On the paper test, questions about organization and purpose require you to scan the passage for specific information. Look at these examples:
Questions 1-2
| 1 5 10 |
The hydrologic cycle is the continual flow of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and, after several days, back to the ocean again. The water in the atmosphere is extremely mobile, and the quantity of water in all phases of the cycle is interrelated. Any modification of the amount of water on, in, or above the land produces changes in other parts of the cycle. Actions by individuals in one place are balanced by changes in the cycle either at the same place or at some distant place. Nearly every human enterprise has modified the hydrologic cycle in some way. Over the centuries, vast amounts of land have been converted from forest to arable fields and pasture. Overgrazing of livestock has changed many landscapes. Changes in vegetation types caused by human activity have resulted in the development of a drier climate and a change in the quantity of water in the different phases of the hydrologic cycle. By cutting forests, plowing land, building reservoirs, and creating urban complexes, people have greatly altered the exchange of moisture between land and atmosphere. |
On the paper test, questions about organization and purpose require you to scan the passage for specific information. Look at these examples:
- Why does the author claim that actions by individuals are balanced by changes in the hydrologic cycle somewhere?
- To explain why the amount of water on Earth will decrease
- To criticize the actions of individuals who use too much water
- To point out that all water on Earth is part of a single system
- To warn of the dangers of water pollution
- Where in the passage does the author give an example of the human impact on the landscape?
- Lines 1-2
- Lines 2-4
- Lines 5-7
- Lines 7-10
For question 1, the first choice is incorrect because the passage does not specify a “decrease” in the amount of water. The second choice is incorrect because the passage does not focus on using too much water. The fourth choice is not dealt with here at all. The correct answer to question 1 is the third choice, which is also the main idea of the passage because everything in both paragraphs supports and develops this idea. For question 2, the correct answer is the fourth choice, “Lines 10-12”, because it is here that the author states that overgrazing of livestock has changed many landscapes and that changes in vegetation types have resulted in the development of a drier climate.
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.