Question 114·Hard·Text Structure and Purpose
Accounts of factory reform often rely on parliamentary reports and inspector memos that quantify injuries and fines. To complement such official records, I examine dozens of workers' diaries from Lancashire mills between 1830 and 1845. Rather than tallying production targets or quoting directives, these diaries linger on numb fingers, missed meals, and jokes traded on the walk home. Because they foreground feeling over figures, the diaries help trace how reforms registered in daily life (changes that numeric summaries often obscure).
Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
For SAT function-of-a-sentence questions, first identify where the sentence appears and briefly summarize what each nearby sentence does. Then paraphrase the target sentence in simple language and note any key transition words (“Rather than,” “however,” “for example,” etc.) to see whether it’s contrasting, giving examples, adding a reason, or concluding. Finally, eliminate answer choices that misdescribe the content (e.g., say it’s a counterargument, a concession, or a summary when it clearly isn’t) and pick the option that matches both what the sentence says and how it fits into the paragraph’s flow.
Hints
Zoom out to see the sentence’s position
Look at the sentence right before and right after the underlined one. How does the underlined sentence connect the author’s decision to use diaries with the explanation of why those diaries are useful?
Pay attention to the signal phrase
Focus on the words “Rather than” at the beginning of the underlined sentence. What two kinds of things is the author contrasting here?
Ask what kind of job the sentence is doing
Decide whether the underlined sentence is (a) reporting findings, (b) presenting an opposing view, (c) describing a type of evidence, or (d) giving up ground. Which of these best matches the specific details about fingers, meals, and jokes?
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the underlined sentence in the paragraph’s structure
First, note where the underlined sentence appears:
- Sentence 1: Describes common sources for accounts of factory reform (parliamentary reports and inspector memos with numbers).
- Sentence 2: Says the author will complement those with workers’ diaries.
- Underlined sentence: Gives details about what these diaries contain.
- Final sentence: Explains why these diaries matter for understanding reform.
So the underlined sentence sits right after the diaries are introduced and right before their importance is explained.
Paraphrase the underlined sentence
Rephrase the sentence in your own words: instead of listing production numbers or quoting official rules, the diaries spend time describing numb fingers, missed meals, and jokes on the way home.
This sentence tells us what is inside the diaries and emphasizes the type of details they include—physical and emotional experiences, not statistics or directives.
Notice the contrast signaled by “Rather than”
The phrase “Rather than” signals a contrast:
- One side: “tallying production targets” and “quoting directives” (things official records do).
- Other side: diaries that “linger on” feelings and everyday moments.
So the sentence is not giving results or a conclusion; it is contrasting the diaries’ content with the earlier-described official records, showing how this new evidence is different in kind.
Match this role to the best answer choice
Now connect what the sentence is doing to the choices:
- It is describing the nature of the diaries the author will analyze (numb fingers, missed meals, jokes).
- It is also highlighting how this evidence contrasts with official numerical records and directives.
The choice that best captures both of these functions—characterizing the evidence and emphasizing its difference from official records—is C) To characterize the evidence the author will analyze and highlight how it differs from official records.