Craft and StructureEasy–MediumOverall structure of a text
Craft and Structure practice question
Many people assume that lightning never strikes the same place twice. In fact, tall structures are struck again and again: the Empire State Building is hit roughly two dozen times a year. Lightning seeks the shortest path to the ground, and a prominent point offers that path every time a storm passes.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
- A. It presents a widely held assumption and then offers evidence and a reason against it.Correct
- B. It describes a series of events in the order in which they occurred.
- C. It compares two competing scientific theories and finds them equally convincing.
- D. It explains a process step by step from beginning to end.
Answer: A. It presents a widely held assumption and then offers evidence and a reason against it.
The first sentence states what 'many people assume'. 'In fact' turns against it, the Empire State Building supplies evidence, and the last sentence explains why the assumption is wrong. That is assumption, then rebuttal.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. It describes a series of events in the order in which they occurred.
- There is no sequence of events here — no 'first this happened, then that'. The text moves from a belief to a correction, not through time.
- C. It compares two competing scientific theories and finds them equally convincing.
- Only one explanation is given (lightning takes the shortest path). The common assumption is dismissed, not weighed as an equal theory.
- D. It explains a process step by step from beginning to end.
- The text explains why something happens, not how to do something or the stages something goes through.
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