Why does Ruben include the story about the horse in his letter?

Analyze and Evaluate Information and Ideas · TELPAS Grades 6–7 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 letter. Then answer the questions.

A Thank-You Letter

Dear Dr. Salinas,

Thank you for coming to Career Day at Westfield Middle School last Thursday. I was the student in the front row who asked the most questions, so you might remember me.

Before your talk, I thought being a veterinarian meant playing with puppies all day. I did not know that you also do surgery, take X-rays, and study how medicines work in different animals. When you said that a cat's body can react to some medicines very differently than a dog's, I was surprised. I had never thought about that.

The part I liked best was your story about the horse with the injured leg. You said it took six weeks of treatment before she could walk normally again, and that her owner cried the first time she trotted across the field. That story showed me that your job takes patience, not just a love of animals.

My mom says that if I keep my grades up, I can volunteer at the animal shelter on Saturdays next summer. I am going to start with my science grade, which needs some work.

Thank you again for answering all of my questions, even the one about snakes.

Sincerely,

Ruben Ortiz

The question

Choose the best answer.

Why does Ruben include the story about the horse in his letter?

To ask Dr. Salinas to take care of his horse
To explain why he is afraid of horses
To show what he learned about the jobCorrect answer
To prove that horses heal faster than other animals

Why “To show what he learned about the job” is correct

This asks why a writer includes a detail. Ruben ends the paragraph by saying the story "showed me that your job takes patience, not just a love of animals." The detail connects to his earlier, simpler idea of the job, so it shows how his thinking changed.

Why the other answers are wrong

To ask Dr. Salinas to take care of his horse — Ruben never says he has a horse.
To explain why he is afraid of horses — He says this was the part he liked best.
To prove that horses heal faster than other animals — He says it took six weeks, and he does not compare animals.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 6–7, or see the TELPAS practice test for 6th and 7th 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.