Purpose

​Text purpose/structure

​Text Structure

​On the DSAT, there will questions about how a text is structured and/or the flow of events and even the style of the text.

​Night wears a garment All velvet soft, all violet blue... And over her face she draws a veil As shimmering fine as floating dew... And here and there In the black of her hair The subtle hands of Night Move slowly with their gem-starred light.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

1. It presents alternating descriptions of night in a rural area and in a city.

2. It sketches an image of nightfall, then an image of sunrise.

3. It makes an extended comparison of night to a human being

4. It portrays how night changes from one season
   of the year to the next

​Tips

• Differentiate the answers

• Skim the text

• Profit?

Purpose

​On the SAT some questions will ask about a text's purpose which although similar to central idea questions poses its own unique risks.

​Thou, with stroke of mighty pen, hast told of joy and mirth, and read the hearts and souls of men As cradled from their birth. The language of the flowers, thou hast read them all, And e’en the little brook responded to thy call.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

1. To praise a certain writer for being especially perceptive regarding people and nature

2. To establish that a certain writer has read extensively about a variety of topics

3. To call attention to a certain writer’s careful and elaborately detailed writing process

4. To recount fond memories of an afternoon spent in nature with a certain writer

​Tips:

• Differentiate the answers(obv)

• Find keywords

• In some cases ask/answer questions based upon the answers

Multiple Choice

No matter how we cultivate the land,

Taming the forest and the prairie free;

No matter how we irrigate the sand,

Making the desert blossom at command,

We must always leave the borders of the sea;

The immeasureable reaches

Of the windy wave-wet beaches,

The million-mile-long margin of the sea.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

• The speaker provides examples of an admirable way of approaching nature and then challenges that approach.

• The speaker describes attempts to control nature and then offers a reminder that not all nature is controllable.

• The speaker argues against interfering with nature and then gives evidence supporting this interference.

• The speaker presents an account of efforts to dominate nature and then cautions that such efforts are only temporary.

Multiple Choice

Mathematician Claude Shannon is widely regarded as a foundational figure in information theory. His most important paper, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication," published in 1948 when he was employed at Bell Labs, utilized a concept called a "binary digit" (shortened to "bit") to measure the amount of information in any signal and determine the fastest rate at which information could be transmitted while still being reliably decipherable. Robert Gallagher, one of Shannon's colleagues, said that the bit was "[Shannon's] discovery, and from it the whole communications revolution has sprung."

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

• It introduces a respected researcher, describes an aspect of his work, and suggests why the work is historically significant.

• It names the company where an important mathematician worked, details the mathematician's career at the company, and provides an example of the recognition he received there.

• It mentions a paper, offers a summary of the paper's findings, and presents a researcher's commentary on the paper.

• It presents a theoretical concept, illustrates how the name of the concept has changed, and shows how the name has entered common usage.

Multiple Choice

In 1973, poet Miguel Algarín started inviting other writers who, like him, were Nuyorican—a term for New Yorkers of Puerto Rican heritage—to gather in his apartment to present their work. The gatherings were so well attended that Algarín soon had to rent space in a cafe to accommodate them. Thus, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe was born. Moving to a permanent location in 1981, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its original scope beyond the written word, hosting art exhibitions and musical performances as well. Half a century since its inception, it continues to foster emerging Nuyorican talent.

Which choice best describes the overall purpose of the text?

• To explain what motivated Algarín to found the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

• To situate the Nuyorican Poets Cafe within the cultural life of New York as a whole

• To discuss why the Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its scope to include art and music

• To provide an overview of the founding and mission of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

Multiple Choice

Years ago, a grave American savant, being in London, observed at an evening party there, a certain coxcombical fellow, as he thought, an absurd ribbon in his lapel, and full of smart [banter], whisking about to the admiration of as many as were disposed to admire. Great was the savant's disdain; but, chancing ere long to find himself in a corner with the jackanapes, got into conversation with him, when he was somewhat ill-prepared for the good sense of the jackanapes, but was altogether thrown aback, upon subsequently being [informed that he was] no less a personage than Sir Humphry Davy.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• It explains why one character dislikes another.

• It portrays the thoughts of a character who is embarrassed about his own behavior.

• It offers a short history of how a person came to be famous.

• It presents an account of a misunderstanding.

Multiple Choice

Many films from the early 1900s have been lost. These losses include several films by the first wave of Black women filmmakers. We know about these lost movies only from small pieces of evidence. For example, an advertisement for Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome's documentary Doing Their Bit still exists. There's a reference in a magazine to Tressie Souders's film A Woman's Error. And Maria P. Williams's The Flames of Wrath is mentioned in a letter and a newspaper article, and one image from the movie was discovered in the 1990s.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

• The text discusses several notable individuals, then explains commonly overlooked differences between those individuals.

• The text describes a general situation, then illustrates that situation with specific examples.

• The text identifies a complex problem, then presents examples of unsuccessful attempts to solve that problem.

• The text summarizes a debate among researchers, then gives reasons for supporting one side in that debate.

Multiple Choice

In many agricultural environments, the banks of streams are kept forested to protect water quality, but it's been unclear what effects these forests may have on stream biodiversity. To investigate the issue, biologist Xingli Giam and colleagues studied an Indonesian oil palm plantation, comparing the species richness of forested streams with that of nonforested streams. Giam and colleagues found that species richness was significantly higher in forested streams, a finding the researchers attribute to the role leaf litter plays in sheltering fish from predators and providing food resources.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

• It explains the differences between stream-protection strategies used in oil palm plantations and stream-protection strategies used in other kinds of agricultural environments.

• It presents a study that addresses an unresolved question about the presence of forests along streams in agricultural environments.

• It discusses research intended to settle a debate about how agricultural yields can be increased without negative effects on water quality

• It describes findings that challenge a previously held view about how fish that inhabit streams in agricultural environments attempt to avoid predators.