SAT OwlQuestion bank / Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is from a 1909 poem by Clara Wendell.
All summer long the old oak gave
Its shade to all who came;
It asked no thanks of travelers,
And knew no traveler's name.
Now winter strips it to the bone,
And no one stops to stay;
Yet still it stands, as kind as June,
Though no one looks its way.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
The speaker praises travelers for resting beneath the oak and then blames them for abandoning it.
The speaker describes the oak's generosity in summer and then stresses that the oak stays the same even when it is ignored.
The speaker traces the oak's growth from a young tree to an old one.
The speaker contrasts the oak's strength in summer with its weakness in winter.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
The first four lines show the oak giving shade to everyone without asking for thanks. The last four lines move to winter, when no one stops, yet "still it stands, as kind as June." The poem moves from generosity to steady kindness that goes unnoticed, as choice B says.
Choice D is tempting because winter "strips it to the bone," but the line "Yet still it stands" stresses the oak's endurance, not its weakness.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. The speaker never praises the travelers or blames them. The poem focuses on the oak's consistent behavior, not on judging the people who pass by.
- C. The text does not track the tree's growth over time. It compares the oak's role in two different seasons, summer and winter, rather than its age.
- D. The poem does not present the oak as weak in winter. The line stating it still stands shows that the tree remains strong and kind despite the cold.
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