SAT Text Structure and Purpose study notes
Structure questions ask what the writer is doing as the passage moves along. Give each sentence a short job description: old idea, new observation, explanation, example, objection, or limitation. Then describe the sequence of jobs rather than retelling the subject matter.
Worked example
A passage gives an old explanation for a clear lake, reports a new observation that does not fit, proposes grazing as another explanation, and notes that grazing was measured for only one season. What is its structure?
It challenges an earlier explanation, offers a possible alternative, and limits the evidence for that alternative. The final sentence is a qualification, not proof.
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