Question 83·Medium·Central Ideas and Details
The following text is adapted from a 2022 magazine article about urban agriculture in Brookville.
City officials once dismissed rooftop gardening as an impractical novelty. Yet in less than a decade, the number of vegetated roofs in Brookville has tripled, and the city’s planning department now offers tax incentives to building owners who install them. The shift is partly economic; landlords have discovered that herbs and lettuces grown overhead can be sold at a premium to nearby restaurants. But it is also cultural. Tenants relish having a patch of green to visit during lunch, and the city council enjoys pointing to the gardens as proof of its environmental commitment.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
For SAT main-idea questions, first read the entire passage or paragraph, then briefly sum it up in your own words before looking at the choices. Focus on what happens overall (especially any changes over time and the main reasons or explanations given), and then pick the answer that matches that summary. Eliminate choices that contradict the passage, rely on a single detail, use extreme language like “only,” or introduce ideas not mentioned in the text; the correct answer will be broad enough to cover the whole passage but not add anything new.
Hints
Focus on the overall story, not one detail
Ask yourself: If you had to explain this paragraph in one or two sentences to a friend, what would you say it’s mainly about?
Notice the change over time
Look at how city officials felt about rooftop gardening at first compared to now. How has their attitude and the situation in the city changed?
Look for reasons the author gives
The author describes a “shift” and then explains it is “partly” one thing and “also” another. What two types of reasons are given for the growth of rooftop gardens?
Beware of extreme or new claims
Eliminate answer choices that say something is the only reason or that bring in topics (like harm to outside farmers) that the passage never mentions.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the task
The question asks for the main idea of the text. That means you need a choice that summarizes what the whole passage is mostly about, not a minor detail or something the author never mentions.
Summarize the passage in your own words
Read the passage and restate it simply:
- At first, city officials thought rooftop gardens were impractical.
- Now, rooftop gardens have become much more common, and the city even offers tax incentives.
- The change has economic reasons (landlords can sell produce at high prices) and cultural or social reasons (tenants like green spaces; the city council likes the environmental image).
Extract the key elements of that summary
From that quick summary, notice the main elements:
- There has been a rapid increase in rooftop gardens.
- The author explains why: both economic reasons (profit, tax incentives) and cultural/image reasons (tenants’ enjoyment, council’s environmental reputation). Any correct answer must reflect both the expansion of rooftop gardens and the dual types of motivations behind it.
Compare each answer choice to the passage
Now test each option against the passage:
- Ask: Does it match the change over time (from dismissed to popular)?
- Ask: Does it match the reasons given (economic and cultural)?
- Eliminate choices that contradict the text or add information that’s not there. When you do this, only one option correctly reflects the rapid spread of rooftop gardens and the fact that the passage attributes this growth to both economic and cultural motivations: Choice B) The rapid spread of rooftop gardens in Brookville reflects both economic and cultural motivations.