Question 34·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is adapted from a 2018 magazine article about monarch butterflies.
Every autumn, millions of monarch butterflies embark on a remarkable journey from the northern United States and Canada to the fir-clad mountains of central Mexico. Guided by instincts still not fully understood, the insects travel up to 3,000 miles, stopping along the way to rest and feed on nectar-rich flowers. Though the trip takes several generations to complete on the northward leg in spring, the southbound migrants make the entire voyage in a single lifetime. Researchers track the fluttering caravans with lightweight tags and satellite imagery, marveling at how such fragile creatures navigate with unerring precision year after year.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
For main-purpose questions, first read the whole passage (or excerpt) and summarize its job in your own words in 5–10 seconds: “This is mainly doing X.” Then ask whether the author is describing, arguing, criticizing, warning, or comparing. Eliminate any answer that introduces ideas, topics, or attitudes not present in the text (like climate change or other species if they were never mentioned). Finally, choose the option that matches both the overall topic and the author’s purpose, rather than one that focuses on a single detail.
Hints
Focus on overall goal, not small details
Reread the first and last sentences. Ask yourself: over these lines, what is the author mainly trying to do—describe, argue, warn, or compare?
Check for criticism or argument
Look at how the passage talks about researchers. Is the tone negative or is it just explaining what they do? That will help you judge answers that mention criticism.
Watch out for ideas that never appear
Scan the passage for any mention of climate change or other insect species. If an answer brings in ideas that are not mentioned, be very cautious about picking it.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the general topic
Read the passage and ask: What is this mostly about?
Here, every sentence focuses on monarch butterflies making a long journey from the northern United States and Canada to central Mexico, how far they go, how long it takes, and how they are tracked.
Decide what the author is doing with that topic
Now ask: Is the author arguing, warning, criticizing, or mainly describing and explaining?
The tone is neutral and factual. The author gives details about the journey (distance, route, generations, tracking methods) and calls it “remarkable” and “marveling,” but does not argue a point, give a warning, or compare different things.
Check each answer choice against the passage
Go through the options and see if the passage actually does what each choice claims:
- Does the passage attack or find fault with scientists or earlier studies?
- Does it talk about climate change or threats to monarchs?
- Does it compare monarchs to other migratory insects?
None of those things appear in the text. The passage simply describes when, where, and how monarchs migrate, and how researchers follow them.
Match the remaining choice to the passage
After rejecting the choices that add criticism, climate change, or comparisons that are not in the text, the only answer that fits the neutral, descriptive focus on monarchs’ yearly journey is: “To describe the annual migration pattern of monarch butterflies.”