Question 55·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is from an original short story. The narrator passes a bakery each morning.
The first thing I notice when I turn the corner is the smell—warm and sweet, like someone opened the oven door just for me. I slow down even though I’m almost late, letting the scent wrap around my head the way a scarf does on cold days. Through the front window I can see rows of golden rolls lined up like little suns, and behind them the baker dusting everything with sugar that drifts through the air like snow. For a moment, the whole street feels softer, quieter—almost syrupy—until the cross-walk light snaps me back to real time and I hurry on toward school.
Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?
For main-purpose questions, first ask, “What takes up most of the paragraph?”—description, argument, explanation, or comparison. Then check the tone (positive, negative, neutral) using key words and images. Go through the answer choices and quickly eliminate any that (1) focus on a minor detail instead of the whole passage, (2) introduce ideas that never appear (like a comparison that isn’t made), or (3) contradict the tone. Finally, choose the option whose verb (explain, illustrate, compare, criticize, etc.) best matches what the author is actually doing in the passage overall.
Hints
Focus on what gets the most detail
Ask yourself: Is the author spending more time on the narrator’s schedule, on the school, or on describing what the bakery is like?
Check the tone of the descriptions
Look at words and comparisons like “warm and sweet,” “little suns,” and “like snow.” Do these sound positive, negative, or neutral?
Match answer verbs to what the passage does
Look at the action words in the choices: explain, illustrate, compare, criticize. Which one best matches what the paragraph is mainly doing?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the passage is mainly talking about
Read the passage and ask: What is most of the space spent on?
Most of the sentences describe the bakery:
- the smell (“warm and sweet”),
- the sight of “rows of golden rolls,”
- the baker “dusting everything with sugar,”
- how the street feels “softer, quieter—almost syrupy.”
Only a small part mentions being “almost late” and hurrying to school.
Notice the narrator’s attitude (tone)
Look at the words that show feelings. The narrator:
- compares the smell to “someone opened the oven door just for me,”
- says the scent “wrap[s] around my head the way a scarf does on cold days,”
- describes the rolls as “little suns,”
- likens sugar drifting through the air to “snow.”
These comparisons (similes) are warm and pleasant, not negative. They show enjoyment and comfort, not annoyance or criticism.
Match the main focus and tone to the type of purpose
Now connect what you saw to the answer choices:
- The passage is mostly describing the bakery and how it feels to the narrator.
- The descriptions are detailed and positive, emphasizing how the bakery changes the feel of the whole street for a moment.
This means the main purpose is to show how much the narrator enjoys and values the bakery’s atmosphere, so the best choice is “To illustrate the narrator’s appreciation for the bakery’s atmosphere.”