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 function-of-the-underlined-sentence questions, map the paragraph: what the first sentence sets up, what the next introduces, what the underlined sentence adds, and what the final sentence does. Then paraphrase the underlined sentence and look for signal words (e.g., “Rather than,” “however,” “for example”) that indicate whether it’s contrasting, exemplifying, defining, or concluding. Choose the option that matches both the sentence’s content and its role in the paragraph’s logic.
Hints
Use the transition
Focus on the phrase “Rather than.” What kind of relationship does that signal between two ideas?
Ask what the sentence is doing
Is the underlined sentence mainly giving an outcome about reforms, or is it describing the kind of evidence in the diaries and how it differs from other sources?
Check for what is NOT mentioned
Does the underlined sentence actually mention “reforms” or their effects, or does it stay focused on what the diaries talk about?
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: Specifies what those diaries talk about and how that differs from official records.
- Final sentence: Explains why the diaries are useful 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
In simpler terms, the sentence says the diaries don’t focus on production goals or official rules; instead, they dwell on physical sensations, everyday hardships, and small social moments.
That means the sentence is describing the diaries’ emphasis (what they contain and highlight).
Identify the key structural signal
The phrase “Rather than” sets up a contrast:
- Not: tallying production targets / quoting directives (the kind of content associated with official records)
- But: workers’ lived experiences (the kind of content in the diaries)
So the sentence’s job is to contrast the diaries’ focus with the typical official focus, not to draw a final conclusion about reforms.
Match to the best answer choice
The choice that captures both parts—(1) what the diaries emphasize and (2) how that differs from official records—is:
It describes what the diaries emphasize and shows how that emphasis differs from official records.