, and acknowledges limitations.
4. It traces the historical development of a research field over several decades.

Click to reveal solution →

The artist Lee Bontecou produced large, three-dimensional wall works in the 1960s using salvaged industrial materials — conveyor belts, canvas, and welded steel. Bontecou's choice of material was unusual for the period, which favored either smooth abstraction or representational figuration. Critics struggled to categorize her work, with some classing her as a sculptor and others as a painter who worked in relief. Bontecou herself rejected both labels.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?

1. It evaluates the artistic merit of Bontecou's chosen materials.
2. It establishes the context that makes Bontecou's approach distinctive.
3. It presents the most common critical reaction to her work.
4. It identifies the materials Bontecou used most frequently.

Click to reveal solution →