Question 122·Medium·Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is adapted from a 1923 diary entry written by a seventeen-year-old apprentice working in a bustling newspaper pressroom.
At first the roar of the press seemed eager to swallow me whole. The floor shook beneath my boots, a steady metallic thunder that pressed against my ribs until I felt I might breathe ink instead of air. I kept to the shadows, clutching my notepad like a shield, and counted the minutes before I might flee the place.
But as the hours wore on, the rhythm that frightened me began to gather a strange music. The flywheels spun like patient planets, sheets flashed through rollers with the confidence of migrating birds, and the smell of hot oil mingled with newsprint to form a scent I could almost call welcoming. By noon I found myself edging closer, tracing with my eyes the path each blank page took toward its headline. What had been a monster was now a maestro, conducting the day’s chorus of stories into existence.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
For main-purpose questions, first quickly summarize the passage in your own words in one simple sentence, focusing on what changes from beginning to end. Then test each answer choice against that summary: eliminate choices that introduce new topics (like technology policy, labor issues, or detailed explanations) that the passage does not clearly develop, and prefer answers that capture both the starting point and the ending point of the narrator’s attitude or situation. Stay grounded in the text’s tone and progression rather than in your own background knowledge or assumptions.
Hints
Focus on the beginning and the end
Reread the first few sentences and the last few sentences. How does the narrator feel about the pressroom at the start, and how does that feeling compare with their attitude by the end?
Notice emotional words and images
Underline words and images that show fear, discomfort, or negativity, and then underline words and images that show interest, respect, or positivity. Is there a change?
Check each answer against the whole passage
Ask yourself: Does this answer describe the entire passage, or only one idea that isn’t really the focus? Eliminate any answer that adds topics (like technology or labor policies) that the narrator never discusses.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks for the main purpose of the text. That means you should focus on what the entire passage as a whole is doing, not just one sentence or detail. Look for the narrator’s overall experience and how it develops from beginning to end.
Summarize the first paragraph
In the first paragraph, the narrator clearly feels overwhelmed and scared: phrases like “roar of the press seemed eager to swallow me whole,” “pressed against my ribs,” and “I kept to the shadows” show fear, discomfort, and a desire to escape (“counted the minutes before I might flee the place”). This sets up an initial attitude of apprehension toward the pressroom.
Summarize the second paragraph and compare the tone
In the second paragraph, the language becomes much more positive and even admiring. The noises become “a strange music,” flywheels are like “patient planets,” and the press is called a “maestro” that “conduct[s] the day’s chorus of stories into existence.” The narrator moves closer and watches with interest. The attitude changes from fear to fascination and respect.
Match this overall development to the best answer choice
The passage’s main purpose is to show this emotional change in the narrator—from being scared and wanting to flee the pressroom to appreciating and admiring the printing press. Only choice D describes this shift in attitude, so the correct answer is D) To depict the narrator’s shift from apprehension to admiration of the printing press.