B.

It describes how researchers made a scientific

Craft and Structure - Text Structure and
discovery, then explains the importance of that
Purpose level 3.
discovery.
1. Archeological excavation of Market Street C. It outlines the steps taken in a scientific study,
Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American then presents a hypothesis based on that study.
community in San Jose, California, provided the
D. It examines how a group of scientists reached a
first evidence that Asian food products were
conclusion, then shows how other scientists have
imported to the United States in the 1800s: bones
challenged that conclusion.
from a freshwater fish species native to Southeast
Asia. Jinshanzhuang—Hong Kong–based
import/export firms—likely coordinated the fishʼs 3. Yawn contagion occurs when one individual
transport from Chinese-operated fisheries in yawns in response to anotherʼs yawn. Studies of
Vietnam and Malaysia to North American markets. this behavior in primates have focused on
This route reveals the (often overlooked) populations in captivity, but biologist Elisabetta
multinational dimensions of the trade networks Palagi and her colleagues have shown that it can
linking Chinese diaspora communities. occur in wild primate populations as well. In their
study, which focused on a wild population of
Which choice best describes the function of the
gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada) in
underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
Ethiopia, the researchers further reported that yawn
A. It explains why efforts to determine the country contagion most commonly occurred in males and
of origin of the items mentioned in the previous across different social groups instead of within a
sentence remain inconclusive. single social group.
Which choice best describes the function of the
B. It provides information that helps support a first sentence in the text as a whole?
claim about a discoveryʼs significance that is
presented in the following sentence. A. It defines a phenomenon that is discussed in the
text.
C. It traces the steps that were taken to locate and B. It introduces a problem that is examined in the
recover the objects that are described in the text.
previous sentence.
C. It makes a claim that is challenged in the text.
D. It outlines a hypothesis that additional evidence D. It presents a hypothesis that is evaluated in the
discussed in the following sentence casts some text.
doubt on.

2. Using NASAʼs powerful James Webb Space 4. The following text is from Joseph Conradʼs 1907
Telescope (JWST), Mercedes López-Morales and novel The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale. Mr. Verloc
colleagues measured the wavelengths of light is navigating the London streets on his way to a
traveling through the atmosphere of WASP-39b, an meeting.
exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system. Before reaching Knightsbridge, Mr. Verloc took a
Different molecules absorb different wavelengths turn to the left out of the busy main thoroughfare,
of light, and the wavelength measurements showed uproarious with the traffic of swaying omnibuses
the presence of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in WASP- and trotting vans, in the almost silent, swift flow of
39bʼs atmosphere. This finding not only offers the hansoms [horse-drawn carriages]. Under his hat,
first decisive evidence of CO₂ in the atmosphere of worn with a slight backward tilt, his hair had been
an exoplanet but also illustrates the potential for carefully brushed into respectful sleekness; for his
future scientific breakthroughs held by the JWST. business was with an Embassy. And Mr. Verloc,
Which choice best describes the overall structure of steady like a rock—a soft kind of rock—marched
the text? now along a street which could with every
propriety be described as private.
A. It discusses a method used by some researchers,
then states why an alternative method is superior to Which choice best describes the function of the
it. underlined phrase in the text as a whole?
A. It qualifies an earlier description of Mr. Verloc. every day was the same as yesterday and
tomorrow, and every year the counterpart of the
B. It emphasizes an internal struggle Mr. Verloc
last and the next.
experiences.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the
C. It contrasts Mr. Verloc with his surroundings.
text?
D. It reveals a private opinion Mr. Verloc holds.
A. To emphasize the uniformity of both the town
and the people who live there
5. The following text is from the 1923 poem “Black B. To explain the limited work opportunities
Finger” by Angelina Weld Grimké, a Black available to the townʼs residents
American writer. A cypress is a type of evergreen
C. To reveal how the predictability of the town
tree.
makes it easy for people lose track of time
I have just seen a most beautiful thing,
D. To argue that the simplicity of life in the town
Slim and still, makes it a pleasant place to live
Against a gold, gold sky,
A straight black cypress, 7. The following text is adapted from Paul
Sensitive, Laurence Dunbarʼs 1902 novel The Sport of the
Gods. Joe and some of his family members have
Exquisite, recently moved to New York City.
A black finger [Joe] was wild with enthusiasm and with a desire to
Pointing upwards. be a part of all that the metropolis meant. In the
evening he saw the young fellows passing by
Why, beautiful still finger, are you black?
dressed in their spruce clothes, and he wondered
And why are you pointing upwards? with a sort of envy where they could be going.
Back home there had been no place much worth
Which choice best describes the overall structure of going to, except church and one or two peopleʼs
the text? houses.
A. The speaker assesses a natural phenomenon, Which choice best states the main purpose of the
then questions the accuracy of her assessment. text?
B. The speaker describes a distinctive sight in A. It illustrates a characterʼs reaction to a new
nature, then ponders what meaning to attribute to environment.
that sight.
B. It explains why a character has traveled to a city.
C. The speaker presents an outdoor scene, then
considers a human behavior occurring within that C. It compares a characterʼs thoughts about an
scene. event at two different times of day.

D. The speaker examines her surroundings, then D. It presents a character feeling regret over
speculates about their influence on her emotional leaving home.
state.
8. Musician Joni Mitchell, who is also a painter,
6. The following text is adapted from Charles uses images she creates for her album covers to
Dickensʼs 1854 novel Hard Times. Coketown is a emphasize ideas expressed in her music. For the
fictional town in England. cover of her album Turbulent Indigo (1994),
Mitchell painted a striking self-portrait that closely
[Coketown] contained several large streets all very resembles Vincent van Goghʼs Self-Portrait with
like one another, and many small streets still more Bandaged Ear (1889). The image calls attention to
like one another, inhabited by people equally like the albumʼs title song, in which Mitchell sings
one another, who all went in and out at the same about the legacy of the postimpressionist painter. In
hours, with the same sound upon the same that song, Mitchell also hints that she feels a strong
pavements, to do the same work, and to whom
artistic connection to Van Gogh—an idea that is The result was so strange, so unprecedented, that
reinforced by her imagery on the cover. the album attracted little attention when first
released. In recent years, however, a younger
Which choice best describes the overall structure of
generation of musicians has embraced the stylistic
the text?
experimentation of Keyboard Fantasies.
A. It presents a claim about Mitchell, then gives an Alternative R&B musicians Blood Orange and
example supporting that claim. Moses Sumney, among other contemporary
B. It discusses Van Goghʼs influence on Mitchell, recording artists, cite the album as an influence.
then considers Mitchellʼs influence on other artists. Which choice best describes the function of the
C. It describes a similarity between two artists, then underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
notes a difference between them. A. It urges contemporary musicians to adopt the
D. It describes the songs on Turbulent Indigo, then unique sound of Keyboard Fantasies.
explains how they relate to the albumʼs cover. B. It responds to criticism of Keyboard Fantasies
by some younger musicians.
9. The following text is from the 1924 poem C. It offers examples of younger musicians whose
“Cycle” by DʼArcy McNickle, who was a citizen of work has been impacted by Keyboard Fantasies.
the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
D. It contrasts Keyboard Fantasies with the
There shall be new roads wending, recordings of two younger musicians.
A new beating of the drum—
Menʼs eyes shall have fresh seeing, 11. The following text is adapted from Etsu Inagaki
Sugimotoʼs 1925 memoir A Daughter of the
Grey lives reprise their span— Samurai. As a young woman, Sugimoto moved
But under the new sunʼs being, from feudal Japan to the United States.
Completing what night began, The standards of my own and my adopted country
differed so widely in some ways, and my love for
Thereʼll be the same backs bending,
both lands was so sincere, that sometimes I had an
The same sad feet shall drum— odd feeling of standing upon a cloud in space, and
When this night finds its ending gazing with measuring eyes upon two separate
worlds. At first I was continually trying to explain,
And day shall have come..... by Japanese standards, all the queer things that
Which choice best states the main purpose of the came every day before my surprised eyes; for no
text? one seemed to know the origin or significance of
even the most familiar customs, nor why they
A. To consider how the repetitiveness inherent in existed and were followed.
human life can be both rewarding and challenging
Which choice best describes the main purpose of
B. To question whether activities completed at one the text?
time of day are more memorable than those
completed at another time of day A. To convey the narratorʼs experience of
observing and making sense of differences between
C. To refute the idea that joy is a more commonly two cultures she embraces
experienced emotion than sadness is
B. To establish the narratorʼs hope of forming
D. To demonstrate how the experiences of connections with new companions by sharing
individuals relate to the experiences of their customs she learned as a child
communities
C. To reveal the narratorʼs recognition that she is
hesitant to ask questions about certain aspects of a
10. For his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies, culture she is newly encountering
Beverly Glenn-Copeland wrote songs grounded in
traditional soul and folk music, then accompanied D. To emphasize the narratorʼs wonder at
them with futuristic synthesizer arrangements discovering that the physical distance between two
featuring ambient sounds and complex rhythms. countries is greater than she had expected
12. In the Here and Now Storybook (1921), A. It portrays the surroundings as an imposing and
educator Lucy Sprague Mitchell advanced the then intimidating scene.
controversial idea that books for very young B. It characterizes the seaʼs waves as a relentless
children should imitate how they use language, and enduring force.
since toddlers, who cannot yet grasp narrative or
abstract ideas, seek reassurance in verbal repetition C. It conveys the speakerʼs ambivalence about the
and naming. The most enduring example of this natural world.
idea is Margaret Wise Brownʼs 1947 picture book D. It draws a contrast between the seaʼs waves and
Goodnight Moon, in which a young rabbit names the speakerʼs thoughts.
the objects in his room as he drifts off to sleep.
Scholars note that the bookʼs emphasis on
repetition, rhythm, and nonsense rhyme speaks 14. When ancient oak planks were unearthed during
directly to Mitchellʼs influence. subway construction in Rome, Mauro Bernabei and
his team examined the growth rings in the wood to
Which choice best describes the overall structure of determine where these planks came from. By
the text? comparing the growth rings on the planks to records
A. The text outlines a debate between two authors of similar rings in oaks from Europe, the team could
of childrenʼs literature and then traces how that trace the wood to the Jura region of France,
debate shaped theories on early childhood hundreds of kilometers from Rome. Because timber
education. could only have been transported from distant Jura
to Rome by boat, the teamʼs findings suggest the
B. The text summarizes an argument about how complexity of Roman trade routes.
childrenʼs literature should be evaluated and then
discusses a contrasting view on that subject. Which choice best describes the function of the
underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
C. The text lists the literary characteristics that are
common to many classics of childrenʼs literature A. It presents a conclusion about Roman trade
and then indicates the narrative subjects that are routes based on the teamʼs findings.
most appropriate for young children. B. It questions how the team was able to conclude
D. The text presents a philosophy about what that the planks were used to build a boat.
material is most suitable for childrenʼs literature C. It explains why the planks were made from oak
and then describes a book influenced by that rather than a different kind of wood.
philosophy.
D. It describes common methods used in Roman
subway construction.
13. The following text is from Charlotte Forten
Grimkéʼs 1888 poem “At Newport.”
15. The following text is from Sarah Orne Jewettʼs
Oh, deep delight to watch the gladsome waves 1899 short story “Marthaʼs Lady.” Martha is
Exultant leap upon the rugged rocks; employed by Miss Pyne as a maid.
Ever repulsed, yet ever rushing on— Miss Pyne sat by the window watching, in her best
dress, looking stately and calm; she seldom went
Filled with a life that will not know defeat; out now, and it was almost time for the carriage.
To see the glorious hues of sky and sea. Martha was just coming in from the garden with
the strawberries, and with more flowers in her
The distant snowy sails, glide spirit like,
apron. It was a bright cool evening in June, the
Into an unknown world, to feel the sweet golden robins sang in the elms, and the sun was
Enchantment of the sea thrill all the soul, going down behind the apple-trees at the foot of the
garden. The beautiful old house stood wide open to
Clearing the clouded brain, making the heart the long-expected guest.
Leap joyous as it own bright, singing waves! Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Which choice best describes the function of the A. To convey the worries brought about by a new guest
underlined portion in the text as a whole?
B. To describe how the characters have changed
over time
C. To contrast the activity indoors with the stillness A. It challenges a common assumption about the
outside species under investigation in the research referred
to in the text.
D. To depict the setting as the characters await a
visitorʼs arrival B. It introduces discussion of a specific example
that supports the general claim made in the
previous sentence.
16. The following text is from Walt Whitmanʼs
1860 poem “Calamus 24.” C. It suggests that a certain species should be
included in additional studies like the one
I HEAR it is charged against me that I seek to
mentioned later in the text.
destroy institutions;
D. It provides a definition for an unfamiliar term
But really I am neither for nor against institutions
that is central to the main argument in the text.
(What indeed have I in common with them?—
Or what with the destruction of them?),
18. The following text is adapted from Aphra
Only I will establish in the Mannahatta Behnʼs 1689 novel The Lucky Mistake. Atlante and
[Manhattan] and in every city of These States, Rinaldo are neighbors who have been secretly
inland and seaboard, exchanging letters through Charlot, Atlanteʼs sister.
And in the fields and woods, and above every keel [Atlante] gave this letter to Charlot; who
[ship] little or large, that dents the water, immediately ran into the balcony with it, where she
Without edifices, or rules, or trustees, or any still found Rinaldo in a melancholy posture, leaning
argument, his head on his hand: She showed him the letter,
but was afraid to toss it to him, for fear it might fall
The institution of the dear love of comrades. to the ground; so he ran and fetched a long cane,
Which choice best describes the overall structure of which he cleft at one end, and held it while she put
the text? the letter into the cleft, and stayed not to hear what
he said to it. But never was man so transported with
A. The speaker questions an increasingly prevalent joy, as he was at the reading of this letter; it gives
attitude, then summarizes his worldview. him new wounds; for to the generous, nothing
B. The speaker regrets his isolation from others, obliges love so much as love.
then predicts a profound change in society. Which choice best describes the overall structure of
C. The speaker concedes his personal shortcomings, the text?
then boasts of his many achievements. A. It describes the delivery of a letter, and then
D. The speaker addresses a criticism leveled against portrays a characterʼs happiness at reading that
him, then announces a grand ambition of his. letter.
B. It establishes that a character is desperate to
17. Industrial activity is often assumed to be a receive a letter, and then explains why another
threat to wildlife, but that isnʼt always so. Consider character has not yet written that letter.
the silver-studded blue butterfly (Plebejus argus): C. It presents a characterʼs concerns about
as forest growth has reduced grasslands in northern delivering a letter, and then details the contents of
Germany, many of these butterflies have left that letter.
meadow habitats and are now thriving in active
limestone quarries. In a survey of multiple active D. It reveals the inspiration behind a characterʼs
quarries and patches of maintained grassland, an letter, and then emphasizes the excitement that
ecologist found silver-studded blue butterflies in another character feels upon receiving that letter.
100% of the quarries but only 57% of the grassland
patches. Moreover, butterfly populations in the 19. The following text is adapted from Gwendolyn
quarries were four times larger than those in the Bennettʼs 1926 poem “Street Lamps in Early
meadows. Spring.”
Which choice best describes the function of the Night wears a garment
underlined portion in the text as a whole?
All velvet soft, all violet blue...
 And over her face she draws a veil 21. By combining Indigenous and classical music,
Cree composer and cellist Cris Derksen creates
As shimmering fine as floating dew...
works that reflect the diverse cultural landscape of
And here and there Canada. For her album Orchestral Powwow,
In the black of her hair Derksen composed new songs in the style of
traditional powwow music that were accompanied
The subtle hands of Night by classical arrangements played by an orchestra.
Move slowly with their gem-starred light. But where an orchestra would normally follow the
directions of a conductor, the musicians on
Which choice best describes the overall structure of Orchestral Powwow are led by the beat of a
the text? powwow drum.
A. It presents alternating descriptions of night in a
rural area and in a city. Which choice best states the main purpose of the
text?
B. It sketches an image of nightfall, then an image
of sunrise. A. To examine how Derksenʼs musical
compositions blend cultures
C. It makes an extended comparison of night to a
human being. B. To argue that Derksen should be recognized for
creating a new style of music
D. It portrays how night changes from one season
of the year to the next. C. To describe the difficulties Derksen encountered
when producing her album

20. The following text is adapted from Susan D. To establish a contrast between Derksenʼs
Glaspellʼs 1912 short story “‘Out There.ʼ” An classical training and her Cree heritage
elderly shop owner is looking at a picture that he
recently acquired and hopes to sell. 22. Many archaeologists assume that large-scale
It did seem that the picture failed to fit in with the engineering projects in ancient societies required an
rest of the shop. A persuasive young fellow who elite class to plan and direct the necessary labor.
claimed he was closing out his stock let the old However, recent discoveries, such as the
man have it for what he called a song. It was only a excavation of an ancient canal near the Gulf Coast
little out-of-the-way store which subsisted chiefly of Alabama, have complicated this picture. Using
on the framing of pictures. The old man looked radiocarbon dating, a team of researchers
around at his views of the city, his pictures of cats concluded that the 1.39-kilometer-long canal was
and dogs, his flaming bits of landscape. “Donʼt most likely constructed between 576 and 650 CE
belong in here,” he fumed. And yet the old man by an Indigenous society that was relatively free of
was secretly proud of his acquisition. There was a social classes.
hidden dignity in his scowling as he shuffled about
Which choice best describes the overall structure of
pondering the least ridiculous place for the picture.
the text?
Which choice best states the main purpose of the A. It describes a common view among
text? archaeologists, then discusses a recent finding that
A. To reveal the shop ownerʼs conflicted feelings challenges that view.
about the new picture B. It outlines a method used in some archaeological
B. To convey the shop ownerʼs resentment of the fieldwork, then explains why an alternative method
person he got the new picture from is superior to it.

C. To describe the items that the shop owner most C. It presents contradictory conclusions drawn by
highly prizes archaeologists, then evaluates a study that has
apparently resolved that contradiction.
D. To explain differences between the new picture
and other pictures in the shop D. It identifies a gap in scientific research, then
presents a strategy used by some archaeologists to
remedy that gap.