HSPT: Text structure: name what each part does
Learn to describe the job a paragraph, example or comparison does in a passage, such as giving an example, answering an objection or showing a limit, and to tell that job apart from what the part is about.
How do you answer questions like "How does the second paragraph develop the first?"
Short answer
Sum up each paragraph in a few words, then ask how the later part connects to the earlier one. Choose the answer that names that connection with a verb such as applies, contrasts, answers or explains.
Know first: Main idea of a passage, Author's purpose: action words
Step 1 of 5
Every part of a passage has a job
Text structure is how a passage is built. Each paragraph has a job: stating a point, giving an example, describing a problem, offering a solution, comparing two things or answering an objection.
Structure questions ask How does the second paragraph develop the first?, What role does this paragraph play? or Why does the author compare X with Y? The right choice names what the part does, in connection with the rest of the passage.
| Job | What the part does | Signals |
|---|---|---|
| Illustrates or applies | Shows a general point at work in a specific case | for example, imagine, consider |
| Contrasts | Sets one idea against another | however, on the other hand, unlike |
| Answers an objection | Admits a concern, then responds | some argue, it's true that, even so |
| Explains a cause | Tells why something happens | because, as a result, this leads to |
| Qualifies | Limits or narrows a claim | this doesn't mean, only, in some cases |
Step 2 of 5
Label the paragraphs
A short passage
A good recipe tells you more than a list of ingredients1. It explains when each step matters, so a cook can adjust if something goes wrong. Consider bread dough on a cold day2. A recipe that says only "let rise one hour" leaves you stuck, but one that says "let rise until doubled"3 tells you to wait longer when the kitchen is cool.
- The first part's label: a general point.
- Consider signals a specific case.
- The case shows the general point at work.
Worked example: The bread example
Using the passage above: How does the example of bread dough develop the first part of the passage?
- AIt shows that the first point is wrong.
- BIt gives a specific case that shows the first point in action.
- CIt lists the ingredients needed for bread.
- DIt warns that bread cannot be made on cold days.
- 1
Label the first part
A general point: good recipes explain why steps matter.
- 2
Label the example
A specific case: two rising instructions on a cold day.
- 3
Connect them
The example shows the general point at work in a real kitchen problem. That's B.
- 4
See why the other choices are there
A names a job the passage doesn't do; nothing is refuted. C repeats a topic the passage mentions, ingredients, without naming the example's job. D stretches one detail into a warning the passage never gives; the better recipe solves the cold-day problem.
Answer
B. It gives a specific case that shows the first point in action.
Wrong: The bread example is about bread.
Right: The bread example shows the first sentence's point at work.
The first statement names the topic. A structure answer names the job, using a verb like applies, contrasts or answers.
Step 3 of 5
Name the job
Check yourself · Question 1
Many people believe that cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. One doctor tested the idea on himself, cracking the knuckles of only one hand for sixty years. At the end, neither hand had arthritis, and there was no difference between them.
What role does the doctor's test play in the passage?
Answer: B
First label: a common belief. Second label: a test of it. The result shows no difference between the hands, which challenges the belief. B names that job.
Trap answer: It supports the common belief.
Reversed relationship
- Why it looks right
- The test is about the same topic as the belief, so it seems to back it up.
- Why it's wrong
- The test found no arthritis in either hand. That result cuts against the belief.
- The right answer
- It provides evidence against the common belief, which is what the sixty-year result does.
Check yourself · Question 2
A smartphone camera is sometimes compared to a human eye: both have a lens that focuses light. But the comparison breaks down quickly. An eye adjusts constantly and sends signals to a brain that fills in gaps, while a camera records a single frame of exactly what reaches its sensor.
Why does the author compare a camera to an eye?
Answer: C
The author grants one shared feature, the lens, then says the comparison breaks down and lists differences. The comparison is used to show its own limits.
Common mistake
Describing what a paragraph says when the question asks what it does.
- Why it's tempting
- Summarizing the paragraph feels like answering the question.
- Do this instead
- Ask how the part connects to the rest. The answer will use a job verb: applies, contrasts, answers, explains or qualifies.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Label each paragraph with its job, not just its topic.
- Connect the part in the question to the part before it.
- Choose the answer whose verb names that connection.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, what label would you give each paragraph, and how does the second one connect to the first?