Text Structure and Purpose

Text Structure and Purpose questions ask why a text was written or how it is built, not what it says. You will see three question types: main purpose ("Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?"), overall structure ("Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?"), and sentence function ("Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the overall structure of the text?").

• Purpose answers start with a verb: to explain, to argue, to describe, to challenge, to show. Pick the verb that fits what the author is doing.
• An informational text that says "many people believe X... however, Y" has the purpose of correcting or qualifying X.
• A literary text's purpose is usually to reveal something about a character or a relationship through a scene.
• Structure answers describe the text in order, step by step. Every step must match, in the same order.
• Sentence function is about the sentence's job in relation to the others: introducing a claim, giving an example, offering evidence, presenting a contrast, stating a conclusion.

Rule: label each sentence with a two-word job (e.g., "common view," "contrast," "example," "conclusion"). Then match choices against your labels.

Most people think of moss as a plant that grows only in damp, shady forests. However, some mosses thrive on bare rock in deserts. These mosses dry out completely during the hot months and then revive within hours when rain falls.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A) To compare forest mosses with desert plants B) To argue that moss should be planted in desert gardens C) To present a fact that challenges a common assumption about moss D) To explain why forests are damp and shady

Labels: (1) common view, (2) contrast, (3) explanation of the contrast.

1. A: no desert plants other than moss are discussed.
2. B: nothing is argued or recommended.
3. D: forests are only mentioned in the common view.
4. C matches "common view, then contrast." Answer: C.

For decades, historians assumed that a coastal town's sudden growth in the 1850s was caused by the opening of its harbor. A recent study of tax records complicates this account. The records show that the town's population had already doubled in the five years before the harbor opened, largely because a nearby lumber mill had begun hiring workers. The harbor, the study's authors suggest, may have sped up growth that was already under way.

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

A) It states the long-held view that the rest of the text supports. B) It provides evidence that complicates the historians' explanation. C) It describes the effect the harbor had on the lumber mill. D) It offers the study's final conclusion about the harbor.

Labels: (1) old view, (2) "complicates" announced, (3) evidence, (4) revised conclusion.

1. A: the old view is sentence 1, and the text does not support it.
2. C: the sentence says the mill drew workers, not that the harbor affected the mill.
3. D: the conclusion is sentence 4.
4. B: sentence 3 gives the data (population doubled before the harbor) that backs up "complicates." Answer: B.

• Describing content instead of purpose. "To describe tax records" lists a topic; the purpose is what the author does with them.
• One wrong step in a structure answer. If any part of the description is off, or out of order, eliminate it.
• Too strong a verb. "To argue" or "to criticize" when the author only explains or describes.
• Confusing the sentence with the text. Sentence function asks about one sentence; don't pick the text's overall purpose.
• Literary purpose answers about plot details. For a story excerpt, the purpose is usually what the scene reveals, not the actions themselves.