by Talal Ali Jan

cracking the
Digital SAT
READING – CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
- Words in Context
- Text Structure and Purpose
#02

TUTORIA Ph: + 92 323 409 6656

599 Q Block, Phase 2, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan Ph: +92 313 716 8949
www.tutoriapakistan.com
 Craft and Structure

Introduction
Operational
Skill/Knowledge
Content Domain Domian Description Question
Testing Points
Distribution

Students will use

comprehension,
vocabulary, analysis,
synthesis, and
reasoning skills and
knowledge to
understand Words in Context
and use high-utility ≈28% / 13-15
Craft and Structure
words Text Structure and questions
and phrases in Purpose
context, evaluate
texts rhetorically, Cross-Text Connections
and make
connections
between topically
related texts.

Students will use

comprehension,
analysis, and Central Ideas and
reasoning skills and Details
knowledge and the
Information and ability to locate, Command of Evidence ≈26% / 12-14
Ideas interpret, evaluate, - Textual questions
and integrate - Quantitative
information and
ideas from texts and Inferences
informational
graphics

SAT with TALAL 1

 Craft and Structure

What are "words in context" questions?

On the Reading and Writing section of your SAT, some questions will ask you to select the most
logical and precise word or phrase in a given context.

• To help us identify the best word in context, we should focus on two things: context and
connotation.
• Use the following strategies to answer words in context questions:
o Plug in your own word and find the answer choice that matches
o Plug each answer choice into the sentence
o Play positive/negative, then plug in
• Avoid unknowns

Q1.
In recommending Bao Phi’s collection Sông I Sing, a librarian noted that pieces by the spoken-word
poet don’t lose their ______ nature when printed: the language has the same pleasant musical
quality on the page as it does when performed by Phi.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) jarring
B) scholarly
C) melodic
D) personal

Q2.
The following text is from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby.

[Jay Gatsby] was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of
movement that is so peculiarly American—that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting work in
youth and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games. This quality was
continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness.

As used in the text, what does the word “quality” most nearly mean?

A) Characteristic
B) Standard
C) Prestige
D) Accomplishment

Q3.
Osage Nation citizen Randy Tinker-Smith produced and directed the ballet Wahzhazhe, which vividly
chronicles Osage history and culture. Telling Osage stories through ballet is _______ choice because
two of the foremost ballet dancers of the twentieth century were Osage: sisters Maria and Marjorie
Tallchief.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) An unpredictable
B) An arbitrary
C) A determined

SAT with TALAL 2

 Craft and Structure
D) A suitable

Q4.
Some foraging models predict that the distance bees travel when foraging will decline as floral
density increases, but biologists Shalene Jha and Claire Kremen showed that bees’ behavior is
inconsistent with this prediction if flowers in dense patches are ________: bees will forage beyond
patches of low species richness to acquire multiple resource types.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) depleted
B) homogenous
C) immature
D) dispersed

Q5.
Biologist Jane Edgeloe and colleagues have located what is believed to be the largest individual plant
in the world in the Shark Bay area of Australia. The plant is a type of seagrass called Posidonia
australis, and it _______ approximately 200 square kilometers.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) acknowledges
B) produces
C) spans
D) advances

Q6.
Business researcher Melanie Brucks and colleagues found that remote video conference meetings
may be less conducive to brainstorming than in-person meetings are. The researchers suspect that
video meeting participants are focused on staring at the speaker on the screen and don’t allow their
eyes or mind to wander as much, which may ultimately _______ creativity.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A) recommend
B) criticize
C) construct
D) impede

Q7.
Math poses difficulties. There's little room for eyewitness testimony, seasoned judgment, a skeptical
eye or transcendental rhetoric.

As used in the text, what does the word “seasoned” most nearly mean?

A) determined
B) tasteful

SAT with TALAL 3

 Craft and Structure
C) experienced
D) objective

Q8.
Around the middle of the 20th century, science dispensed with the fantasy that we could easily
colonize the other planets in our solar system. Science fiction writers absorbed the new reality:
soon, moon and 5 asteroid settings replaced Mars and Venus.

As used in the text, what does the word “dispensed with” most nearly mean?

A) distributed
B) disposed of
C) identified with
D) renewed

Q9.
Until the past few years, physicists agreed that the entire universe is generated from a few
mathematical truths and principles of symmetry, perhaps throwing in a handful of parameters like
the mass of an electron. It seemed that we were closing in on a vision of our universe in which
everything could be calculated, predicted, and understood. However, two theories, eternal inflation
and string theory, now suggest that the same fundamental principles from which the laws of nature
derive may lead to many different self-consistent universes, with many different properties.

As used in the text, what does the word “parameters” most nearly mean?

A) restrictions
B) hypotheses
C) calculations
D) theories

Q10.
Until the past few years, physicists agreed that the entire universe is generated from a few
mathematical truths and principles of symmetry, perhaps throwing in a handful of parameters like
the mass of an electron. It seemed that we were closing in on a vision of our universe in which
everything could be calculated, predicted, and understood. However, two theories, eternal inflation
and string theory, now suggest that the same fundamental principles from which the laws of nature
derive may lead to many different self-consistent universes, with many different properties.

As used in the text, what does the phrase “closing in” most nearly mean?

A) experimenting
B) approaching
C) hypothesizing
D) shutting down

SAT with TALAL 4

 Craft and Structure

Text Structure and Purpose

How should we think about text structure and purpose questions?

Text structure and purpose questions are all about seeing past the surface of a passage. Instead of
just what a text says, these questions dig into why and how the text says it.

Purpose
Purpose is the why behind the passage. Why did the author write it? What did they want to
accomplish? What’s the point?

Structure
Structure is how a passage works to achieve its purpose. How does the text flow from one idea to
the next? Where does the author place particular emphasis?

Q1.
The following text is from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1910 poem “The Earth’s Entail”.

No matter how we cultivate the land,

Taming the forest and the prairie free;
No matter how we irrigate the sand,
Making the desert blossom at command,
We must always leave the borders of the sea;
The immeasureable reaches
Of the windy wave-wet beaches,
The million-mile-long margin of the sea.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) The speaker provides examples of an admirable way of approaching nature and then
challenges that approach.
B) The speaker describes attempts to control nature and then offers a reminder that not all
nature is controllable.
C) The speaker argues against interfering with nature and then gives evidence supporting this
interference.
D) The speaker presents an account of efforts to dominate nature and then cautions that such
efforts are only temporary.

Q2.
In 1973, poet Miguel Algarín started inviting other writers who, like him, were Nuyorican—a term for
New Yorkers of Puerto Rican heritage—to gather in his apartment to present their work. The
gatherings were so well attended that Algarín soon had to rent space in a cafe to accommodate
them. Thus, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe was born. Moving to a permanent location in 1981, the
Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its original scope beyond the written word, hosting art exhibitions
and musical performances as well. Half a century since its inception, it continues to foster emerging
Nuyorican talent.

Which choice best describes the overall purpose of the text?

A) explain what motivated Algarín to found the Nuyorican Poets Café

SAT with TALAL 5

 Craft and Structure
B) To situate the Nuyorican Poets Cafe within the cultural life of New York as a whole
C) To discuss why the Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its scope to include art and music
D) To provide an overview of the founding and mission of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

Q3.
Researchers have found a nearly 164,000-year-old molar from a member of the archaic human
species known as Denisovans in a cave in Laos, suggesting that Denisovans lived in a wider range of
environments than indicated by earlier evidence. Before the discovery, Denisovans were thought to
have lived only at high altitudes in relatively cold climates in what are now Russia and China, but the
discovery of the tooth in Laos suggests that they may have lived at low altitudes in relatively warm
climates in Southeast Asia as well.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A) It defines a term used in the description that follows in the rest of the sentence.
B) It emphasizes the main goal of the research introduced in the previous sentence.
C) It provides context that clarifies the significance of the information that follows in the rest of
the sentence.
D) It dismisses as untrue the research presented in the previous sentence.

Q4.
The 1967 release of Harold Cruse’s book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual isolated him from almost
all other scholars and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement—though many of those
thinkers disagreed with each other, he nonetheless found ways to disagree with them all. He
thought that activists who believed that Black people such as himself should culturally assimilate
were naïve. But he also sharply criticized Black nationalists such as Marcus Garvey who wanted to
establish independent, self-contained Black economies and societies, even though Cruse himself
identified as a Black nationalist.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A) It indicates that Cruse’s reputation as a persistent antagonist of other scholars is

undeserved.
B) It describes a controversy that Cruse’s work caused within the Black nationalist movement.
C) It describes a direction that Cruse felt the Civil Rights Movement ought to take.
D) It helps explain Cruse’s position with respect to the community of civil rights thinkers.

Q5.
Horizontal gene transfer occurs when an organism of one species acquires genetic material from an
organism of another species through nonreproductive means. The genetic material can then be
transferred “vertically” in the second species—that is, through reproductive inheritance. Scientist
Atma Ivancevic and her team have hypothesized infection by invertebrate parasites as a mechanism
of horizontal gene transfer between vertebrate species: while feeding, a parasite could acquire a
gene from one host, then relocate to a host from a different vertebrate species and transfer the
gene to it in turn.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A) It explains why parasites are less susceptible to horizontal gene transfer than their hosts are.
B) It clarifies why some genes are more likely to be transferred horizontally than others are.

SAT with TALAL 6

 Craft and Structure
C) It contrasts how horizontal gene transfer occurs among vertebrates with how it occurs
among Invertebrates.
D) It describes a means by which horizontal gene transfer might occur among vertebrates.

Q6.
The following text is from Srimati Svarna Kumari Devi’s 1894 novel The Fatal Garland (translated by
A. Christina Albers in 1910). Shakti is walking near a riverbank that she visited frequently during her
childhood.

She crossed the woods she knew so well. The trees seemed to extend their branches like welcoming
arms. They greeted her as an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A) It suggests that Shakti feels uncomfortable near the river.

B) It indicates that Shakti has lost her sense of direction in the woods.
C) It emphasizes Shakti’s sense of belonging in the landscape.
D) It conveys Shakti’s appreciation for her long-term friendships.

Q7.
Mathematician Claude Shannon is widely regarded as a foundational figure in information theory.
His most important paper, “A Mathematical Theory of Communication,” published in 1948 when he
was employed at Bell Labs, utilized a concept called a “binary digit” (shortened to “bit”) to measure
the amount of information in any signal and determine the fastest rate at which information could
be transmitted while still being reliably decipherable. Robert Gallagher, one of Shannon’s colleagues,
said that the bit was “[Shannon’s] discovery, and from it the whole communications revolution has
sprung.”

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) It introduces a respected researcher, describes an aspect of his work, and suggests why the
work is historically significant.
B) It names the company where an important mathematician worked, details the
mathematician’s career at the company, and provides an example of the recognition he
received there.
C) It mentions a paper, offers a summary of the paper’s findings, and presents a researcher’s
commentary on the paper.
D) It presents a theoretical concept, illustrates how the name of the concept has changed, and
shows how the name has entered common usage.

Q8.
The following text is adapted from Oscar Wilde’s 1897 nonfiction work De Profundis.

People whose desire is solely for self-realisation never know where they are going. They can’t know.
In one sense of the word it is of course necessary to know oneself: that is the first achievement of
knowledge. But to recognise that the soul of a man is unknowable, is the ultimate achievement of
wisdom. The final mystery is oneself. When one has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured
the steps of the moon, and mapped out the seven heavens star by star, there still remains
oneself. Who can calculate the orbit of his own soul?

SAT with TALAL 7

 Craft and Structure
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?

A) It cautions readers that the text’s directions for how to achieve self-knowledge are hard to
follow.
B) It concedes that the definition of self-knowledge advanced in the text is unpopular.
C) It reinforces the text’s skepticism about the possibility of truly achieving self-knowledge.
D) It speculates that some readers will share the doubts expressed in the text about the value
of self-knowledge.

Q9.
Many films from the early 1900s have been lost. These losses include several films by the first wave
of Black women filmmakers. We know about these lost movies only from small pieces of evidence.
For example, an advertisement for Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome’s documentary Doing Their
Bit still exists. There’s a reference in a magazine to Tressie Souders’s film A Woman’s Error. And
Maria P. Williams’s The Flames of Wrath is mentioned in a letter and a newspaper article, and one
image from the movie was discovered in the 1990s.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) The text discusses several notable individuals, then explains commonly overlooked
differences between those individuals.
B) The text describes a general situation, then illustrates that situation with specific examples.
C) The text identifies a complex problem, then presents examples of unsuccessful attempts to
solve that problem.
D) The text summarizes a debate among researchers, then gives reasons for supporting one
side in that debate.

SAT with TALAL 8

 Craft and Structure

Answers: Words in Context

Ans 1: C
We've never read Bao Phi's poetry, so how are we supposed to know what the poems are like? Well,
luckily we don't have to.

If we look at the second part of the prompt text (the part after the colon), it tells us what Bao Phi's
poems are like: they have a "pleasant musical quality". The most precise word in this context will
emphasize the same positive association with music. "Melodic" also means pleasant and musical, so
it best emphasizes the point being made in context. The answer is (C).

Ans 2: A
Like many words, "quality" can mean different things in different contexts. It can be a noun that
means something like "attribute", but it can also describe how good something is (e.g, "high quality"
vs "low quality"). How is it being used here? "This quality" is phrased in a way that refers back to
something in the previous sentence. In particular, it seems to link to "that resourcefulness of
movement...), which the previous sentence works hard to describe. That whole phrase, in turn, is
being use to characterize the way is behaving. So, "quality" is being used to describe an "attribute"
of how Gatsby is behaving. (A), "characteristic", matches this use.

Ans 3: D
This is the best choice. “Suitable” means “appropriate for a particular purpose”. Since the text
indicates that two of the best ballet dancers of the twentieth century were Osage, we can infer that
the author believes that ballet is a very suitable artform for telling Osage stories.

Ans 4: B
This is the best choice. The text after the colon tells us that bees will travel beyond dense flower
patches that have “low species richness” to find different kinds of flowers. “Homogenous” means “of
the same kind” or “alike”, which fits this context perfectly.

Ans 5: C
This is the best choice. “Spans” means “extends over a distance of” or “encompasses”. Since we’re
talking about the world’s largest plant, it makes sense to say that it “spans” about 200 square
kilometers.

Ans 6: D
This is the best choice. The first sentence tells us that video meetings are “less conducive to”
(meaning less good for) brainstorming. This suggests that the video meeting participants’ focus is
bad for their creativity. “Impede” means “delay” or “prevent”, which works perfectly in this context.

Ans 7: C
This is essentially a straightforward second meanings question since the passage gives very little
context - the second meaning of seasoned is in fact "experienced," which fits with the passage's
meaning: judgment, even experienced judgment, plays no role in math because an answer is always
right or wrong. Determined and tasteful do not fit logically, and objective is exactly the opposite of
the correct idea.

Ans 8: B
The phrase absorbed the new reality indicates that an old reality no longer held true. What was that

SAT with TALAL 9

 Craft and Structure
reality? That other planets in our solar system could easily be colonized. Logically, then, dispensed
must mean something like “got rid of” or "threw out." Disposed of is closest in meaning to those
phrases, so it is correct.

Ans 9: A
The beginning of the sentence states that the entire universe is generated from a few mathematical
truths and principles, and the phrase perhaps throwing in indicates that the word in question must
be related to "truths" or "principles." B) and C) clearly do not fit and can be eliminated. The phrase
like the mass of an electron indicates that the unknown word must be something more specific than
"theories" - the mass of an electron is not a theory. That leaves A), which is correct. Parameters are
limits, and restrictions comes closest to that definition.

Ans 10: B
The beginning of the passage describes how physicists believed they were beginning to understand
how to describe the universe mathematically. Closing in must therefore mean something like
"coming close to." That is the definition of "approaching," so B) is correct.

Answers - Text Structure and Purpose

Ans 1. B
This best describes the overall structure of the text. In the first half of the text, the speaker describes
our attempts to control nature: cultivating, taming, and irrigating different kinds of land. In the
second half, the speaker states that we can never tame the sea or the beach.

Ans 2. D
This is the best choice. The text presents a brief history of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, from how it got
started in the ‘70s, to its expansion in the ‘80s, to its ongoing mission today.

Ans 3. C
This is the best choice. The text describes how a new discovery expands our understanding of
Denisovans. The underlined portion describes what we used to believe about Denisovans, which
helps the reader understand the significance of the discovery of the molar: it suggests that they lived
in more places than we’d previously thought.

Ans 4. D
This is the best choice. The text as a whole claims that Cruse disagreed with virtually all other Civil
Rights scholars and activists. The underlined sentence describes one way that Cruse both did and
didn’t fit in with those thinkers: he criticized Black nationalists, even though he identified as one.

Ans 5. D
This is the best choice. The text defines horizontal gene transfer and then gives one possibility for
how it happens in vertebrates (via infection by parasites). The underlined part describes how that
mechanism could work.

Ans 6. C
This is the best choice. The phrase “welcoming arms” suggests that Shakti feels a sense of belonging
in the woods, as if the trees are hugging her.

Ans 7. A
This is the best choice. The text starts with a general statement that introduces Shannon, then

SAT with TALAL 10

 Craft and Structure
describes a specific contribution from one of his papers, then provides a quote that illustrates just
how important this contribution was.

Ans 8. C
This is the best choice. The text repeatedly claims that true self-knowledge can’t possibly be
achieved, and this rhetorical question emphasizes that point.

Ans 9. B
This is the best choice. The first three sentences describe the general situation: these early films
have been lost, and we only know about them from small pieces of evidence. The rest of the text
offers specific examples of the small pieces of evidence.

SAT with TALAL 11

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TUTORIA Ph: + 92 323 409 6656

Ph: +92 313 716 8949
599 Q Block, Phase 2, Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan
www.tutoriapakistan.com
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