SAT Reading Comprehension: Structure Questions

We've seen that main ideas (Lesson 2) answer "what" the SAT reading passage is talking about, and primary purposes (Lesson 3) answer "why" the passage was written. Structure questions require you to identify "how" the passage is written, or "how" the author arranges her material.

Your task as you read the passage is similar to that of a play-by-play announcer calling a sports game. You need to identify the author’s moves throughout the passage: “She’s narrating an event…she’s asserting an opinion…now she’s developing her idea with further examples…and she makes a conclusion!”

WHAT DO STRUCTURE QUESTIONS LOOK LIKE?

The author develops the paragraph by presenting
The sentences are characterized by
The sentence can best be described as
The passage can primarily be described as
The author's remarks can best be described as
The general organization of the passage is best descibed as
The author's presentation is most like that of

UNDERSTANDING THE ANSWER CHOICES FOR STRUCTURE QUESTIONS

In the real world we might say "I had really good food a couple of weeks ago". In SAT land, however, we would say "I imbibed exquisite delicacies a fortnight ago." So, sadly, we need to translate into SAT language to answer structure questions correctly.

Tell (a story): depict, describe, portray, recount, relate (a story)
Analyze (a topic): evaluate, examine, investigate, scrutinize (a topic)
Give (an example): offer, present, proffer, tender (an example)
Argue For (an opinion): advocate, assert, confirm, defend, endorse, justify (an opinion)
Argue Against (a fact): counter, debunk, denounce, dispel, rebuff, rebut, refute (a fact)
Mention (a source): allude to, cite, invoke, refer to, quote (a source)

SAT Reading: Structure Questions

Lesson Includes:

—Overview of Structure Questions

—What do Structure Questions Look Like?

—Understanding the Answer Choices for Structure Questions

SAT Math

SAT Writing

SAT Reading

SAT Vocabulary