Question 148·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Many public libraries are experimenting with a "library of things," lending tools and equipment in addition to books. To see whether this approach meets community needs, a suburban branch piloted a small inventory of items such as sewing machines and pressure washers. In the first six months, the branch recorded 800 loans and a 95% on-time return rate, with patrons most frequently borrowing sewing machines. Staff used these results to argue for expanding the program systemwide.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?
For SAT Reading & Writing “function of a sentence” questions, first read the sentence immediately before and after the targeted sentence to understand the local context. Then paraphrase in your own words what the underlined sentence is doing (giving an example, providing data, defining a term, showing contrast, etc.). Finally, eliminate any choices that describe actions the sentence clearly does not perform (like defining a term when there is no definition language, or summarizing everything when it only offers a specific detail), and choose the option that best matches the role you identified rather than wording that merely sounds similar to the topic.
Hints
Look at what comes right before
Focus on the sentence just before the underlined one. What is the library trying to do by piloting a small inventory of items?
Notice the kind of information in the underlined sentence
Pay attention to whether the underlined sentence is giving a definition, describing results, expressing an opinion, or something else. What clues do the numbers provide?
Connect the sentence to the author’s purpose
Ask yourself: How do these details help the author build the idea in the previous sentence? Are they describing a problem, a limit, a summary, or something that helps prove a point?
Test each choice against the actual text
For each answer, ask: Does the underlined sentence really do what this choice describes (for example, define a phrase, admit a problem, or summarize everything), or is it serving a different purpose?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the surrounding context
Read the sentence before the underlined part: “To see whether this approach meets community needs, a suburban branch piloted a small inventory of items such as sewing machines and pressure washers.” This is a claim about testing whether the approach works for the community.
Examine what the underlined sentence actually says
The underlined sentence reports: “In the first six months, the branch recorded 800 loans and a 95% on-time return rate, with patrons most frequently borrowing sewing machines.” Notice that it includes numbers (800 loans, 95%) and a detail about which items were most borrowed.
Decide the role of those details in the paragraph
Ask: Why is the author giving us these numbers and details right here? They show that many people borrowed items and returned them on time, and that certain tools were especially popular. This information shows how the pilot actually performed in practice.
Match that role to the best answer choice
Because the sentence provides concrete numerical results from the pilot to show how well it worked, its function is to give statistical support for the idea that the pilot was a useful test of community needs. Therefore, the correct answer is: It supplies numerical evidence that supports the preceding claim.