Question 118·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
To attract more readers, a local newspaper began publishing long-form investigations alongside its daily news updates. Until this change, the paper had focused almost entirely on brief summaries of local events, but the longer articles allow reporters to follow complex issues over months and present findings in greater depth.
Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
For SAT questions about the function of a phrase or sentence, first paraphrase the underlined portion in simple language, then read the sentence (or short passage) with and without that part to see what it adds: Does it give background, show contrast, provide an example, explain a reason, or something else? Next, quickly test each choice by asking, "Do these exact words actually do what this choice claims—define, argue, predict, etc.?" Eliminate any answer that names a function (like defining a term or making a prediction) that you do not clearly see in the text, and select the one that best matches the role you identified.
Hints
Focus on what the underlined portion literally says
Read only the underlined part: what time period is it talking about, and what does it say the newspaper was doing then?
Notice the time and contrast cues
Pay attention to the phrase "Until this change" and the word "but" later in the sentence. How do these words connect the underlined part to the new strategy of publishing long-form investigations?
Match the type of information to the type of function
Ask yourself: Is the underlined portion explaining a term, arguing against an idea, guessing about future results, or doing something else with respect to the information about the newspaper's old and new practices?
Test each answer choice against the actual text
For each option, look back at the underlined words and ask, "Do these words really do this?" Eliminate any choice that describes a function (like defining, challenging, or predicting) that you don’t actually see happening in the underlined portion.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks for the function of the underlined portion "Until this change, the paper had focused almost entirely on brief summaries of local events" in the text as a whole. That means you are not being asked what the words mean, but what role this information plays in the overall sentence and idea.
Paraphrase the underlined portion
Put the underlined part into your own words: it is saying that before the recent change, the newspaper mostly published short summaries of local events. So this part tells us about the newspaper's previous way of doing things.
Connect the underlined portion to the rest of the sentence
Now read the full sentence:
To attract more readers, a local newspaper began publishing long-form investigations alongside its daily news updates. Until this change, the paper had focused almost entirely on brief summaries of local events, but the longer articles allow reporters to follow complex issues over months and present findings in greater depth.
The sentence contrasts the old approach (short summaries) with the new approach (long-form investigations that cover complex issues in depth). The underlined portion supplies the "old approach" side of that contrast.
Check each answer choice against the underlined portion
Now see which description matches that role:
- A) Talks about defining the phrase "long-form investigations." But the underlined portion does not explain what long-form investigations are; instead, it talks about brief summaries.
- B) Says it challenges a claim that readers want more in-depth reporting. The underlined portion does not argue against anything; it just states a fact about past practice.
- D) Says it predicts outcomes of the new approach. The underlined part is about what happened before the change, not about what will happen in the future.
The only choice that correctly describes its role—showing the old practice so we can see why the new practice is a notable change—is C) It provides context that clarifies the significance of the change described later in the sentence.