Question 67·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
Ecologist Maria Santos recently compared pollination rates in urban and rural gardens. She found that a diverse bee population explained the surprising success of some rooftop vegetable plots. However, the study also indicates that other animals may play an overlooked role. In one case, nocturnal moths accounted for nearly 30 percent of tomato pollination in an inner-city garden, a contribution that previous surveys missed because they were conducted only during daylight hours.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?
For SAT function-of-a-sentence questions, first read a couple of lines before and after the sentence, then briefly paraphrase what the sentence says and how it connects to the previous idea (for example, does it give evidence, an example, a contrast, a definition, or a conclusion?). Once you know its role in the paragraph, eliminate answer choices that add new ideas (like future plans or strong criticism) that don’t appear in the text, or that misstate the scope (urban vs. rural, past vs. future). Choose the option that accurately describes both what the sentence says and why it’s there.
Hints
Use the sentence before the underlined one
Reread the line just before the underlined sentence: what general idea does it introduce about “other animals”? Think about how the underlined sentence relates to that idea.
Notice key words and numbers
Focus on phrases like “In one case” and “accounted for nearly 30 percent.” Are those phrases more typical of giving an example, criticizing a study, or planning a future study?
Check tense and timing
Pay attention to the verb tense and time words. Is the sentence describing what Santos already found in her study, or something she plans to do? Does it mention a problem in Santos’s methods or in earlier work by others?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks about the function of the underlined sentence—what role it plays in the paragraph, not just what it literally says. So you need to see how this sentence connects to the ideas before it.
Understand the meaning of the underlined sentence
Paraphrase the underlined sentence in your own words: In one inner-city garden Santos studied, nocturnal moths were responsible for almost 30% of tomato pollination. Earlier surveys did not notice this because they were done only during the day, so they didn’t see what happened at night.
Connect the sentence to the surrounding context
Look at the sentence right before the underlined one: “However, the study also indicates that other animals may play an overlooked role.” The underlined sentence then gives more detail about that idea, describing a case where another animal (nocturnal moths) contributed significantly to pollination and explaining why this role had been overlooked (daytime-only surveys). So the sentence supports and illustrates the previous general statement.
Match that role to the answer choices
Now compare this role to the choices:
- It is not arguing against bees being primary pollinators; it simply shows that other animals also contribute, so it is not a counterargument.
- It does not say Santos’s own study is flawed overall; it describes a limitation of previous surveys.
- It clearly reports a result that already happened, not a plan for a future experiment.
- The only choice that fits is: “It provides a specific finding from the study that illustrates how pollination can occur outside daylight hours.” This exactly matches the sentence’s role as a concrete example of nighttime pollination that earlier daytime surveys missed.