Which of the following situations is most similar to the one described?
A) A volcano in Hawaii causes the local bird population to decline.
B) A new element is discovered after a long process of
experimentation.
C) An obscure financial regulation causes all citizens to lose a portion
of their savings.
D) A long-accepted theory on evolution is questioned when new
evidence arises.Told you these questions were weird. Luckily, they are also pretty rare. Here,
the only answer that fits our abstracted template is C, where a seemingly
unimportant thing turns out to be very important.
It can help to look at the answer choices while you figure out the abstract template. Your brain will start to form connections.
—Samantha
Structure Questions
Just as buildings are made of beams and joists, passages are made from logical
sequences and cause-and-effect relationships. Take this classic kids’ story:
One bright summer morning, Bubbles the Bear invested two-thirds
of his life savings in total stock market index funds. Forty-five years
later, Bubbles retired with enough savings to afford a modest condo in
the Strawberry Forest.The structure of that story is that Bubbles first invested his savings, then he
retired with those savings. This relationship between elements of a story is all we
mean when we talk about structure. Most structure questions will either be about
cause and effect or, similarly, sequences of events.
Cause-and-effect questions explore the relationship between something that
happens in the passage and whatever caused it. They can be about the small
actions of an individual person or larger trends in an entire society.
Why was Bubbles the Bear so prepared for retirement?
A) He had created a stable network of family and friends.
B) He lived in an area where summer mornings were bright, and thus
easier on his cataracts.
C) He had made sound financial decisions earlier in life.