Why does the author tell about the wooden walkways in the last paragraph?

Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 4–5 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Reporting category 3: make inferences, draw conclusions, and think about why the author wrote a text and how it is built.

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

Sand Dunes on the Texas Coast

Along the Texas coast, many beaches have hills of sand behind them. These hills are called dunes. They may look like piles of sand that the wind blew together, and that is partly true. But dunes also protect the land behind them.

Dunes form when the wind blows dry sand away from the water’s edge. The sand piles up against things such as plants, seaweed, or pieces of driftwood. Little by little, the piles grow taller.

Plants are what hold a dune together. Sea oats and other grasses grow on the dunes. Their long roots spread through the sand like a net and keep it from blowing or washing away.

During a big storm, high waves crash onto the beach. A healthy dune can help block the waves and slow down the water before it reaches roads and houses.

Because dunes are so important, people are asked to stay off them. Walking on a dune crushes the plants, and without plants, the sand can blow away. Many beaches have wooden walkways that let visitors cross over the dunes without stepping on them.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Why does the author tell about the wooden walkways in the last paragraph?

To explain how a new sand dune starts to form
To tell readers where sea oats grow the best
To show a way to visit without harming dunesCorrect answer
To show that dunes are much too tall to climb

Why “To show a way to visit without harming dunes” is correct

This tests why an author includes a detail. The paragraph explains that walking on dunes crushes the plants, then mentions walkways that let visitors cross "without stepping on them." The walkways are an example of a solution to the problem the paragraph describes.

Why the other answers are wrong

To explain how a new sand dune starts to form — How dunes form is explained in paragraph 2.
To tell readers where sea oats grow the best — The walkways are not about where sea oats grow.
To show that dunes are much too tall to climb — The article says people should stay off dunes to protect plants, not because dunes are too tall.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 4–5, or see the TELPAS practice test for 4th and 5th grade.

This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.