Question 86·Medium·Text Structure and Purpose
In the 1880s, city streets were commonly lit by gas-powered lamps that flickered in strong winds, emitted noxious smoke, and required workers to light and extinguish them each night. Seeking a more reliable and cleaner alternative, engineer Charles Brush installed electric arc lamps along Cleveland’s Public Square, demonstrating that electricity could illuminate streets more brightly, steadily, and safely than gas ever had.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
For SAT structure questions, first quickly summarize each sentence or major chunk of the passage in your own words (for example: “Sentence 1 = problem with old method; Sentence 2 = new method that fixes it”). Then look at the answer choices as generic patterns (problem → solution, past → future, debate → resolution, comparison → argument) and eliminate any that mention elements not in the passage, like debates, predictions, or extended timelines. Finally, choose the option whose pattern matches your mini-summaries most closely, without being distracted by attractive-sounding but extra details.
Hints
Focus on the two main sentences
Break the passage into its two sentences. Ask: What is the main job of the first sentence? What is the main job of the second sentence?
Look for the role of the first sentence
In the first sentence, decide whether the author is mainly praising something, criticizing something, explaining how something works, or describing a problem with it.
Look for the role of the second sentence
In the second sentence, pay attention to what Charles Brush does and why. Is this continuing the same idea, opposing it, or responding to it in some way?
Compare your summary to the choices
Once you have a one-line summary of what happens in sentence 1 and a one-line summary of sentence 2, look for the answer choice whose pattern most closely matches your two summaries, without introducing debates, timelines, or arguments that are not in the text.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks for the overall structure of the text. That means you should focus on how the information is organized, not on small details or opinions. Think in terms of patterns like: problem → solution, past → present, comparison, cause → effect, and so on.
Summarize the first part of the passage
Look at the first sentence: it describes city streets in the 1880s with gas-powered lamps. It lists several problems:
- They flickered in strong winds.
- They emitted noxious (harmful, unpleasant) smoke.
- They needed workers to light and extinguish them every night.
So the first part is focused on the downsides or hazards of the existing technology (gas lamps).
Summarize the second part of the passage
Now look at the second sentence: it introduces engineer Charles Brush, who "installed electric arc lamps" as a more reliable and cleaner alternative. It explains that this showed electricity could light streets more brightly, steadily, and safely than gas.
So the second part presents a new approach or solution that addresses the problems mentioned in the first sentence.
Match this pattern to the answer choices
Combine your summaries:
- First: description of problems and dangers with gas lamps.
- Second: introduction of electric lamps that solve or reduce those problems.
This is a problem (hazard) → solution (measure to reduce the hazard) structure. Now compare that to each answer choice and see which one best captures this pattern without adding anything extra that is not in the passage.
Select the answer that matches the problem–solution structure
Only one choice correctly matches the pattern:
Correct Answer: It identifies a hazard associated with a technology and then outlines a measure taken to mitigate that hazard.
The "hazard" is the set of problems with gas lamps (flickering, smoke, labor). The "measure to mitigate" is installing electric arc lamps, which are cleaner, steadier, and safer.