SAT Reading & Writing · Text Structure and Purpose
A music historian's article opens by describing the immediate, largely negative reception of a composer's now-celebrated symphony at its…
A music historian's article opens by describing the immediate, largely negative reception of a composer's now-celebrated symphony at its premiere. It then traces how the piece was gradually reevaluated over the following decades, becoming a staple of the orchestral repertoire by the composer's death.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
Answer and explanation
Answer: A: It traces a significant change in a work's critical reception over time.
The passage moves chronologically from initial rejection to eventual acclaim, tracing exactly the kind of reception change A describes. B invents a comparison between two works that isn't in the passage. C overgeneralizes a single case into a sweeping claim about all audiences. D misdescribes the passage's focus, which concerns reception, not instrumentation.
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