Question 59·Medium·Text Structure and Purpose
Marketers often tout sea salt as more "natural" and therefore healthier than ordinary table salt. Nutritionists point out that, regardless of origin, both products are almost entirely sodium chloride. Measured by sodium content, a teaspoon of sea salt differs little from a teaspoon of table salt. What distinguishes them are trace minerals that can alter taste, not measurable health benefits.
Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
For SAT questions about the function of a sentence or phrase, first identify the main point of the entire passage or paragraph in your own words. Then paraphrase the target sentence and ask what “job” it is doing: giving an example, supplying evidence, defining a term, stating a claim, contrasting ideas, or signaling a conclusion. Eliminate choices that don’t match the literal content or tone of the sentence, and make sure the remaining option fits both the local sentence and the passage’s overall purpose; avoid being tricked by answers that mention familiar words from the passage but describe a different role.
Hints
Find the passage’s main claim
Reread the first and last sentences. What overall point are the nutritionists making about sea salt and table salt?
Paraphrase the underlined sentence
Put the underlined sentence into your own words: what is being compared, and what does the comparison show?
Think about the sentence’s job in the paragraph
Ask yourself: Is this sentence giving evidence, a definition, a reason someone believes something, or a preview of a conclusion?
Match the role to an answer choice
Eliminate any choices that don’t match what the sentence literally does (talk about sodium comparison) or that don’t fit the neutral, explanatory tone of the passage.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the passage’s main point
First, summarize what the whole text is saying. Marketers claim sea salt is more “natural” and healthier, but nutritionists counter that both sea salt and table salt are almost entirely sodium chloride and that what really differs is taste, not health benefits. So the main point is that the two products are nutritionally very similar.
Understand the meaning of the underlined sentence
Look closely at the underlined sentence: “Measured by sodium content, a teaspoon of sea salt differs little from a teaspoon of table salt.” In your own words, this means that if you compare the actual sodium in equal amounts of sea salt and table salt, they are almost the same.
Connect the sentence to the main point
Ask how this sentence fits with the main idea that sea salt and table salt are nutritionally similar. The sentence gives a specific, real-world way to compare them (teaspoons and sodium content), showing that their sodium levels are nearly identical. This supports the nutritionists’ claim that there is no meaningful health difference.
Check each answer choice against that role
Now compare this role to the choices:
- It is not explaining marketers’ preferences; it’s talking about measured sodium levels, not marketing (eliminates B).
- It is not defining “sodium chloride,” which is already mentioned and not actually explained here (eliminates C).
- It does not tell readers to avoid sea salt or preview such a conclusion; the tone is neutral and focused on comparison (eliminates D). The only choice that matches the sentence’s role—giving a specific comparison that backs up the claim of nutritional similarity—is: It supplies a concrete comparison that supports the text's claim about the products' nutritional similarity.