Function of a Word or Phrase
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SAT Reading & Writing › Function of a Word or Phrase
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
In discussions of remote work, productivity is often treated as the only meaningful outcome, but organizational researchers also track mentorship and skill transfer. When employees rarely share informal spaces, newcomers lose chances to observe how experienced colleagues solve problems in real time. Surveys of early-career workers in fully remote roles report slower growth in professional networks than peers in hybrid settings. Still, remote arrangements can broaden access to jobs for people with disabilities or caregiving responsibilities. A balanced policy therefore tries to preserve flexibility while intentionally creating structured opportunities for learning.
Offers a counterargument to remote work
Introduces the topic of research
Provides a causal explanation
Draws a policy recommendation
Explanation
The underlined sentence provides a causal explanation by illustrating why remote work might hinder mentorship and skill transfer through the loss of informal observation opportunities. It follows the introduction of mentorship as a key outcome beyond productivity and precedes survey evidence of slower network growth in remote settings, thus bridging the general topic to specific evidence before acknowledging benefits and recommending balance. This logical progression shifts from broad discussion to causal detail to data, then to nuance. Choice C is a common distractor as it misreads the sentence as opposing remote work entirely, but it explains a drawback causally rather than countering the concept outright, with positives noted later. In function questions, watch for scope: explaining a cause is different from introducing a topic or drawing recommendations.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
Researchers studying microplastics in oceans initially focused on large debris, but smaller particles may have different ecological effects. Because microplastics can be ingested by plankton, they may enter food webs at their base and move upward to larger predators. Laboratory feeding trials have documented microplastic uptake in several plankton species under controlled conditions. Still, translating lab results to open-ocean ecosystems is challenging because particle types and concentrations vary widely. Future work will need coordinated sampling methods to estimate exposure more reliably.
Introduces the topic of debris
Acknowledges a research limitation
Provides laboratory evidence
Explains a potential pathway of impact
Explanation
The underlined sentence explains a potential pathway of impact by describing how microplastics enter food webs via plankton ingestion. It follows the shift to smaller particles' effects and precedes laboratory evidence, leading to translation challenges and future needs. This creates a flow from focus to pathway explanation to data to limitations. Choice C is a distractor as lab evidence follows, but the underlined sentence explains the pathway rather than providing the evidence itself. In function questions, watch for potentiality words like 'can be' and 'may enter' to recognize pathway explanations.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
In music theory, listeners often describe certain chord progressions as “resolving,” but the sensation depends on learned expectations. In tonal traditions, the dominant chord creates tension partly because it contains notes that strongly suggest a return to the tonic. Analyses of classical compositions show composers repeatedly exploiting this pull to shape phrases and cadences. Yet in genres that avoid functional harmony, similar sonorities may not produce the same feeling of closure. This contrast indicates that resolution is not purely acoustic but also cultural and historical.
Introduces a contrasting genre case
Draws a concluding generalization
Explains the source of a perception
Provides evidence from compositions
Explanation
The underlined sentence explains the source of a perception by detailing how dominant chords create tension suggesting tonic return in tonal traditions. It follows the description of 'resolving' as learned and precedes analyses of compositions, leading to genre contrasts and cultural indications. This progression moves from perception to source explanation to evidence to contrasts. Choice B might distract as compositions are mentioned next, but the underlined sentence explains the source rather than providing the evidence. In function questions, identify sources with phrases like 'creates tension partly because' to spot explanatory roles.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
Political scientists studying voter turnout often highlight individual motivation, but institutional design also matters. Automatic voter registration can increase participation by reducing the time and paperwork required to get on the rolls. Comparing jurisdictions that adopted the policy with similar ones that did not, researchers frequently find modest but consistent turnout gains. However, the effect can be smaller when elections are not competitive or when voters distrust government. Turnout, then, reflects both administrative barriers and broader political context.
Qualifies the policy’s effects
Provides comparative evidence
Explains how a policy could work
Introduces the research topic
Explanation
The underlined sentence explains how a policy could work by describing how automatic registration reduces barriers to increase turnout. It follows the emphasis on institutional design and precedes comparative research evidence, leading to qualifications about effects and broader context. This flow bridges from topic to mechanism to data to nuance. Choice D is tempting as qualifications follow, but the underlined sentence explains positively rather than qualifying effects. In function questions, look for explanatory language like 'by reducing' to identify policy mechanisms.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
Philosophers of science distinguish between precision and accuracy, terms that are often conflated in everyday speech. A measurement can be precise if repeated readings agree closely, even if they are all offset from the true value. Laboratory examples include a miscalibrated scale that yields nearly identical weights each time. In contrast, a set of noisy measurements might average near the true value while varying widely from trial to trial. Keeping the distinction clear helps researchers diagnose whether to improve instruments or reduce random error.
Provides a specific laboratory example
Draws a practical implication
Introduces a contrasting concept
Clarifies a concept through definition
Explanation
The underlined sentence clarifies a concept through definition by explaining precision as close agreement in readings, even if inaccurate. It follows the distinction between precision and accuracy and precedes laboratory examples, contrasting with noisy but accurate measurements and implications. This builds from distinction to definition to illustration to application. Choice B might seem fitting due to the scale example, but the underlined sentence defines generally before specific examples. In function questions, note how definitions use 'can be' to clarify concepts before examples.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
In evolutionary biology, cooperation can seem puzzling because natural selection favors individual advantage. Kin selection theory proposes that helping relatives can indirectly spread an individual’s genes when the recipients share those genes. Observations of alarm calling in certain ground squirrels align with this idea: callers are more likely to warn when close kin are nearby. Still, cooperation also occurs among nonrelatives, which requires additional explanations such as reciprocity. A full account of cooperation therefore combines multiple mechanisms rather than relying on one alone.
Provides an observational example
Draws a concluding synthesis
Acknowledges a competing phenomenon
Introduces a theoretical explanation
Explanation
The underlined sentence introduces a theoretical explanation by proposing kin selection as a reason for cooperation via indirect gene spread. It follows the puzzle of cooperation and precedes observational examples aligning with it, leading to nonrelative cases and combined mechanisms. This logical flow moves from puzzle to theory to evidence to expansions. Choice B is a distractor as examples come after, but the underlined sentence introduces the theory rather than providing examples. In function questions, watch for phrases like 'theory proposes' that signal introductions of explanations.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
Sociolinguists note that “standard” language forms are often treated as neutral, even though they are historically tied to power. When schools penalize dialect features common in marginalized communities, they can unintentionally signal that students’ home identities are deficient. Interviews with students frequently report feelings of alienation when correction is framed as moral failure rather than as code-switching practice. At the same time, teaching standard forms can expand access to higher education and certain professions. The key is to present linguistic variation as resourceful rather than as error.
Provides interview-based evidence
Introduces the topic of neutrality
Offers a concluding recommendation
Explains a harmful consequence of a practice
Explanation
The underlined sentence explains a harmful consequence of a practice by detailing how penalizing dialects can signal deficiency and cause alienation. It follows the note on standard language's ties to power and precedes interview evidence, leading to benefits of teaching standards and recommendations for presentation. This creates a flow from observation to consequence to evidence to balance. Choice C might tempt as interviews follow, but the underlined sentence explains the consequence rather than providing the evidence itself. In function questions, focus on whether the sentence describes 'what happens' as a result, indicating consequences.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
In computer security, strong encryption is sometimes portrayed as a complete solution to privacy risks, but systems fail in other ways. If users reuse passwords or fall for phishing messages, attackers can access accounts without breaking encryption at all. Case studies of major breaches often show that the initial entry point was social engineering rather than cryptographic weakness. Nonetheless, encryption remains essential for protecting data in transit and at rest. A realistic security strategy therefore pairs technical safeguards with user training and careful interface design.
Provides a counterexample to a claim
Draws a final recommendation
Defines a key technical term
Summarizes evidence from case studies
Explanation
The underlined sentence provides a counterexample to a claim by showing how privacy fails without breaking encryption, via passwords or phishing. It follows the portrayal of encryption as complete and precedes case studies, leading to encryption's importance and paired strategies. This flow critiques the claim with counterexamples before balancing. Choice A is marked, but upon verification, the sentence counters the 'complete solution' idea by exemplifying non-encryption failures, fitting 'provides a counterexample' more precisely than 'scientific evidence,' as it's not strictly scientific but illustrative; however, the marked A aligns if broadly interpreted, but my reasoning sees it as counterexample. Wait, marked is A, but choices start with A as 'Provides a counterexample to a claim'—no, in the question, A is 'Provides a counterexample to a claim', yes, marked A.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
Archaeologists once assumed that ancient households were economically self-sufficient, producing most of what they consumed. Residue analysis on pottery, however, has revealed traces of imported oils and resins in sites far from their natural sources. These findings suggest that even small communities participated in exchange networks. Still, imports may have been occasional luxuries rather than everyday staples. The broader picture, then, is not complete dependence on trade but a spectrum of household strategies.
Provides scientific evidence challenging an assumption
Qualifies a conclusion about trade
Introduces the traditional viewpoint
Draws an overall synthesis
Explanation
The underlined sentence provides scientific evidence challenging an assumption by revealing imported residues, countering self-sufficiency views. It follows the old assumption and precedes suggestions of exchange participation, leading to qualifications about imports' role and a spectrum view. This progression moves from assumption to challenging evidence to implications to nuance. Choice B might distract as it echoes the traditional view, but the underlined sentence challenges it evidentially rather than introducing it, which is done earlier. In function questions, identify evidence that 'challenges' or 'complicates' prior ideas in the passage.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?
In debates about standardized testing, critics often focus on fairness, while supporters emphasize comparability across schools. Yet test scores can reflect differences in access to tutoring and stable study time, not just differences in learning. Analyses that control for household income frequently find that score gaps shrink but do not disappear. To be sure, well-designed assessments can still identify curricular weaknesses at the system level. The policy challenge is to use tests diagnostically without treating them as pure measures of merit.
States the debate’s two sides
Introduces a complicating consideration
Draws a final policy conclusion
Provides statistical evidence for a claim
Explanation
The underlined sentence introduces a complicating consideration by highlighting how test scores reflect access differences, not just learning. It follows the debate's sides and precedes analyses controlling for income, building to positives and policy challenges. This flow shifts from positions to complication to evidence to balance. Choice C is tempting as it mentions debate sides, but the underlined sentence complicates rather than states them, with the opening sentence introducing the debate. In function questions, look for transitions like 'yet' that signal complications or shifts in focus.