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DSAT R&W Practice Question-Craft and Structure-Text Structure and Purpose-Medium

DSAT R&W Practice Question-Craft and Structure-Text Structure and Purpose-Medium

DSAT R&W Practice Question-Craft and Structure-Text Structure and Purpose-Medium is part of Craft and Structure : This section evaluates skills in understanding advanced academic vocabulary words from the context they are used in, analyzing an author’s rhetorical (persuasive writing) techniques and purpose, and synthesizing key ideas by making connections between multiple related texts on a topic.

Weightage : 20%

Subtopic: Cross-Text Connections

DSAT R&W – Exam Style Practice Questions – All Topics

Question Medium

Text
The following text is from Sarojini Naidu’s 1896 poem “Alabaster.”

Like this alabaster box whose art
is frail as a cassia-flower, is my heart.
Carven with delicate dreams and wrought
With many a subtle and exquisite thought.

Which choice best describes the function of the two underlined portions in the text as a whole?

A) They provide examples, one literal and one figurative, of a change that the speaker describes throughout the text.

B) They indicate potential consequences, one good and one bad, of a decision the speaker considers throughout the text.

C) They describe the subjects, one physical and one abstract, of a comparison that extends throughout the text.

D) They symbolize two outlooks, one analytical and one emotional, that are contrasted throughout the text.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: C

The underlined portions (“alabaster box” and “my heart”) function as:

  • Physical subject: The alabaster box (a tangible object).
  • Abstract subject: The speaker’s heart (an intangible concept).

These form the basis of an extended comparison (the heart’s fragility and artistry likened to the box).

Question Medium

Text
The following text is adapted from George Eliot’s 1857 short story “The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton.” The Countess Czerlaski is a newcomer to the town of Milby.
I am by no means sure that if the good people of Milby had known the truth about the Countess Czerlaski, they would not have been considerably disappointed to find that it was very far from being as bad as they imagined. Nice distinctions are troublesome. It is so much easier to make up your mind that your neighbour is good for nothing, than to enter into all the circumstances that would oblige you to modify that opinion.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A) To offer commentary on a human foible that may account for why the people of Milby view the Countess Czerlaski as they do

B) To elicit the reader’s sympathy for both the people of Milby and the Countess Czerlaski by elaborating on their respective points of view

C) To speculate on the circumstances under which the unfavorable opinion of the Countess Czerlaski that is held by the people of Milby could be improved

D) To illustrate why the Countess Czerlaski rightly earned at least some of the disapproval she has received from the people of Milby

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: A

The text critiques the townspeople’s tendency to judge the Countess harshly without evidence, highlighting a universal human foible (laziness in forming nuanced opinions). Key phrases:

  • “Nice distinctions are troublesome” → Critique of intellectual laziness.
  • “Easier to make up your mind that your neighbour is good for nothing” → Focus on human behavior, not the Countess’s actions (eliminating D) or sympathy (B).

Option C is incorrect because the text does not speculate on future opinion changes.

Question Medium

Text
The following text is from William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, first performed in 1611. Miranda has lived on an island with her father, Prospero, since she was three years old. Prospero has stated that Miranda likely does not remember anything other than her life on the island.

MIRANDA: Tis far off,
And rather like a dream than an assurance
That my remembrance warrants. Had I not
Four or five women once that tended me?

PROSPERO: Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is it
That this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else
In the dark backward and abysm of time?
If thou remember’st ought ere thou camest here,
How thou camest here thou mayst.

Which point does Prospero most directly make about Miranda and her memories?

A) Miranda’s reminiscences about her early childhood have a melancholy quality that betrays her discontented view of her current circumstances.

B) Miranda’s impression of a scene is vague because she is remembering a scenario she had daydreamed about as a child rather than a scenario that had occurred in reality.

C) Miranda’s ability to summon details of an experience she had before arriving on the island suggests that she may also be able to summon details of her arrival on the island.

D) Miranda’s doubts about the accuracy of one recollection of a place other than the island are clouding her judgment and seem to be making her reluctant to explore her recollection of traveling to the island.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: C

Prospero’s statement directly connects Miranda’s ability to recall pre-island memories (“If thou remember’st ought ere thou camest here”) with the potential to remember her arrival (“How thou camest here thou mayst”). This aligns with option C, which highlights the logical progression in her memory recall.

Question Medium

Text
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse is a 2001 novel by Ojibwe writer Louise Erdrich. It explores how historical events affect families on a reservation in rural North Dakota. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse is typical of Erdrich’s work. Her writing usually focuses on portrayals of everyday life in Ojibwe Communities. Yet some of her novels have fantastical plots and take place outside Ojibwe communities. For example, her 1991 novel The Crown of Columbus is essentially adventure fiction, and the thrilling events in its plot are set largely on a Caribbean island.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A) It recommends that readers avoid a particular novel by Erdrich.

B) It lists the many similarities between two novels by Erdrich.

C) It offers an example of a novel that differs from most of Erdrich’s work.

D) It discusses what inspired Erdrich to write one of her novels.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: C

The underlined sentence serves to:

  • Provide concrete evidence for the preceding claim about Erdrich’s atypical novels
  • Show a clear contrast between this adventure novel and her typical Ojibwe community stories
  • Illustrate the range of Erdrich’s literary output

Why C is correct:
It accurately describes how the example demonstrates deviation from Erdrich’s usual themes and settings.

Question Medium

Text
But Kotler and colleagues showed that high moonlight intensity inhibits the activity of the greater Egyptian gerbil (Gerbillus pyramidum), a finding explicable in terms of benefits and costs: greater lunar intensity may not enable the gerbils to increase foraging success enough to offset the higher chance of detection by predatory foxes or owls. Though many other nocturnal mammals respond to lunar intensity variations similarly to greater Egyptian gerbils, Mohol bushbabies (Galago moholi) display the opposite pattern, as their heavy reliance on visual foraging results in a different balance of reward and risk.

Which choice best describes the function of the reference to “heavy reliance on visual foraging” in the text as a whole?

A) It emphasizes an attribute of Mohol bushbabies that enables them to respond to lunar intensity variations more rapidly than greater Egyptian gerbils and many other nocturnal mammals do.

B) It identifies a characteristic of Mohol bushbabies that explains why they do not reduce their activity under high lunar intensity like greater Egyptian gerbils and many other nocturnal mammals do.

C) It describes a behavioral pattern displayed by Mohol bushbabies that is inconsistent with how they would be expected to respond to high lunar intensity based on benefits and costs.

D) It presents a trait of Mohol bushbabies that serves as evidence for the assertion that greater Egyptian gerbils are not the only nocturnal mammals whose activity is inhibited by high lunar intensity.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: B

The reference to “heavy reliance on visual foraging” serves to:

  • Explain the exception to the general pattern (bushbabies’ increased activity under high moonlight)
  • Show how their visual adaptation creates a different cost-benefit calculation (“different balance of reward and risk”)

Why B is correct:
It accurately describes how this trait explains the behavioral difference between bushbabies and other nocturnal mammals.

Question Medium

Text
Mahmoud Reza Hemami and colleagues showed that high moonlight intensity inhibits the activity of the Iranian jerboa (Allactaga firouzi); a result explicable in terms of benefits and costs: greater lunar intensity may not enable the jerboas to increase foraging success enough to offset the higher chance of detection by predatory jackals or owls. Most other nocturnal mammals respond to lunar intensity variations similarly to Iranian jerboas, but Azra’s night monkeys (Jotus azarae) display the opposite pattern, as their heavy reliance on visual foraging results in a different balance of reward and risk.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) It introduces an observation of a behavioral pattern, presents an explanation for the pattern, and then describes an exception to the pattern that casts doubt on that explanation.

B) It discusses two different responses to the same natural phenomenon, explains why one of those responses occurs, and then suggests that the other response still needs to be explained.

C) It presents and explains a study result, indicates that the result is similar to the results of many other studies and then attributes conflicting study result to a difference in that study’s methods.

D) It describes and accounts for a finding, characterizes the finding as representative of a general pattern, and then describes and accounts for an exception to that pattern.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: D

The text follows this three-part structure:

  1. Describes finding: Iranian jerboa’s inhibited activity under high moonlight
  2. Accounts for finding: Cost-benefit explanation (foraging vs. predation risk)
  3. Generalizes and contrasts: Notes this is typical for most nocturnal mammals, then presents/explains night monkeys’ exceptional behavior

Why D is correct:
It accurately captures all three structural elements without misrepresenting relationships between them.

Question Medium

Text
The following text is adapted from Adib Khorram’s 2018 novel Darius the Great Is Not Okay. The narrator, Darius, is a teenager visiting family in Iran. He and his friend Sohrab are at the entrance of the ruins of the ancient city of Persepolis.

“The Gate of All Nations,” Sohrab said. He gestured to the lamassus [sculptures] and pillars surrounding us. “That’s the name in English.” It wasn’t much of a gate anymore, since anyone of any nation could have easily stepped around it instead of walking through. But it was still amazing. Behind the lamassu, more columns sprouted from the ground like ancient trees in a petrified forest, forty feet tall, spindly but still miraculously upright. Giant stone slabs formed the remains of what must once have been a breathtaking structure.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion of the text?

A) It emphasizes the narrator’s interest in the history of Persepolis.

B) It suggests that the narrator would rather be visiting a forest.

C) It indicates the specific time in the past when the buildings became ruins.

D) It presents an image to illustrate what one part of the ruins looks like.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: D

The underlined portion (“Behind the lamassu…petrified forest”) serves primarily to:

  • Create a visual analogy comparing columns to “ancient trees in a petrified forest”
  • Provide concrete details about the ruins’ appearance (height, fragility, arrangement)

Why D is correct:
The simile (“like ancient trees”) and descriptive language (“forty feet tall, spindly”) directly illustrate the physical characteristics of the ruins.

Why others are incorrect:

  • A) Too broad: While the narrator finds the ruins “amazing,” the underlined portion focuses on visual description, not historical interest.
  • B) Misreads the simile: The forest comparison is metaphorical, not a literal preference.
  • C) Incorrect focus: No temporal information is provided about when the ruins formed.

This question tests the ability to analyze how literary descriptions function within narratives.

Question Medium

Text
The following text discusses the career evolution of architect Luis Barragán.

Mexican architect Luis Barragán’s prolific career, which spanned the 1920s to the 1980s, evolved through distinct phases. After traveling to the United States and Europe in the early 1930s and immersing himself in a broader architectural discourse, Barragán shifted his style to incorporate principles of modernism, as seen in the apartment building in Calles Lerma and Guadiana. The project’s unadorned geometric forms, typical of the modernist aesthetic, contrasted with the historically inspired architecture seen in his earlier projects in Guadalajara, such as the Cristo House.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A) It summarizes the career of a particular architect, states how a journey influenced that architect’s career, and then emphasizes how influential that architect’s career has been.

B) It provides a general statement about the career of a particular architect, highlights a transition in that career, and then expounds on the ways that transition is evident in the architect’s work.

C) It explains the design aesthetic of a particular architect, acknowledges the sources of those design choices, and then contrasts that aesthetic with the designs of earlier architects.

D) It presents a general claim about a particular architect’s career, describes the early stages of the architect’s career, and then explains a later shift in that career.

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: B

The text follows a clear three-part structure:

  1. General statement about Barragán’s career evolution (“evolved through distinct phases”)
  2. Transition point (1930s travels leading to modernist shift)
  3. Evidence of change (contrast between Lerma/Guadiana’s modernism vs. Cristo House’s historicism)

Why not other options?

  • A) Incorrect: Never discusses Barragán’s influence on others
  • C) Incorrect: Focuses on his own early vs. later work, not other architects
  • D) Incorrect: Doesn’t detail early stages (only mentions “earlier projects” briefly)

Option B captures all structural elements precisely.

Question Medium

Text
The following text is from Jerome K. Jerome’s 1889 novel Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). The narrator and two friends are taking a boat down the River Thames in England.

In a boat, I have always noticed that it is the fixed idea of each member of the crew that he is doing everything. Harris’s notion was, that it was he alone who had been working, and that both George and I had been imposing upon him. George, on the other hand, ridiculed the idea of Harris’s having done anything more than eat and sleep, and had a cast-iron opinion that it was he—George himself—who had done all the labour worth speaking of.

Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

A) To give an overview of a particular situation that the narrator finds startling

B) To examine how the narrator and his friends each contributed to navigating a challenge

C) To present the narrator’s generalization along with supporting examples from a specific situation

D) To convey the narrator’s confidence that he understands the role expected of him in a group

▶️ Answer/Explanation
Solution

Ans: C

The text begins with the narrator’s general observation about crew members in a boat each believing they are doing all the work. It then provides specific examples of Harris and George’s contrasting perceptions to support this generalization. Option C best captures this structure and purpose.

Question

Archeological excavation of Market Street Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American community in San Jose, California, provided the first evidence that Asian food products were imported to the United States in the 1800s: bones from a freshwater fish species native to Southeast Asia. Jinshanzhuang—Hong Kong–based import/export firms—likely coordinated the fishʼs transport from Chinese-operated fisheries in Vietnam and Malaysia to North American markets. This route reveals the (often overlooked) multinational dimensions of the trade networks linking Chinese diaspora communities.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A. It explains why efforts to determine the country of origin of the items mentioned in the previous sentence remain inconclusive.
B. It provides information that helps support a claim about a discoveryʼs significance that is presented in the following sentence.
C. It traces the steps that were taken to locate and recover the objects that are described in the previous sentence.
D. It outlines a hypothesis that additional evidence discussed in the following sentence casts some doubt on.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans. B

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The underlined sentence provides information about import/export rms, showing how Chinese communities across the world were connected by trade routes.

Choice A is incorrect. The underlined sentence never suggests that the countries of origin of the fish are in question—in fact, it tells us exactly where they came from. Choice C is incorrect. The passage never describes
the steps taken to discover the fish bones described in the previous sentence. Choice D is incorrect. The underlined sentence doesn’t outline a hypothesis but instead provides evidence. And the following sentence
agrees with the underlined sentence, so we could eliminate this choice just for saying that the following sentence “casts some doubt on” the underlined one—partly wrong is all wrong.

Question

Using NASAʼs powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Mercedes López-Morales and colleagues measured the wavelengths of light traveling through the atmosphere of WASP-39b, an exoplanet, or planet
outside our solar system. Different molecules absorb different wavelengths of light, and the wavelength measurements showed the presence of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in WASP-39bʼs atmosphere. This finding not only
offers the first decisive evidence of CO₂ in the atmosphere of an exoplanet but also illustrates the potential for future scientific breakthroughs held by the JWST.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
A. It discusses a method used by some researchers, then states why an alternative method is superior to it.
B. It describes how researchers made a scientific discovery, then explains the importance of that discovery.
C. It outlines the steps taken in a scientific study, then presents a hypothesis based on that study.
D. It examines how a group of scientists reached a conclusion, then shows how other scientists have challenged that conclusion.

▶️Answer/Explanation

Ans. B

Correct Answer: B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text begins by describing how the researchers used the JWST to detect CO₂ in WASP-39b’s atmosphere. Then the text discusses the significance of this finding, both as the first evidence of
CO₂ in an exoplanet’s atmosphere and as an illustration of the JWST’s potential for making new discoveries in general.

Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t compare two different methods, but rather focuses on one study that used the JWST. Choice C is incorrect. The text doesn’t present a hypothesis, but rather reports on the findings of a study. Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t mention any scientists challenging the conclusion reached by López-Morales and colleagues.

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