Question

Ever since I was a little girl, I had heard about our house in Guyana. It was beautiful: a long white box with a series of windows, each shaded by delicate lattice shutters. Like all the houses in the area, where the land easily floods, it sat on slender stilts; underneath was what was called the bottomhouse, where the chickens strutted about.

–Sugar Changed the World,
Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos

What is the author’s purpose in this paragraph?

to entertain readers with a detailed story about a flood
to inform readers about the lives of workers on sugar plantations
to inform readers with descriptive details about her family’s home
to persuade readers that having stilts on homes is the best way to avoid flood damage

Answer 1

to inform readers with descriptive details about her family’s home

The paragraph provides sensory, descriptive details about the house (appearance, lattice shutters, stilts, bottomhouse) rather than telling a flood story, discussing plantation workers, or arguing for a building method.