Im having a hard time distinguishing the difference between purpose of paragraph, purpose of context, and meaning on context questions. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I could distinguish the question stems and how to approach each different question type?
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Meaning in Context:
They'll usually give you a bunch of vocab words that may or may not be relevant to the word in the question stem, but you need to essentially find the word that can best replace the one that they give you. Go back to where the word is in the passage, then reread the sentence it is in (and sometimes the sentence before and after).
Tip: let's say that the word they give you is "match" and they give you the following choices:
A: A formal competitive game.
B: A fire-making stick.
C: A feudal rivalry.
D: A romantic partner.
E: A suitable combination.
All five of these definitions could be valid definitions of match. That is why you absolutely must go back to the text. Knowing more vocab words can definitely help, but they won't guarantee the correct answer (because they can all feasibly be correct). What's most important is recognizing how the author intended to use that word.
Purpose in Context:
For the most part, you can look within the specific context that they are asking you (i.e. last paragraph, third sentence, etc).
Let's say that the whole passage is about the benefits of pilates. The author briefly mentions a study about cardiovascular disease in the second paragraph, which mainly talks about the health effects of not consistently exercising. Mentioning the study about cardiovascular disease could be exemplifying one of the potential consequences of not exercising, as well as establishing some scientifically proven credibility.
Purpose of Paragraph:
This is where low-res summaries really help if you like that strategy. You must know what the author's purpose is for this question.
Let's say the passage is about spotlighting musical composer Tchaikovsky:
P1: Introduces political climate of Romantic era of Russia & Tchaikovsky.
MC: His music reflects the tragic lyricism and profound melancholy of living as a gay man during the mid-nineteenth century.
P2: Discusses Romeo and Juliet + one of his lovers.
P3: Discusses Sixth Symphony (Pathétique) + one of his lovers.
P4: Mentions Russian + Soviet attempts to deny his homosexuality.
P5: Reiterate his legacy of remaining the most beloved and popular Russian composer today.
If the question then asked, what is the main function of the third paragraph of the passage? you have to look at the paragraph within its context. The Sixth Symphony was one of his last masterpieces, while Romeo and Juliet was one of his first masterpieces. Is P3 drawing a comparison between the musicality of Romeo and Juliet and the Sixth Symphony? Is the author exemplifying the breadth of work that reflects his inner turmoil that spans Tchaikovsky's entire life? Or maybe is P3 setting up something to be discussed in P4? Or does P3 add to his overall main conclusion?
Sorry this is getting so long, but you can reference the RC Question types here. Hope this helps a bit!
@haena This was so helpful!! Thank you so much!!