An inference question about someone’s main purpose tests whether you can work out why they did something. Read the words before the blank, then find the problem described before the person’s new step. Ask what was this meant to address? and use any reported results to check that link. Predict only what the text supports, because a possible benefit isn't always the main purpose. Wrong choices often supply a believable reason that the text never gives.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look for the problem before the new practice. What does “To address this” point back to?
- Hint 2
After a week, what changed in the students’ behavior? Use that change to check the reason for the new practice.
Step-by-step
Link the problem to the purpose
Step 1Find the problem she wanted to address
Ms. Ruiz’s students returned from recess feeling restless and chatty, and the next sentence begins To address this. What does this point back to? It points to their behavior after recess, so the blank asks for her main reason for trying the new routine, not every possible benefit of reading.
- Step 2
Use the results to predict a purpose
Did the new routine change what happened after recess? The students calmed down more quickly and participated more actively in the lesson that followed. We can connect those results: the quiet start helped them settle down and take part in class. That supports our prediction: she wanted them calmer and ready to learn after recess.
- Step 3
Match the main aim
The words before the blank include primarily to; primarily means mainly. Which choice states our prediction without adding a different goal? The choice with transition calmly describes the move from recess back to learning, which the reading period was meant to help students make. Choice B.