Question 175·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure
When two editions of the anonymously published 1794 novel "The Glass Orchard" were found to contain substantial wording differences, scholars commonly treated the later edition as an author’s revision. Leila Moreno notes, however, that the later edition could instead descend from a printer’s working copy that typesetters had modified. For Moreno, therefore, the important question is not simply whether the editions differ but whether their differences bear the irregular signature of copying or the consistent pattern expected of deliberate revision. Her comparison found that changes in the opening chapters were scattered and often produced awkward repetitions, whereas changes in the closing chapters consistently compressed descriptive passages without disturbing the syntax. Moreno attributed the first group to printing-house intervention but judged the second compatible with authorial revision.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
For a function question, determine what the underlined text does in relation to the sentences before and after it. Pay special attention to whether it introduces evidence, states a conclusion, acknowledges a limitation, or establishes a framework that later details apply. Then reject choices that accurately mention the topic but misstate the sentence’s role or scope.
Hints
Consider placement
Notice that the underlined sentence appears after an alternative explanation is introduced but before Moreno’s findings are presented.
Trace the contrast
Identify the two kinds of patterns described in the underlined sentence, then look for those patterns in the following sentences.
Distinguish framework from conclusion
Ask whether the underlined sentence reports what Moreno found or provides a way to interpret what she later reports.
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the sentence in the argument
The sentence follows Moreno’s introduction of an alternative to the usual authorial-revision explanation and precedes the evidence from her comparison.
Identify the distinction
The sentence contrasts the irregular pattern expected from copying with the consistent pattern expected from deliberate revision.
Connect the distinction to the evidence
The following sentences apply this contrast: scattered, awkward changes are attributed to printing-house intervention, while consistent, syntactically sound changes are considered compatible with authorial revision. Thus, the underlined sentence establishes the analytical framework for interpreting the evidence.