16Hit1600
Craft and StructureVery hardPurpose of a passage that reframes a failure

Craft and Structure practice question

The expedition never reached the pole, and its leader has been remembered as a failure. But the party's daily measurements of ice thickness, taken with numb hands over four months, are the only such record from that decade, and they have proved more useful to science than the pole itself would have been.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

  1. A. To argue that the expedition's scientific record outweighs its failure to reach the pole.Correct
  2. B. To describe the route the expedition took.
  3. C. To explain why the expedition failed.
  4. D. To criticise the leader's decisions.

Answer: A. To argue that the expedition's scientific record outweighs its failure to reach the pole.

Failure conceded; a greater value asserted.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. To describe the route the expedition took.
No route.
C. To explain why the expedition failed.
No cause of failure is given.
D. To criticise the leader's decisions.
The leader is defended, not criticised.

More Craft and Structure questions

Not affiliated with the College Board. SAT is a trademark of the College Board.