SAT OwlQuestion bank / Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is from an 1890 novel by Rosamund Keyes.
Everyone in Hartwell agreed that Dr. Morrow was the finest physician in the county. He had set the mayor's broken arm so cleanly that no trace of the break remained; he had seen the Ellison children through scarlet fever when three other doctors had given them up. And yet, as the town would discover that winter, there was one patient whose illness Dr. Morrow had never been able to diagnose, though he had studied it every day for thirty years: himself.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It describes a doctor's medical training and then his first patients.
It praises a doctor and then argues that he does not deserve his reputation.
It narrates an epidemic in a town and then describes its aftermath.
It establishes a character's reputation for skill and then reveals a problem that his skill has not solved.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D
The first two sentences build up Dr. Morrow's reputation with examples of his success. The last sentence, beginning "And yet," reveals an illness he cannot diagnose: his own. Choice D follows this structure.
Choice B goes too far; the final sentence shows a limit to his skill, not that his reputation is undeserved.
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