Question 126·Hard·Text Structure and Purpose
City trees are often treated as decoration, installed to soften concrete and brick. Botanist Lila Nguyen argues that this view misses their primary function: trees are infrastructure. She points to measurements showing that a mature oak can intercept thousands of gallons of stormwater each year and lower summer sidewalk temperatures by several degrees. Last year her team combined satellite imagery with street-level sensors to map "cool corridors"—continuous stretches of shade linking bus stops, clinics, and schools. Midday temperatures along these routes were consistently lower than on parallel blocks with sparse canopy. Because such corridors reduce heat stress and strain on drainage systems, Nguyen contends, city budgets should classify trees as utilities rather than amenities. In many municipalities, that reclassification would shift tree care from discretionary spending to mandated maintenance.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
For SAT "overall structure" questions, quickly break the passage into chunks (beginning, middle, end) and write a 3–5 word note for what each chunk is doing (for example: "redefine trees," "give study evidence," "propose budget change"). Then scan the choices for the one whose sequence of actions matches your notes exactly, and eliminate any option that introduces elements not in the passage (like specific groups’ opinions, extra comparisons, or added limitations). This keeps you focused on the passage’s moves instead of its details and helps you work efficiently under time pressure.
Hints
Start with the first and last sentences
Read just the first two sentences and the last two sentences. Ask yourself: What common idea about city trees is mentioned at the start, and what specific change or action is being proposed by the end?
Summarize the role of the middle section
Look at the sentences about measurements and mapping shaded routes. Are they introducing new opinions, describing a debate, or providing evidence for a claim made earlier?
Eliminate choices that add things not in the passage
Check each answer choice for elements the passage never mentions—like residents’ priorities, comparisons to prior-year temperature data, or extra qualifications about the findings not applying across neighborhoods. If an answer adds a step that isn’t in the text, cross it out.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the beginning of the passage is doing
Look at the first two sentences:
- "City trees are often treated as decoration..." describes the familiar, common view.
- "Botanist Lila Nguyen argues that this view misses their primary function: trees are infrastructure." introduces Nguyen’s claim that overturns or reframes that common view.
So, structurally, the passage opens by setting up a familiar idea and then redefining or reframing city trees as something more serious: infrastructure.
See how the middle of the passage supports the new view
Now read from "She points to measurements..." through the sentence about parallel blocks:
- We get specific measurements: a mature oak intercepts thousands of gallons of stormwater and lowers sidewalk temperatures.
- Then a recent study is described: using satellite imagery and street-level sensors, her team mapped cool corridors and found systematically lower midday temperatures along shaded routes than on parallel blocks with sparse canopy.
These details are not just random facts; they are targeted evidence from a particular study designed to support the idea that trees function as infrastructure (managing heat and stormwater). Structurally, this section provides empirical backing for the reframed view.
Determine what the ending of the passage is doing
Look at the last two sentences:
- "Because such corridors reduce heat stress and strain on drainage systems, Nguyen contends, city budgets should classify trees as utilities rather than amenities."
- "In many municipalities, that reclassification would shift tree care from discretionary spending to mandated maintenance."
Here, Nguyen is drawing a policy conclusion from the evidence: she argues for changing how city budgets classify trees, with a specific consequence for how tree care is funded. Structurally, the passage moves from evidence to a concrete implication for public policy and budgeting.
Match the passage structure to the best description
Summarizing the structure:
- Start: Take a familiar subject (city trees as decoration) and redefine it (trees as infrastructure).
- Middle: Provide specific study-based evidence (measurements and cool-corridor mapping) that supports this new way of seeing trees.
- End: Use that evidence to argue for a specific policy change (reclassifying trees in city budgets so they receive mandated maintenance).
Now compare this to the answer choices:
- B is close but adds a qualifier (that findings may not apply equally in every neighborhood) that the passage does not mention; the passage does not pause to limit its claim in that way.
- C includes a comparison to temperature data from previous years, but the passage never brings in historical temperature records; it stays within the reported mapping results and comparisons to parallel blocks.
- D mentions residents’ priorities, but the passage bases its conclusion on measured impacts and budget classifications, not on public preference.
Only A) "It reframes a familiar subject, reports findings from a targeted study to substantiate the reframing, and draws out a concrete policy implication." correctly and completely matches the three-part structure you identified, so A is the correct answer.