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Craft and StructureEasyText structure and purpose (function of a sentence within the text)

Craft and Structure practice question

Many people assume that all deserts are blazing hot. In fact, the largest desert on Earth is Antarctica. Deserts are classified not by temperature but by precipitation: any region that receives less than about ten inches of rain or snow per year counts as a desert. Antarctica's frozen interior receives roughly two inches a year, easily meeting that standard.

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

  1. A. It introduces a widely held assumption that the rest of the text goes on to correct.Correct
  2. B. It provides the scientific definition of "desert" that the text later applies to Antarctica.
  3. C. It states the conclusion that the evidence in the rest of the text is offered to support.
  4. D. It describes a recent discovery made by researchers working in Antarctica.

Answer: A. It introduces a widely held assumption that the rest of the text goes on to correct.

The first sentence reports what "many people assume," and the next sentence begins "In fact," signaling that the text is about to correct that assumption by showing that a frigid place qualifies as a desert. (B) confuses the first sentence with the third sentence, which actually supplies the precipitation-based definition. (C) reverses the text's logic: the assumption in sentence 1 is what the evidence refutes, not what it supports. (D) misreads the passage as reporting new research; the text offers an established classification standard, and no discovery or researchers are mentioned.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It provides the scientific definition of "desert" that the text later applies to Antarctica.
You matched the function to the wrong sentence — the precipitation-based definition appears in the third sentence, while the first sentence only reports what "many people assume."
C. It states the conclusion that the evidence in the rest of the text is offered to support.
This reverses the text's logic: the assumption in sentence 1 is what the evidence refutes (note the "In fact" that follows), not what it supports.
D. It describes a recent discovery made by researchers working in Antarctica.
Nothing in the text presents new research or researchers — the ten-inch precipitation standard is an established classification rule, not a recent discovery.

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