Question 131·Medium·Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is adapted from Eliza Mercado’s 2021 memoir Stacks and Stories. The author is describing her volunteer work at a neighborhood library.
I treated the returns cart like a puzzle begging to be re-imagined. Instead of briskly sliding each volume back into its assigned slot, I lingered over the spines, hunting for small, surprising pairings. A cookbook about wild mushrooms might suddenly neighbor a detective novel whose first scene unfolds in a damp forest; an atlas of ancient trade routes could sit beside a children’s picture book about camels. Often, I would drift to a nearby table and watch. Patrons approaching the shelves slowed down, startled by these accidental conversations between books. Some chuckled, some tilted their heads, but most reached for a title they had not planned to read. Only when the head librarian’s footsteps echoed down the aisle did I resume the official choreography of alphabet and decimal.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
For main purpose questions, first ignore the answer choices and briefly summarize the passage in 5–10 words (for example, “author describes playful way of shelving books and its effect”). Then identify the tone (positive, negative, neutral) and what happens as a result of the actions described. Finally, eliminate any options that (1) don’t match your summary, (2) focus on minor details instead of the overall idea, or (3) have a tone that clashes with the passage, and choose the remaining answer that best captures both the main action and its effect.
Hints
Focus on the big picture
Reread the first and last sentences. Ask yourself: overall, is the author telling a story, arguing against something, or complaining about someone?
Look at what the author is doing with the books
Pay attention to the descriptions of how she arranges the books and the examples she gives (mushroom cookbook, detective novel, atlas, picture book). What pattern do you see in these actions?
Consider the reactions of the patrons
What do patrons do when they see the shelves arranged this way? How do they respond, and is that response positive, negative, or neutral?
Check the tone against the choices
Ask: does the passage sound critical and annoyed, or playful and pleased? Cross out any choices whose emotional tone doesn’t match what you see in the text.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks for the main purpose of the text. That means you need to think about what the author is mainly doing in the whole paragraph, not just one sentence or detail.
Summarize the passage in your own words
Put the passage into a simple one-sentence summary: The author describes how she treats the returns cart like a puzzle, rearranging books into unexpected pairings (cookbook next to detective novel, atlas next to picture book), then watching how patrons react. She notes that people slow down, get intrigued, and often pick up books they hadn’t planned to read, until she has to stop when the head librarian appears.
Notice the tone and the effect on patrons
The tone is playful and positive: words like “puzzle begging to be re-imagined,” “small, surprising pairings,” and “accidental conversations between books” show enjoyment, not anger. The key effect is that “most reached for a title they had not planned to read,” meaning her shelving choices lead patrons to discover new books. There is no complaint about the system, the patrons, or wrong returns; instead, the focus is on her creative actions and their impact.
Match your summary and tone to the best choice
Eliminate answers that don’t fit your summary or the positive tone: the passage doesn’t attack the shelving system (so not A), doesn’t discuss patrons mis-shelving books (so not C), and doesn’t show frustration with visitors (so not D). The only choice that matches the description of her playful rearranging and the way it leads people to pick up unexpected books is B) To illustrate how the author uses creative shelving to encourage readers’ curiosity.