Question 54·Hard·Text Structure and Purpose
Popular retrospectives of the early Internet—an expansive network that revolutionized global communication in the late twentieth century— often single out charismatic entrepreneurs and high-profile venture-capital successes as the primary catalysts for its rapid expansion, portraying the technology’s rise as an essentially market-driven phenomenon. Sociologist Leah Goodwin has shown, however, that a closer look at government research grants, university collaborations, and volunteer standards organizations tells a more complex story about the Internet’s origins.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
For function questions, paraphrase the highlighted text, then look at the surrounding sentences for structural signals (especially contrast words like “however”). Decide whether the highlighted part is presenting a common view, the author’s view, evidence, or a counterpoint, and eliminate options that misidentify whose view it is or that add claims the passage never makes.
Hints
Check who is being described
Look carefully at who is doing the “single[ing] out” in the bolded portion. Is it the author, Goodwin, or some other group?
Use the transition word
Pay close attention to the word “however” at the start of the second sentence. What does this tell you about the relationship between the popular retrospectives and Goodwin’s findings?
Summarize the role before reading answers
In one simple sentence, describe what the bolded part contributes to the passage’s overall argument. Then choose the option that matches your own summary most closely.
Watch for extra details not in the text
Eliminate any choices that add claims the passage never makes (for example, that the author agrees with the popular story or that the bolded part is purely neutral background).
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the bolded part is saying
Focus on the clause with the bold text: popular retrospectives of the early Internet “often single out charismatic entrepreneurs and high-profile venture-capital successes as the primary catalysts for its rapid expansion, portraying the technology’s rise as an essentially market-driven phenomenon.”
In your own words, this means: many popular accounts say the Internet grew mainly because of famous business leaders and investment success, and they treat its growth as mostly driven by the market (private business and profit).
See how the second sentence responds to the first
Now read the next sentence: “Sociologist Leah Goodwin has shown, however, that a closer look at government research grants, university collaborations, and volunteer standards organizations tells a more complex story about the Internet’s origins.”
Key points:
- The word “however” signals contrast.
- Goodwin points to government, universities, and volunteer organizations.
- These are noncommercial or not purely market-driven actors.
So Goodwin is challenging or complicating the story described in the first sentence.
Identify the bolded portion’s role in the passage
Putting the two sentences together:
- Sentence 1 (with the bold text) describes what popular retrospectives usually claim: a market-driven explanation focused on entrepreneurs and venture capital.
- Sentence 2 says that, however, a closer look shows more contributors (many of them noncommercial), so that simple market-driven story is incomplete.
So the bolded portion is setting up a commonly held explanation that the text then complicates by adding overlooked contributors.
Match this role to the answer choices
The correct choice must say that the bolded portion presents a widely repeated explanation and that the text then challenges it by pointing to noncommercial contributors.
Therefore, the correct answer is:
It presents a commonly cited explanation for the Internet’s expansion that the text later argues overlooks key noncommercial contributors.