Information about Rhetorical Purpose Questions

Rhetorical Purpose questions ask the test taker to explain the motivation of the author of a passage. They ask why an idea, detail, or argument was included in the reading passage. Everything included in a passage has a reason to be there if the writing is effective.

Rhetorical Purpose questions may ask about logical connections between certain sentences or paragraphs. They are often easy to spot because they will contain the word “why”, but that isn’t always the case. Common ways to write such questions are as follows:

– Why does the author mention X in paragraph 1?
– The author begins paragraph 2 with X in order to …
– The author uses X as an example of …
– In paragraph 2, the author’s primary purpose is to …

Question Example

Here is an excerpt from a passage and its Negative Factual Information question:

> “Both chemicals and drugs can cause sudden and dramatic changes in gene expression, but the two most influential factors in most cases are diet and stress. The amount of calories that a person consumes and the quality of the nutrition that their food contains have significant and obvious effects on that person’s development and health, but they can also affect future generations. In 1944, **the Netherlands** experienced a serious famine due to ongoing war that affected around 4.5 million people. People who were accustomed to a normal and healthy intake of around 2,000 calories per day were limited to one quarter that amount. Women who were pregnant during the famine unsurprisingly had babies who had  much lower than average birth weights. Those children enjoyed a normal diet, but when women from that generation had their own children, their babies also had abnormally low birth weights. In addition, women born during the famine had double the average incidence of schizophrenia.”

1. Why does the author mention “the Netherlands” in paragraph 3?

(A) To illustrate how regional diets can affect people’s development

(B) To introduce theories about the importance of diet for epigenetics

(C) To provide an example of epigenetic changes caused by diet

(D) To show where an experiment involving diet was carried out

Explanation

The correct answer is (C). The point of the passage is to explain how stressors like diet can cause epigenetic changes. (A) is incorrect because the author is not discussing regional diets, rather, he is talking about a famine. (B) is wrong because the author does not discuss any theories in the paragraph. (D) is wrong because the paragraph does not describe an experiment.

Notes from the Test Developer

Rhetorical Purpose questions are common and there is usually 1 or 2 per passage. These questions are similar to inference questions because they ask for information that was not directly stated in the passage. However, one must use the information that is presented in order to choose the correct answer. The distractors will include details from the passage, but they will incorrectly describe them or cite incorrect motivation to include that information. They may also make illogical claims about the information.

I try to make all of the claims sound plausible so test takers have to carefully examine each answer choice in order to answer the question. I avoid using too much information that is not presented in the passage to make the wrong answers less obvious. In the example, all of the choices mention “diet,” which is the focus of the paragraph, but only one correctly connects that detail to “the Netherlands.”

Advice to Test Takers

I would advise test takers to do a few things when they need to solve a Rhetorical Purpose question. First, keep in mind that you are being asked why the author included specific information in the passage. While the author may have had multiple reasons to include that information, only one answer choice will be correct. Second, all of the answer choices may contain correct details from the passage, but the distractors will make false connections about the information they contain. You should read the passage and each answer choice carefully to evaluate whether their assertions are true or false. Finally, since you have limited time and the distractors are designed to seem plausible, you may find it difficult to choose between two answer choices. In that case, make your best guess. Remember that there is no penalty for wrong answers in TOEFL. This applies to all questions, so if you’re unsure of an answer or don’t have time to fully analyze the question, don’t leave it blank – make an educated guess.

FAQs

Q1: What’s the difference between Rhetorical Purpose questions and Main Idea questions in TOEFL Reading?

A: Rhetorical Purpose questions focus specifically on why the author included certain information or examples, while Main Idea questions ask about the overall message of the passage. Rhetorical Purpose questions often use phrases like “Why does the author mention…” or “The author includes… in order to…” whereas Main Idea questions typically ask about the primary topic or main point of the entire passage.

Q2: How many Rhetorical Purpose questions typically appear in the TOEFL Reading section?

A: You can expect to see 1-2 Rhetorical Purpose questions per reading passage. In total, since there are usually 3-4 passages in the TOEFL Reading section, you might encounter 3-5 Rhetorical Purpose questions throughout the entire Reading section.

Q3: I often get confused between two answer choices in Rhetorical Purpose questions. What’s the best strategy when this happens?

A: When stuck between two choices, focus on the author’s primary purpose in that specific paragraph. Ask yourself: “How does this information connect to the main argument?” Remember that while both choices might contain correct information from the passage, only one will correctly explain the author’s purpose for including that specific detail. If still unsure, make your best guess since there’s no penalty for wrong answers in TOEFL.

Q4: Do I need to understand every detail in the passage to answer Rhetorical Purpose questions correctly?

A: No, you don’t need to understand every detail. Focus on understanding the logical flow of ideas and how different parts of the passage connect to each other. Pay special attention to transition words and the context around the specific detail mentioned in the question. The key is to grasp how each piece of information supports the author’s main argument.

Q5: What are the most common trap answers in Rhetorical Purpose questions?

A: Common trap answers usually:

• State accurate facts from the passage but misrepresent their purpose
• Confuse correlation with causation in the author’s examples
• Focus on minor details instead of the author’s main purpose
• Mix up chronological order with logical order
• Suggest purposes that are too broad or narrow for the context

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