Question 106·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Community gardens can help increase access to fresh produce in urban neighborhoods. They are often created on vacant lots, where residents grow vegetables and herbs for their households. In one Detroit neighborhood, a group of volunteers turned a trash-strewn corner lot into rows of tomatoes, peppers, and basil within a single summer. Besides supplying food, such gardens can bring neighbors together and provide green spaces for children to play.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
For SAT "function of a sentence" questions, first quickly summarize the paragraph’s main idea, then classify each nearby sentence as general statement, example, explanation, definition, or counterargument. Ask what would be missing from the paragraph if the underlined sentence were removed—that gap (for instance, a specific example or a definition) usually points to the correct role. Finally, test each answer choice against what the sentence actually does, eliminating any that contradict the content or tone or that describe a job (like defining or criticizing) the sentence clearly doesn’t perform.
Hints
Look at the whole paragraph
Before focusing on the underlined sentence, quickly summarize what each sentence in the paragraph is doing: which ones are general, and which (if any) are specific?
Zoom in on key words in the underlined sentence
Notice phrases like "In one Detroit neighborhood" and the detailed list of plants. What does this tell you about how this sentence is different from the others?
Compare before and after the underlined sentence
How do the sentences just before and after the underlined one talk about community gardens—are they giving definitions, reasons, or broad claims? How does the underlined sentence connect to those ideas?
Eliminate what the sentence is NOT doing
Ask yourself: Is this sentence arguing against something, defining a term, or explaining a cause? Cross off answer choices that describe jobs the sentence clearly does not do.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The question asks for the function of the underlined sentence "In one Detroit neighborhood, a group of volunteers turned a trash-strewn corner lot into rows of tomatoes, peppers, and basil within a single summer." in relation to the whole paragraph. That means you need to see how this sentence fits into the overall structure and purpose of the passage, not just what it says by itself.
Summarize the surrounding sentences
Look at the paragraph before and after the underlined sentence:
- First sentence: a general claim about community gardens increasing access to fresh produce in urban neighborhoods.
- Second sentence: another general statement that they are often created on vacant lots where residents grow food.
- Underlined sentence: a specific story about one Detroit neighborhood and a trash-strewn lot turned into rows of vegetables and herbs.
- Last sentence: another general point about benefits: bringing neighbors together and providing green spaces for children.
So the underlined sentence is the only one that zooms in on one particular place and group of people.
Decide what the underlined sentence is doing
Ask: What role does that Detroit sentence play?
- It does not give a definition; the earlier sentences already describe what community gardens are and where they are often located.
- It does not argue against or question anything; it instead shows a case that matches the earlier description (vacant/trash-strewn lot turned into a garden).
- It does not explain social or emotional reasons why neighbors come together; it focuses on the physical change of a specific lot into rows of vegetables and herbs.
So this sentence is providing a concrete, real-world instance of the more general statements made around it.
Match your understanding to the answer choices
Now compare each choice to what you determined:
- (A) says the sentence challenges the earlier claim, but the Detroit example actually supports the idea that gardens are often on vacant lots.
- (C) says it defines "community garden," but the text never says "A community garden is..."; instead, the whole paragraph describes them generally.
- (D) says it explains why such gardens bring neighbors together, but the underlined sentence focuses on transforming a lot and planting vegetables, not on social reasons.
The remaining choice is (B), which correctly describes the sentence as giving a specific, concrete example that illustrates the community-garden effort described in the rest of the paragraph. So the correct answer is: It supplies a concrete example that illustrates the community-garden effort described in the text.