Read the excerpt from the letter to the editor. How are mixed-use areas different from what we have now? Let me tell you. Our city currently has a dense downtown area and then a massive amount of sprawl reaching out in every direction—the sprawl takes up seventy-five percent of the city’s land. Urban sprawl, the spreading of large developments of housing and shopping areas around a city’s center, has many negative cultural and environmental effects. How does the structure of this excerpt support the overall idea of the letter?
Answer
A
The compare-and-contrast form allows the writer to refute each potential benefit of urban sprawl.
B
The compare-and-contrast form allows the writer to explain how urban sprawl can be increased in her city.
C
The question-and-answer form allows the writer to lay out the benefits of mixed-use neighborhoods.
D
The question-and-answer form allows the writer to define the difference between urban sprawl and mixed-use neighborhoods.
Explanation
The excerpt begins with a question about how mixed-use areas differ from the city as it is now, then answers it by describing the city’s dense downtown and sprawling development. This question-and-answer structure helps explain the contrast between urban sprawl and mixed-use neighborhoods. It does not lay out benefits of mixed-use areas in this excerpt.
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