🎓SAT English
READING 4
SAT Text Structure and Purpose for ESL Students
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SAT text structure and purpose questions differ but ask students to understand either the meaning of the text, how it is presented or what is the author saying.
For example, the text could introduce a famous person, list their known achievements but then give details about skills we never knew they had. So the purpose of this example would be to introduce a new way of viewing this famous person.
Why Learn Text Structure and Purpose
For English language learners, understanding inferences helps with reading and writing, such as:
- Reading comprehension: Text follows patterns that helps us understand the context and overal meaning.
- Writing skills: Good writing has order and structure, so our thoughts are clear.
- Reading skills: We read different texts in different ways (news, lists, social media), so the structure helps us clarify the type of text.
- Understanding: The text meaning is more than the meaning of the words, we should understand what the author is trying to say.
Exercise 1 Types of SAT Questions
Text Structure and Purpose
Types of question:
- Main Purpose
- Overall Structure
- Function of a Sentence
- Main Idea
Answer these 4 questions and notice the ‘type’ of question and how to answer it.
Text Structure and Purpose SAT style – types of questions (pdf download)
How to answer text structure and purpose questions (examples and explanations)
Help for Text Structure and Purpose Questions
Identify the main purpose or overall structure of the text.
- Structure: Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
- Purpose: Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
- Underlined: Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
Tips from Students
- Purpose defines what are your key takeaways from the text.
- The structure (main idea) is how the ideas flow with each other. Are the ideas agreeing or disagreeing with each other?
- How to answer text structure and purpose questions (examples and explanations)
Exercise 2 Text Structure and Purpose
Quiz (answer the 5 questions)
Transitions
Transitions words and phrases (such as “however” and “therefore”) contribute significantly to the structure of a text by showing how one idea flows into the next.
- however, nevertheless – ideas disagreeing
- therefore – ideas agreeing
Types of Transitions
- addition – furthermore, for example, likewise, moreover, similarly, in addition
- cause – therefore, thus, consequently
- contradiction – however, nevertheless
SAT questions
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