SAT READING AND WRITING PSAT 8&9'F FMS AA B Text Structure and Purpose (Easy)Question ID 752cec1f Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty PSAT 8/9 Reat Craft and Structure | Text Structure and Purpose goo ID: 752cectf Hiroshi Senju is known worldwide for his paintings of waterfalls. These paintings are large and tend not to show the entire waterfall. Instead, Senju focuses on just the point where the falling water reaches the pool below, keeping the top of the waterfall out of view. While Senju’s paintings are rooted in art movements originating in the United States, the artist uses traditional Japanese techniques and materials that make his work instantly recognizable. Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text? A It introduces an artist and then explains some common characteristics of well-known paintings by that artist. B. It explains a specific painting technique and then provides examples of artists who use the technique, C. It describes a famous painting and then compares it to a lesser-known painting from the same time period. D. It gives an opinion on an artist and then suggests multiple reasons why the artist’s work has been largely overlooked, ID: 752cec1f Answer Correct Answer: A Rationale Choice A is the best answer, The first sentence introduces Senju as a famous artist, while the next three sentences describe the defining features of his art, such as it only showing part of the waterfall and its origins in US art movements and Japanese techniques. Choice B is incorrect. The text doesn’t provide examples of any other artists who use Senju's techniques. Choice Cis incorrect. The text doesn’t describe any single famous painting or make comparisons between paintings. Choice D is incorrect, The text doesn't provide an opinion on Senju (just facts), nor does it suggest that his art has. been overlooked—in fact, it states that he is "known worldwide” Question Difficulty: EasyQuestion ID babff84b Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty PSAT 8/9 Reat Craft and Structure | Text Structure and Purpose goo DET ice) 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? ‘A. The text identifies a complex problem, then presents examples of unsuccessful attempts to solve that problem B, The text summarizes a debate among researchers, then gives reasons for supporting one side in that debate. C. The text describes a general situation, then illustrates that situation with specific examples. D. The text discusses several notable individuals, then explains commonly overlooked differences between those individuals. Rationale Choice C is the best answer, The first three sentences describe the general situation: these early films have been lost, and we only know about them from small pieces of evidence, The rest of the text offers specific examples of the small pieces of evidence. Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure, The fact that we only know about these lost early films from small pieces of evidence isn't presented as a “complex problem"—that’s too extreme. And the examples presented are not “unsuccessful attempts” to solve it. f anything, the examples represent a success, because we discovered that these films existed in the first place. Choice B is incorrect. This isn't the overall structure, There's no “debate” presented in the text, so there's no “side” for the text to support. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The text doesn't discuss any “differences” between the filmmakers. Question Difficulty: EasyQuestion ID 935c2154 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty PSAT 8/9 Reading and Writing | Craftand Structure | Text Structure and | gi 4 Purpose The following text is from Holly Goldberg Sloan's 2017 novel Short. More than two years ago my parents bought a piano from some people who were moving to Utah. Mom and Dad gave it to my brothers and me for Christmas. | had to act really happy because it was such a big present, but | pretty much hated the thing from the second it was carried into the hallway upstairs, which is right next to my bedroom. The piano glared at me. It was like a songbird in a cage. It wanted to be set free. ©2017 by Holly Goldberg Sloan Which choice best states the main purpose of the text? ‘A. It explains why the narrator always wanted a piano close to her bedroom. B, it establishes how the narrator feels about the piano, C. It suggests that the narrator's brothers are talented piano players. D, It describes the event that led the narrator's parents to buy a piano. ID: 9352154 Answer Correct Answé Rationale Choice B is the best answer because it best states the main purpose of the text, which is to establish the narrator's feelings about the piano, The narrator reveals that she "had to act really happy” about the piano even though she “pretty much hated the thing” as soon as it was placed upstairs near her bedroom, The narrator also describes the piano as glaring at her and compares it to a caged bird that wants to be set free. These details establish the narrator's feelings about the piano, suggesting that it makes her uneasy. Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that the narrator hated having the piano upstairs right next to her bedroom, not that she wanted a piano to be close to her bedroom, Choice C is incorrect because the only information provided in the text about the narrator's brothers is that they were given the piano along with the narrator. Choice D is incorrect because the text does not describe the event that led the narrator's parents to buy the piano from the people moving to Utah. Instead, the text focuses on the narrator's feelings about the piano after it was given to her and her brothers. Question Difficulty: EasyQuestion ID 49a2ac01 Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty PSAT 8/9 Reading and Writing | Craftand Structure | Text Structure and | gi 4 Purpose ID: 49a2ac01 The following text is from Srimati Svarna Kumari Devi's 1894 novel The Fatal Garland (translated by A. Christina Albers in 1910), Shakti is walking near a riverbank that she visited frequently during her childhood. She crossed the woods she knew so well. The trees seemed to extend their branches like welcoming arms. They greeted her as an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side. Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole? A It suggests that Shakti feels uncomfortable near the river. B. It indicates that Shakti has lost her sense of direction in the woods. C. It emphasizes Shakti's sense of belonging in the landscape. D. It conveys Shakti's appreciation for her long-term friendships. ID: 49a2ac01 Answer Correct Answer: C Rationale Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a whole. The first sentence of the text states that Shakti knows the woods she is walking in well. The next sentence, which is underlined, emphasizes Shakti's familiarity with, and sense of security within, the woods by describing how the tree branches are friendly and “welcoming,” as they are depicted as extending open arms to her. The remainder of the text also shows that Shakti is comfortable and content in the woods by describing her as “an old friend’ of the trees, Thus, the function of the underlined portion is to emphasize Shakti's sense of belonging in the wooded landscape that she visits. Choice A is incorrect because the text and underlined portion suggest that Shakti is comfortable, not uncomfortable, in her surroundings: the trees around her are described as welcoming and reassuring. Moreover, the underlined portion discusses Shakti’s feelings in the forest, not the river, since she hasn't reached the river yet. Choice B is incorrect because the text and underlined portion emphasize Shakti's familiarity with the woods. The trees are inviting, and she feels like “an old friend” to the woods, so she isn't lost or confused there, Choice D is incorrect because the third sentence uses the phrase “as an old friend" figuratively in reference to Shakti's sense of familiarity with the landscape, not in reference to her long-standing friendships with other people, and the text and underlined portion never discuss her feelings about such friendships. Question Difficulty: Easy