Question 88·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is adapted from a 1903 magazine essay on steady work.
Great achievements are seldom the offspring of sporadic bursts of effort. They grow instead from the patient accumulation of small habits. A brick laid today seems trivial; a thousand such bricks become a cathedral. And yet how many abandon the work when they cannot see the spire? Who, after all, delights in the scaffolding? We praise the finished arch, but impatience seldom waits to place the final stone.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?
For SAT questions asking about the function or purpose of a specific sentence or phrase, always read a few lines before and after it, then briefly restate in your own words what that part does (for example: gives an example, introduces a contrast, emphasizes a point, adds a warning). Decide whether it’s literal or rhetorical, and how it connects to the passage’s main idea. Only after you’re clear on its role should you look at the answer choices and eliminate any that (1) introduce new topics not supported by the text, (2) exaggerate or reverse the author’s point, or (3) focus on content that isn’t the actual purpose of that specific sentence.
Hints
Check the sentences before and after the question
Read the sentence with the underlined question together with the one before it and the one after it. Ask yourself: what contrast or pattern is the author building?
Decide what kind of question it is
Is the author expecting you to literally answer 'who delights in the scaffolding,' or is this a rhetorical question meant to make a point? Think about how that affects its purpose.
Think about what 'scaffolding' represents
Consider what scaffolding is in real life (temporary support during construction) and how that connects to the bricks, cathedral, and finished arch mentioned around it.
Step-by-step Explanation
Re-read the surrounding sentences for context
Look closely at the lines before and after the underlined question:
- The author talks about great achievements growing from 'the patient accumulation of small habits.'
- A single brick seems trivial, but many bricks become a cathedral.
- After the underlined question, the author says, 'We praise the finished arch, but impatience seldom waits to place the final stone.'
So the paragraph contrasts small, early efforts (one brick, scaffolding, placing the final stone) with the impressive finished result (cathedral, finished arch).
Understand the literal image of 'scaffolding'
Scaffolding is the temporary structure workers stand on while building something. It is:
- Necessary for construction.
- Visible during the work but removed when the building is complete.
- Not usually what people admire; they admire the finished building.
The question 'Who, after all, delights in the scaffolding?' is rhetorical: the author does not expect an actual answer, but suggests that practically no one does.
Connect the image to the author’s main point
The whole passage argues that big results come from steady, often boring effort. The brick, the scaffolding, and the final stone all stand for the process of building something important over time.
By asking who delights in scaffolding right before saying 'We praise the finished arch,' the author highlights that people usually admire the finished product, not the earlier supporting stages that made it possible.
Match that function to the answer choices
Now compare that role to each option:
- A) Says the question emphasizes that the early, unseen stages of progress are not appreciated, which matches the scaffolding image and the contrast with the praised finished arch.
- B) Claims the sentence introduces the idea that scaffolding is more valuable than the final structure, but the text never suggests that; it only notes that people do not delight in scaffolding.
- C) Suggests the author is urging readers to choose a career in architecture, which is far outside the passage’s focus on work habits and progress.
- D) Says it changes the topic to building aesthetics, but the topic stays on the same idea of slow, diligent work versus admiration for the final result.
The only choice that correctly describes the function of the underlined question in the passage is A) It emphasizes the author’s point that the early, unseen stages of progress often go unappreciated.