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Introduction
Purpose Test
Reading

Step 1 Reading
Purpose Strategy back to top
Step 2 Reading

Vocabulary Test
Purpose questions have two classes.
Detail Test

Negative Detail Test Type one

Inference Test

Pronoun Test It asks you why the author mentions or states a word, phrase, or sentence in the reading.
Plug-in Test
These are the more common ones that follow strategy well and tend to be easier. Here’s

Paraphrase Test
an example.

Purpose Test
Why does the passage mention in paragraph 5 the fact that the exact extent of
Summary Test
groundwater resources is still unknown?
Improve Again

Step 3 Reading Here’s the idea behind the strategy. In standard, academic writing in English, there
Bonus Reading stands a very strong structure. Titles provide the topic of the entire reading. Paragraphs
Listening are groups of sentence that develop one piece of information or idea. How do they

Speaking
develop these ideas? The first sentence represents the topic sentence that outlines the
focus of the paragraph. Every sentence after it continues the idea by providing more
Writing
detail. In other words, every sentence continues the idea before it. That’s why are strategy
Vocabulary
is as follows.

1) Read the question to understand what you’re being asked

2) Identify the key words.
3) Read the appropriate paragraph and find those key words or synonyms of
them.
4) Read the sentence and understand that the purpose of the statement in the
question was to explain the content of that sentence.
For example, the question will ask, “Why does the author mention apples?”
You look for apples in the reading. Find it and then read the sentence before
and say to yourself, “the reason the author mentioned apples was to explain
the content in this sentence before.”
5) Look for any adverbs that will help you to identify the relationship between
your key words and the content before it.
Continuing our example with apples. If between the two sentences, we have
the adverb “however.” The purpose of the author’s words was to contrast the
information in the sentence before.
6) Now, choose an answer choice that reflects the information in the sentence
before.

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Type two

It asks you to identify the purpose of a paragraph. These are difficult, but this strategy
will help you to attack them.

1) Read the first sentence of the paragraph and choose an answer that reflects that
information.
2) If that doesn’t give you an answer, read the last sentence of the paragraph as
well to further identify the focus of the paragraph and then choose an answer that
fits.
3) If that doesn’t give you an answer, read the last sentence of the previous
paragraph. It may function as a transition sentence giving you a clue as to what your
paragraph is about.
4) If that doesn’t work, understand the idea of the entire passage and find how
your paragraph fits with it. Then, choose an answer that reflects your
understanding.

This question can be either very easy or very tough depending on how many steps you
have to go down in our strategy. Do your best with it.

Reading Practice back to top

Cave Paintings in Lascaux

The Lascaux Grotto, in Southwest France, is a series of narrow cave chambers that was
discovered by children playing in the 1940s. ❒ These caves contained an amazing find for
historians – prehistoric paintings of animals on the walls. ❒ These massive animals are
sometimes portrayed as following one after another in a long line, but on other occasions, they
are sideways on the wall and some even upside down. Paintings are mostly done in reds,
yellow, and brown, and feature such beasts as wild horses, bulls, reindeer, bison, and
mammoths. ❒ Scientists analyzed the substance of the “paint” and discovered that the colors
came from ocher and other iron oxides that had been ground into a fine powder. ❒ This
powder then appears to have been brushed or smeared onto the cave walls in some cases, while
in other cases the artists of these paintings seem to have blown or sprayed the material onto the
rock surface. In these cases, scientists surmise that tubes made from hollow bone may have
been used as tools for the spraying because hollow bones marked with pigment were
discovered close by.

The location of these particular paintings has become a source of mystery to the scientific
community. ❒ Unlike rock paintings found in other parts of the world, these were not located
near the entrance to the cave or completely out in the open. ❒ Instead, they are deep within
the caverns, quite a distance from the opening to the grotto and any natural light. ❒ In
addition, it seems likely that the drawers of these paintings did not necessarily want them to be
seen by others, as inhabitants of caves usually lived relatively close to the entrances. ❒ The odd

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location of these particular paintings has led to various theories as to why so many generations
of artists chose to keep their work so well hidden.

❒ Three opinions have been given by the scientific community as to the perplexing origins and
meaning of these paintings. ❒ The most straightforward of these explanations is that the
paintings are simply a record of the migrations of herds of local animals. ❒ And since some
paintings are drawn directly over others, scientists theorize that the utility of each painting was
over when the migration it depicted had ended. ❒ However, this theory fails to address the
puzzling location of these paintings within the caves, unless it was simply that the cave dwellers
chose to commemorate the migrations with ceremonies held in secret.

A second theory holds that these paintings were tied to hunting and they played a vital role in a
special preparation ceremony for the hunters. ❒ The theory states that the paintings were part
of a ritual used to prepare the hunters psychologically for the challenges they were about to
face. ❒ The fact that in several of the paintings the animals are portrayed as wounded by
arrows or spears gives particular credence to this theory. ❒ And the overpainting is explained
by the fact that the hunters had no use for the paintings after the hunt itself, and thus felt free
to cover them up in preparation for their next foray into the field. ❒

A third opinion on the paintings offers the possibility that the animals portrayed on the walls
may have assumed some sort of mythical meaning to the cave dwellers, either as ancient
ancestors or as protectors of the members of the tribe. Supporters of this theory point to two
different pieces of evidence. First, there are the strange and cryptic geometric shapes painted
near the animals. Second, there is the remarkable absence of men in any of the paintings. In the
few cases that humans are depicted, they are very crudely drawn with long and rigid bodies.
❒Some of the men are shown lying face down while others have the heads of birds and other
animals. ❒This suggests to advocates of the theory that the people in the picture might be
portrayed in a trance state. ❒However, there is no definitive proof for this theory and it could
just as easily be that these bird-headed men are simply wearing masks for hunting.❒

While these theories continue to compete for primacy in the scientific community, and there is
still heavy debate. It is possible that there will never be a satisfactory answer to this intriguing
question. However, it is clear that the Lascaux paintings represent a great artistic achievement
for the time that will continue to engage researchers, whatever their significance may be.

1. In paragraph 1, why does the author mention the fact that pigment was found inside the
hollow bones?
a. To provide evidence that the colors came from ocher
b. To illustrate how the spraying process worked
c. To explain why scientists reached their conclusion
d. To emphasize the importance of pigment to the artistic process

2. In paragraph 2, why does the author mention the locations of other rock paintings?
a. To contrast these paintings with those found in Lascaux.
b. To show how the Lascaux paintings represented an artistic advance.
c. To illustrate the critical part natural light played in the paintings in Lascaux.

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d. To explain why scientists are unable to decipher the paintings

3. In paragraph 5, why does the writer mention the unusual geometric shapes on the walls?
a. To illustrate a point the author is making about the quality of the drawings
b. To show how these drawings were inferior to the those of the animals
c. To give evidence that the drawings had a mythical significance to the cave dwellers.
d. To give an example of a type of drawing found outside the cave.

Power Review back to top

Don’t forget that it’s all about your comprehension, vocabulary, and strategy. Strategy is the
easiest to control, so memorize the steps and attack them diligently on your exam.

1) Read the question to understand what you’re being asked

2) Identify the key words.
3) Read the appropriate paragraph and find those key words or synonyms of them.
4) Read the sentence and understand that the purpose of the statement in the question
was to explain the content of the information immediately preceding the key words.
For example, the question will ask, “Why does the author mention apples?” You
look for apples in the reading. Find it and then read the sentence before and say to
yourself, “the reason the author mentioned apples was to explain the content in this
sentence before.”
5) Look for any adverbs that will help you to identify the relationship between your key
words and the content before it. If you don’t find any, then you know the purpose of the
content was simply to explain the information that came before.
Continuing our example with apples. If between the two sentences, we have the
adverb “however.” The purpose of the author’s words was to contrast the
information in the sentence before.
6) Now, choose an answer choice that reflects the information in the sentence before.

Question 1

This is a purpose question. We know this because it asks us why the author stated,
mentioned, or said something. We remember our strategy and follow it.

1) First, we identify the question and the keywords within it: why does the
author mention the fact that pigment was found inside the hollow
bones. We know that mentioning pigment inside hollow bone had a purpose.
Usually the purpose will fall into one of the following: explain, support, or oppose.
2) Our key words: pigment, inside, hollow bones.
3) We see all of our keywords in the last sentence: In these cases, scientists
surmise that tubes made from hollow bone may have been used as tools for the
spraying because hollow bones marked with pigment were discovered close by.
4) Our sentence refers to the sentence before because of the pronoun: these. We
know that the sentence before refers to one method that paint may have been

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placed on the wall. The sentence with our key words further explains this by adding
support for the theory.
5) We read that the hollow bones were marked with pigment, and an
important word is before this sentence: because. Immediately, we should see that
the purpose of the author mentioning hollow bones marked with pigment was
to give a reason for something. A reason for what? We read the information before
our keywords: In these cases, scientists surmise that tubes made from
hollow bone may have been used as tools for the spraying because hollow
bones marked with pigment were discovered close by. Our information gives reason
or support to the scientists surmising (which means inferring) an idea. We have our
answer.
6) We look at the answer choices. A is a bad choice because we read nothing about
ocher. We should not have chosen A. B doesn’t say what we want it to. B is wrong.
C looks good because we know that surmise means to infer from our previous
vocabulary question and it is also a synonym of reached a conclusion. D is not a
bad choice because it uses the keywords in our sentence, but we know that
because means reason and not emphasis. C is our answer.

Question 2

This is a purpose question. We know this because it asks us why the author stated,
mentioned, or said something. We remember our strategy and follow it.

1) First, we identify the question and the keywords within it: why does the
author mention the locations of other rock paintings. We know that the
purpose of this is likely to explain, oppose, or support something.
2) Our key words: locations, other rock paintings.
3) We learn about other rock paintings in the second sentence: unlike rock
paintings found in other parts of the world, these were not located near the
entrance to the cave or completely out in the open.
4) In this sentence, we are comparing two things: rock paintings in Lascaux
(referenced by the word these) and rock paintings found in other parts of the
world.
5) We have an adverb that gives us the context that this sentence: unlike. Unlike
means different from. This information about other rock paintings is used to
contrast or oppose information in the reading. We know that its contrasting the
paintings in Lascaux from our analysis in step 3.
6) The only answer choice that works is A. Unlike does not mean show, illustrate,
or explain. As a result, answer choices B, C, and D are incorrect.

This was a clear and easy question. We need to have chosen A. If not, let’s review strategy
again.

Question 3

This is a purpose question. We know this because it asks us why the author stated,

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mentioned, or said something. We remember our strategy and follow it.

1) First, we identify the question and the keywords within it: why does the
writer mention the unusual geometric shapes on the walls. We know that
this information was likely used to explain, support, or oppose something
mentioned before.
2) Our key words: unusual geometric shapes, walls.
3) We find these key words in the third sentence of the paragraph: first, there
are the strange and cryptic geometric shapes painted near the animals.
We have our key words repeated exactly in a short sentence.
4) We see the adverb first and know that this information is the first of the series
of facts that are likely meant to explain, oppose, or support something. By reading
the sentence before: supporters of this theory point to two different pieces
of evidence, we learn that this is the first piece of evidence that supports a theory.
We read the sentence before it to learn what the theory is: a third opinion on the
paintings offers the possibility that the animals portrayed on the walls
may have assumed some sort of mythical meaning to the cave dwellers,
either as ancient ancestors or as protectors of the members of the tribe.
We find that the theory is that the animals portrayed on the walls have a mythical
meaning. So, the author stated geometric shapes as one piece of evidence to
support the theory that animals had a mythical significance in the painting. We read
our answer choices and look for it there.
5) A is wrong because we are not talking about the quality of the drawings. B is
wrong because we’re not talking about inferiority. C is exactly what we want. D is
wrong because it's not an example but a piece of evidence that supports the
theory. This is a relatively simple purpose question. If we followed strategy, we
should have chosen correctly.

Final Advice back to top

Short and simple: review and follow strategy. Even though vocabulary may challenge you and
the context may befuddle (confuse) you, this strategy will guide you to the right choice.

COMMENTS

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1 entries

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wrote on Tuesday April 3, 2012 7:56pm
It is very confuse.

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