Question 103·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is from a contemporary short story. Professor Morales has just handed back a set of graded essays to her first-year literature class.
PROFESSOR MORALES: I have read all sixty of your essays—each of them twice. Some of you argued brilliantly, some of you merely circled the thesis, and a few of you seemed afraid to take a stand at all.
STUDENT (laughing): Does that mean we all aced the assignment?
PROFESSOR MORALES (smiling): It means you now know where you stand. The margin comments are a map, not a final verdict. Use them. In two weeks you will submit a revision, and that version will determine your grade.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the passage?
For SAT Reading & Writing “main purpose” questions, first identify who is speaking and to whom, then ask: What is this person mainly trying to accomplish in this moment—inform, persuade, instruct, warn, praise, criticize, etc.? Pay special attention to the beginning and ending lines, and especially to any clear instructions or summary statements. Once you have a one-sentence summary in your own words, choose the option that best matches your summary without adding extra ideas that don’t appear in the passage.
Hints
Look at the professor’s last lines
Pay close attention to what Professor Morales says after the student jokes about everyone acing the assignment. What specific instructions does she give about what will happen in two weeks?
Think about tone and evaluation
Ask yourself: Does the professor speak as if the essays are already perfect, or does she suggest they still need work? Is she mostly praising, comparing, or directing the students?
Connect comments to purpose
She calls the margin comments “a map, not a final verdict.” What does that metaphor suggest she expects the students to do with those comments?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the situation and speaker’s role
The passage is a short dialogue in which Professor Morales has just returned graded essays to a first-year literature class. She is the authority figure (the grader), so her main purpose will relate to what she wants the students to do with these essays.
Notice how she describes the essays and her tone
Professor Morales says she read all sixty essays twice and describes a range of quality: some were argued brilliantly, some only “circled the thesis,” and some students “seemed afraid to take a stand.” This shows the essays are not flawless, and her tone is mixed but overall calm and constructive, not harshly critical or sarcastic.
Focus on the key lines about comments and next steps
The key clue is: “The margin comments are a map, not a final verdict. Use them. In two weeks you will submit a revision, and that version will determine your grade.” Her comments are meant as guidance, and she clearly explains that students will hand in another version later, which will be the one that counts for their grade. The central action here is about what happens next with their essays.
Match the overall purpose to the answer choices
Because the professor’s main goal is to explain that the current essays are not final and that students will need to submit revised versions in two weeks, the best statement of the passage’s main purpose is “To announce that the students must revise and resubmit their work” (Choice B).