{"id":12273,"date":"2016-11-01T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T11:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grockit.com\/blog\/collegeprep\/?p=2412"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:42:37","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:42:37","slug":"act-reading-comprehension-purpose-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/act\/act-reading-comprehension-purpose-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"ACT Reading Comprehension: Purpose Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nUnderstanding a reading passage\u2019s purpose, or main idea, means you must understand the overarching topic a reading passage is trying to convey. Not all purpose questions on the ACT will simply ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s the purpose of this passage?\u201d Still, the following tips and strategies will work will all ACT reading comprehension questions.\u00a0There you can take diagnostic tests, play interactive games, get advice from trained instructors, and chat with other high schoolers preparing for the ACT. It\u2019s much better than studying alone!
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Tips and Strategies for Purpose Questions<\/h3>
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\n1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Read the entire passage before trying to answer any question on any passage. By looking at the questions beforehand, you may not understand the overarching ideas in a passage.
\n2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Take notes in your test booklet. When you\u2019re taking notes, whether it\u2019s underlining or annotating, you\u2019re being an active reader. Make sure you mark off sections of the text that discuss the purpose.
\n3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remember to note if the author brings up items that contradict the passage\u2019s original assertions. Does the author do this to make the argument more complicated? Or does the author do this to refute an opposing viewpoint?
\n4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Read each and every answer choice before selecting your final answer. Sometimes these questions can be complicated and A, no matter how great it may sound, might not be as good of a choice as D.
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Purpose Practice Question<\/h3>
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\nIf you use these tips when you practice and on test day, you\u2019re score will be excellent. Now, let\u2019s check out how to use these tips on a sample ACT question:\n<\/div>\n

\t

\t\t

\nEarly in the morning of May 7, 1869, an employee of the Union Pacific Company in Promontory Summit, Utah, received news that suggested at least a day\u2019s delay for an important company event. According to the telegram, a powerful thunderstorm was approaching that promised to disrupt and interfere with the golden spike ceremony celebrating the First Transcontinental Railroad connecting the American East Coast to California.
\nDespite the threat of storms, that afternoon onlookers applauded as the final golden spike was placed over the last railroad tie. Almost forty years of planning\u00a0and construction had come to an end, and a railroad now connected New York to San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\nSuppose that the writer\u2019s initial purpose was to write a brief essay describing the entire process of planning and constructing the First Transcontinental Railroad. Would this essay successfully fulfill that purpose?
\nA)\u00a0Yes, because it offers important details including the path that the railroad took from Nebraska to northern California.
\nB)\u00a0Yes, because it carefully describes each significant step in the planning and construction of the railroad.
\nC)\u00a0No, because its primary focus is not on the entire process of building the railroad, but on one moment in its construction.
\nD)\u00a0No, because it is mostly a study of difficulties in the initial stages of creating the railroad.\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div><\/div>
\n 
\nWhat was the purpose of the passage? It\u2019s important to look at the different events discussed in it. Does it cover an entire history of building the transcontinental railroad? Actually, the passage covers the ceremony commemorating the completion of the railroad. So, A and B aren\u2019t correct because there are not many details or careful descriptions about the building process. C looks right, since the focus, as we decided above, was on one event. Still, we have to make sure D isn\u2019t a better answer. But, since the passage doesn\u2019t touch upon any difficulties at the project\u2019s inception, we now know the answer\u2019s C.
\nRemember the tips and strategies to ensure you understand every passage\u2019s purpose.
\n<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Understanding a reading passage\u2019s purpose, or main idea, means you must understand the overarching topic a reading passage is trying to convey. Not all purpose questions on the ACT will simply ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s the purpose of this passage?\u201d Still, the following tips and strategies will work will all ACT reading comprehension questions.\u00a0There you can take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[58],"tags":[62],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12273"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36226,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12273\/revisions\/36226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}