Question 73·Medium·Text Structure and Purpose
Every ledger has two sides, and ours, at the botanical garden, was badly out of balance. Before we tally expenses, we must account for what cannot be counted. The month of June had yielded a terrace of bees, whose work stitched our lilies to the air. Volunteers had given Saturdays in handfuls, carrying compost that steamed like breath. No line item noted the child who learned to say "milkweed" and meant it.
Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
For SAT questions about the function of a sentence, read at least one sentence before and after the underlined part. Decide what job the underlined sentence is doing (introducing an example, shifting topics, contrasting ideas, summarizing, or concluding), then verify that job by checking what the surrounding sentences actually discuss. Eliminate choices that claim a function that doesn’t fit the placement (for example, a "conclusion" followed by more development) or the content (for example, "calculations" when no numbers appear).
Hints
Look at what comes just before
Focus on the first sentence: it talks about a "ledger," "two sides," and being "badly out of balance." What kind of topic does that suggest?
Pay close attention to the contrast inside the underlined sentence
In the underlined sentence, notice the phrases "tally expenses" and "what cannot be counted." How do those two ideas contrast?
Now read what comes after the underlined sentence
The next sentences mention bees, volunteers, and a child learning a word. Are these numbers and calculations, or a different kind of value? How do they connect back to "what cannot be counted"?
Think about structure, not just meaning
Ask yourself: is the underlined sentence mainly summarizing previous information, introducing a new kind of information, correcting something, or wrapping up the whole passage?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the underlined sentence says
Reread the underlined sentence: "Before we tally expenses, we must account for what cannot be counted." It mentions tallying expenses (a numbers-and-bookkeeping idea) and contrasts that with "what cannot be counted" (things that are valuable but not numerical). This signals a move away from purely measurable costs.
Connect it to the sentence before
The first sentence says the garden’s ledger "was badly out of balance," which sets up the language of accounting and costs. The underlined sentence continues that bookkeeping frame ("tally expenses") but redirects attention to a different kind of value that doesn’t appear on a ledger.
Check what the sentences after actually do
The next sentences describe bees’ work, volunteers’ time, and a child learning a word. These are not calculations or budget figures; they are benefits and meanings that don’t fit neatly into a financial tally. That matches the idea of "what cannot be counted."
Choose the option that matches this structural role
The underlined sentence is not setting up computations of a deficit (so the first option is wrong), not denying the ledger is out of balance (second option is wrong), and not acting as a final conclusion since examples follow (third option is wrong). The best match is: It pivots from financial bookkeeping to the garden’s immeasurable benefits, introducing the examples that follow.