Question 104·Medium·Text Structure and Purpose
Entomologist Priya Khatri studied museum records, field journals, and citizen-science photographs to track the annual arrival dates of monarch butterflies across North America. She found that, on average, monarchs were reaching their northern breeding grounds nearly two weeks earlier than they did a century ago, a shift she links to warmer spring temperatures. By noting that the data include observations from deserts, prairies, and coastal regions, Khatri preempts the claim that earlier arrivals occur only in certain habitats.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
For SAT function-of-sentence questions, first quickly restate the main point of the passage around the underlined sentence, then paraphrase that sentence in your own simple words. Ask: does this sentence add an example, give a definition, provide evidence, address a possible doubt, or make a prediction? Next, eliminate any answer that mentions something that clearly does not appear in the sentence (like numbers, future predictions, or new variables). Finally, choose the option that best matches the sentence’s actual job in strengthening, clarifying, or qualifying the author’s main point.
Hints
Zoom in on the key phrase
Focus on the part of the underlined sentence that says the detail "preempts the claim that earlier arrivals occur only in certain habitats." Ask yourself: Why would the author mention this kind of claim at all?
Think about what the habitat list is doing
The sentence lists deserts, prairies, and coastal regions. Is this list giving numbers, making a prediction, bringing in a new possible cause, or serving some other purpose in the argument?
Use elimination on mismatched functions
Check each answer choice and ask: Does the underlined sentence actually give a number, talk about the future, or add a new environmental factor? Eliminate any choice that mentions something the sentence does not clearly do.
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate what the question is asking
This is a function question: it asks what role the underlined sentence plays in the passage as a whole, not what the passage means overall. You need to describe what this one sentence is doing for Khatri’s argument.
Paraphrase the underlined sentence
The sentence says that Khatri’s data include observations from deserts, prairies, and coastal regions. Then it says this detail “preempts the claim that earlier arrivals occur only in certain habitats.”
In simpler words: by pointing out that her data come from many different habitat types, she is heading off the idea that the pattern she found happens only in one or two special kinds of places.
Connect the sentence to the main point of the passage
The main point just before the underlined sentence is that monarchs now reach their northern breeding grounds about two weeks earlier than they did a century ago, and Khatri links this change to warmer spring temperatures.
The underlined sentence supports this finding by showing that the earlier arrivals are seen in many different habitats across North America, not just in one specific environment. That makes her conclusion stronger.
Also notice the phrase “preempts the claim”—this signals that she is dealing with a possible objection or doubt someone might raise.
Test each answer choice against what the sentence actually does
Now match that function against the choices:
- Choice A talks about numerical evidence and rate of northward travel—but the underlined sentence does not give any numbers or talk about speed; it lists habitat types.
- Choice B talks about forecasting future effects of temperature increases—nothing in the underlined sentence makes a prediction about the future.
- Choice C says it introduces an unrelated environmental factor—but habitats here are not a new factor causing migration; they describe where the data come from and are directly related to the study.
- Choice D describes a sentence that anticipates a possible criticism (that earlier arrivals occur only in some habitats) and knocks it down by emphasizing that the data cover many habitats.
The only answer that correctly captures this role—anticipating and rejecting a potential criticism by stressing how wide-ranging the data are—is choice D: "It acknowledges and refutes a potential criticism by highlighting the geographic breadth of the data."