SAT Reading & Writing · Text Structure and Purpose
For centuries, a particular fresco was attributed to a minor, largely forgotten painter based on a signature in the corner. Recent…
For centuries, a particular fresco was attributed to a minor, largely forgotten painter based on a signature in the corner. Recent chemical analysis of the pigments, however, has revealed materials that were not available until decades after the presumed painter's death, suggesting either a later restoration or an entirely different original artist.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: To present scientific evidence that complicates a long-accepted attribution
The passage introduces new scientific evidence that directly challenges a long-standing historical attribution, without asserting fraud or drawing a sweeping conclusion about method reliability in general. B captures that precise function. A overstates the passage into a general claim about method superiority it doesn't make. C jumps to a specific, unsupported conclusion of intentional forgery. D invents a critical stance toward historians the passage doesn't take.
More Text Structure and Purpose questions
- Question 18For over a century, the standard account of a particular insect's mating call held that its pitch…
- Question 19A school newsletter article begins by describing a common problem many students face: forgetting…
- Question 44For most of the twentieth century, a particular species of deep-sea fish was known only from a…
- Question 45A music historian's article opens by describing the immediate, largely negative reception of a…
- Question 68A city government's initial traffic study concluded that a proposed highway expansion would reduce…
- Question 90A widely cited economic model predicted that a particular trade policy would reduce domestic…
Learn the method behind questions like this one
The SAT Reading & Writing course teaches each tested skill through lessons, step-by-step solutions to sample problems, the complete study guide and full-length practice tests.