Question ID 15c0ed26

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: 15c0ed26
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is projected to maintain operation until at least 2030, but it has already
revolutionized high-resolution imaging of solar-system bodies in visible and ultraviolet (UV) light
wavelengths, notwithstanding that only about 6% of the bodies imaged by the HST are within the solar
system. NASA researcher Cindy L. Young and colleagues assert that a new space telescope dedicated
exclusively to solar-system observations would permit an extensive survey of minor solar-system bodies and
long-term UV observation to discern how solar-system bodies change over time. Young and colleagues’
recommendation therefore implies that the HST ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. will likely continue to be used primarily to observe objects outside the solar system.

B. will no longer be used to observe solar system objects if the telescope recommended by Young and
colleagues is deployed.

C. can be modified to observe the features of solar system objects that are of interest to Young and
colleagues.

D. lacks the sensors to observe the wavelengths of light needed to discern how solar system bodies change
over time.

ID: 15c0ed26 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The HST will operate until at least 2030, but it’s only observing stuff inside our solar system 6%
of the time. If we could get a different telescope to observe stuff inside our solar system 100% of the time and take more
extensive images of certain things, then the HST could continue to be used mainly for observing stuff outside the solar
system.

Choice B is incorrect. This inference is too strong to be supported by the text. Even if the new telescope is deployed, the HST
might still be used as it’s being used now. Based on the text, the new telescope would just be used for more extensive and
long-term imaging of solar system bodies, which doesn’t necessarily overlap with the HST. Choice C is incorrect. This
inference isn’t supported. The text never mentions the possibility of modifying the HST, so there is no basis to make this
inference. Rather, the researchers suggest using a different telescope to more closely observe certain objects. Choice D is
incorrect. This inference is too strong to be supported. The text doesn’t give us enough info to assume that the HST lacks
any particular sensors.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 7e1dd168
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 7e1dd168
Neural networks are computer models intended to reflect the organization of human brains and are often
used in studies of brain function. According to an analysis of 11,000 such networks, Rylan Schaeffer and
colleagues advise caution when drawing conclusions about brains from observations of neural networks.
They found that when attempting to mimic grid cells (brain cells used in navigation), while 90% of the
networks could accomplish navigation-related tasks, only about 10% of those exhibited any behaviors similar
to those of grid cells. But even this approximation of grid-cell activity has less to do with similarity between
the neural networks and biological brains than it does with the rules programmed into the networks.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the claim in the underlined sentence?
A. The rules that allow for networks to exhibit behaviors like those of grid cells have no equivalent in the
function of biological brains.

B. The networks that do not exhibit behaviors like those of grid cells were nonetheless programmed with
rules that had proven useful in earlier neural-network studies.

C. Neural networks can often accomplish tasks that biological brains do, but they are typically programmed
with rules to model multiple types of brain cells simultaneously.

D. Once a neural network is programmed, it is trained on certain tasks to see if it can independently arrive at
processes that are similar to those performed by biological brains.

ID: 7e1dd168 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. While many networks can perform navigation tasks, or even mimic grid cells, it doesn’t mean
they’re actually behaving like biological brains—this finding suggests that the rules that govern neural network behavior are
completely unlike the way real brains work.

Choice B is incorrect. Although it mentions the rules that are programmed into the networks, this finding wouldn’t clarify
whether or not these rules have anything to do with the function of biological brains. Choice C is incorrect. This choice
suggests that neural networks are modeled after multiple types of brain cells, which sidesteps the question of whether these
rule-based networks are genuinely similar to biological brains. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t address the key
point of the claim, which is that the apparent similarity between neural networks and biological brains is only due to the rules
programmed into the networks. It focuses on training tasks, not the originally programmed rules.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4d671b68
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: 4d671b68
Algae living within the tissues of corals play a critical role in keeping corals, and the marine ecosystems they
are part of, thriving. Some coral species appear brown in color when healthy due to the algae colonies living
in their tissues. In the event of an environmental stressor, the algae can die or be expelled, causing the corals
to appear white. To recover the algae, the bleached corals then begin to produce bright colors, which block
intense sunlight, encouraging the light-sensitive algae to recolonize the corals.

What does the text most strongly suggest about corals that produce bright colors?
A. These corals have likely been subjected to stressful environmental conditions.

B. These corals are likely more vulnerable to exposure from intense sunlight than white corals are.

C. These corals have likely recovered from an environmental event without the assistance of algae colonies.

D. These corals are more likely to survive without algae colonies than brown corals are.

ID: 4d671b68 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The text says that corals produce bright colors to block sunlight and encourage algae to
recolonize after “an environmental stressor.” From this, we can infer that corals that produce bright colors have probably
been subjected to an environmental stressor.

Choice B is incorrect. The text says that corals produce bright colors to block intense sunlight, which protects the light-
sensitive algae that keep the coral healthy. In other words, bright colors make the coral’s health less vulnerable to intense
sunlight. Choice C is incorrect. The text says that corals produce bright colors to encourage algae to recolonize, not that they
have recovered without the assistance of algae colonies. Choice D is incorrect. The text never compares the likelihood of
differently colored corals surviving without algae colonies.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e4466b2f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: e4466b2f
The following text is adapted from Countee Cullen’s 1926 poem “Thoughts in a Zoo.”

They in their cruel traps, and we in ours,

Survey each other’s rage, and pass the hours
Commiserating each the other’s woe,
To mitigate his own pain’s fiery glow.
Man could but little proffer in exchange
Save that his cages have a larger range.
That lion with his lordly, untamed heart
Has in some man his human counterpart,
Some lofty soul in dreams and visions wrapped,
But in the stifling flesh securely trapped.

Based on the text, what challenge do humans sometimes experience?

A. They cannot effectively tame certain wild animals because of a lack of compassion.

B. They cannot focus on setting attainable goals because of a lack of motivation.

C. They quickly become frustrated when faced with difficult tasks because of a lack of self-control.

D. They have aspirations that cannot be fulfilled because of certain limitations.

ID: e4466b2f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The text metaphorically likens humans to animals in a zoo, suggesting that humans have
dreams that they cannot fulfill because they are trapped.

Choice A is incorrect. The speaker says that the lion has an “untamed heart,” but the speaker doesn’t actually mention
anything about humans taming wild animals or a lack of compassion. Choice B is incorrect. The speaker doesn’t suggest
that humans lack motivation. Rather, the speaker thinks that humans are “trapped” and prevented from achieving their
dreams. Choice C is incorrect. The speaker doesn’t mention anything about humans becoming frustrated or lacking self-
control. Rather, the speaker thinks that humans are “trapped” and prevented from achieving their dreams.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 12b370c2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: 12b370c2
Disco remains one of the most ridiculed popular music genres of the late twentieth century. But as scholars
have argued, the genre is far less superficial than many people believe. Take the case of disco icon Donna
Summer: she may have been associated with popular songs about love and heartbreak (subjects hardly
unique to disco, by the way), but like many Black women singers before her, much of her music also reflects
concerns about community and identity. These concerns are present in many of the genre’s greatest songs,
and they generally don’t require much digging to reveal.

What does the text most strongly suggest about the disco genre?

A. It has been unjustly ignored by most scholars despite the importance of the themes addressed by many
of the genre’s songs.

B. It evolved over time from a superficial genre focused on romance to a genre focused on more serious
concerns.

C. It has been unfairly dismissed for the inclusion of subject matter that is also found in other musical
genres.

D. It gave rise to a Black women’s musical tradition that has endured even though the genre itself faded in
the late twentieth century.

ID: 12b370c2 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The text argues that disco is "far less superficial" than its popular perception might indicate, and
that love and heartbreak are "subjects hardly unique to disco."

Choice A is incorrect. This choice conflicts with the text, which says that scholars argue that disco "is far less superficial
than many people believe." Choice B is incorrect. This choice says the opposite of what the text suggests. The writer argues
that the genre is not as superficial as commonly believed, but that it always reflected "concerns about community and
identity." Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t support this choice. There’s nothing in the text about disco giving rise to an
enduring Black women’s musical tradition.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 349fa4d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: 349fa4d2
Tatiana R. Feuerborn and colleagues analyzed the genomes of more than a hundred domesticated dogs from
sites in Siberia dating from 11,000 years ago to the present. They found that the dogs constituted a
genetically isolated population of Arctic breeds until approximately 2,000 years ago, at which point there was
substantial interbreeding with Near Eastern dog breeds. Furthermore, beginning around 2,000 years ago,
some sites contain artifacts consistent with a Near East origin, like glass beads, but the people show no
evidence of having traveled extensively outside Siberia. From this, Feuerborn and colleagues concluded that
around 2,000 years ago ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. dogs and artifacts like glass beads began to be transported from the Near East to Siberia.

B. people from Siberia began to reach the Near East, where they acquired dogs and artifacts such as glass
beads.

C. glass beads and other artifacts from the Near East began to be exchanged for dogs from Siberia.

D. dogs from the Near East began to be exchanged for glass beads and other artifacts from Siberia.

ID: 349fa4d2 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically follows from the text’s discussion of
Feuerborn and colleagues’ findings about sites in Siberia. The text states that genomic analysis of many domesticated dogs
from Siberian sites dating from the last 11,000 years revealed that the dogs represented a genetically isolated population of
breeds (that is, they didn’t reproduce with dogs of any outside breeds) until about 2,000 years ago, when there is evidence
that the dogs began interbreeding with breeds from the Near East. The text also indicates that around the same time, the
sites began to contain glass beads and other artifacts seeming to be from the Near East, even though there is no evidence
that the people of those sites traveled widely outside Siberia. Because there is evidence of Near East dog breeds and Near
East artifacts at Siberian sites beginning about 2,000 years ago but no evidence of the people’s travel to the Near East
around that time, it’s reasonable to infer that Feuerborn and colleagues concluded that dogs and artifacts like glass beads
were transported to Siberia from the Near East, starting around 2,000 years ago.

Choice B is incorrect because the text explicitly states that there is no evidence that the people of the Siberian sites 2,000
years ago traveled extensively beyond Siberia, which they would’ve had to do to reach the Near East; therefore, it wouldn’t
make sense to conclude that the presence of Near East dog breeds and artifacts like glass beads suggests that people from
Siberia began arriving in the Near East around 2,000 years ago. Choice C is incorrect because the text addresses the
presence of Near East dog breeds (and evidence of interbreeding with Siberian dogs) and artifacts like glass beads at
Siberian sites starting about 2,000 years ago, suggesting only that the dogs and artifacts started to arrive in Siberia around
that time. The text doesn’t suggest the purpose of the arrival of the Near East dogs and artifacts or give any indication of
Siberian dog breeds being transported elsewhere through trade. Choice D is incorrect because the text addresses the
presence of Near East dog breeds and artifacts like glass beads at Siberian sites starting about 2,000 years ago, suggesting
only that the dogs and artifacts started to arrive in Siberia around that time; it doesn’t suggest the purpose of this arrival and
makes no mention of Siberian glass beads or other artifacts of Siberian origin.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 050d4a12
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 050d4a12
Initially observed in 2017, the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua is the first object of its kind to be seen in our
solar system. Researchers have been puzzled because its acceleration cannot be entirely explained by the
gravitational pull of nearby bodies: there must be a nongravitational influence on its velocity and trajectory.
Some previously suggested explanations for this nongravitational acceleration involve mechanisms that are
unlikely or unrealistic, such as geometric effects from ‘Oumuamua being potentially composed of several
spatially separated bodies. Now, Jennifer Bergner and colleagues propose that the nongravitational
acceleration is due to the gaseous expulsion of entrapped hydrogen from ‘Oumuamua’s water-rich icy body.

Which statement, if true, would most strongly support the claim made by Bergner and colleagues about the
cause of ‘Oumuamua’s acceleration?
A. Existing proposed models of outgassing from ‘Oumuamua include the direct conversion of nitrogen or
carbon monoxide from a solid to a gaseous state without becoming liquid, but these models have
theoretical or observational inconsistencies.

B. ‘Oumuamua’s trajectory is inconsistent with a nongravitational acceleration that would be caused by the
release of hydrogen gas resulting from the processing of water ice (H2O), but the interstellar object’s
observable properties can be explained if it has a significant component of molecular hydrogen ice (H2).

C. Since nongravitational accelerations of interstellar objects are several orders of magnitude weaker than
gravitational accelerations, deviation from behavior that could be fully attributed to gravitational pull has
been detected on a limited number of objects similar to ‘Oumuamua.

D. Exposure to interstellar cosmic radiation can result in the formation of embedded pockets of hydrogen
gas in water ice; moreover, when traveling through the solar system, ‘Oumuamua experienced warming
sufficient to alter its icy structure and allow for outgassing.

ID: 050d4a12 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer because it presents findings that, if true, would support the claim made by Bergner and
colleagues that the nongravitational acceleration of ‘Oumuamua is due to the expulsion of entrapped hydrogen. The text first
introduces the observation of a unique interstellar object named ‘Oumuamua and goes on to explain that the object
exhibited nongravitational acceleration that could not be fully attributed to the expected cause: gravitational pull of nearby
celestial bodies. The text concludes by stating that Bergner and colleagues claim that the nongravitational acceleration is
caused by expulsion of hydrogen gas from ‘Oumuamua’s water-rich icy body. To support this claim requires evidence that
hydrogen gas could be present within ‘Oumuamua at all, which this answer choice presents: cosmic radiation can result in
embedded pockets of hydrogen gas in water ice. Additionally, evidence that this gas can be released from such a body is
required to fully support the claim, which this answer choice goes on to provide: ‘Oumuamua experienced sufficient warming
as it traveled through the solar system to alter its icy structure and release the hydrogen gas. Thus, this answer choice
provides the best evidence to support Bergner and colleagues’ claim.

Choice A is incorrect because this answer choice concerns faults with previous models of outgassing from ‘Oumuamua of
carbon monoxide and nitrogen, which would not support a claim regarding hydrogen outgassing. Furthermore,
inconsistencies in other models would not provide evidence in support of a different model or explanation. Choice B is
incorrect. The evidence presented in this answer choice would weaken the claim proposed by Bergner and colleagues that
the nongravitational acceleration of ‘Oumuamua is caused by the expulsion of hydrogen gas because this answer choice
suggests that there is evidence that refutes this claim: ‘Oumuamua’s trajectory is inconsistent with a nongravitational
acceleration caused by the release of hydrogen gas. Furthermore, the remaining portion of this answer choice is unrelated to
the claim. Choice C is incorrect because the claim being made by Bergner and colleagues concerns the expulsion of
entrapped hydrogen gas, but this answer choice is concerned solely with the differences in magnitude of gravitational and
nongravitational acceleration, which would not support Bergner’s claim. Furthermore, this answer choice discusses
interstellar objects similar to ‘Oumuamua, but the text states that ‘Oumuamua is the first observed object of its kind in our
solar system, so evidence from other, similar bodies would not be available.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d54126ab
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: d54126ab
Tadpole Body Mass and Toxin Production after Three Weeks in Ponds
Average bufadienolide
Average tadpole Average number of Average amount of concentration (nanograms
Population body mass distinct bufadienolide bufadienolide per per milligram of tadpole
density (milligrams) toxins per tadpole tadpole (nanograms) body mass)

High 193.87 22.69 5,815.51 374.22

Medium 254.56 21.65 5,525.72 230.10

Low 258.97 22.08 4,664.99 171.43

Ecologist Veronika Bókony and colleagues investigated within-species competition among common toads
(Bufo bufo), a species that secretes various unpleasant-tasting toxins called bufadienolides in response to
threats. The researchers tested B. bufo tadpoles’ responses to different levels of competition by creating
ponds with different tadpole population densities but a fixed amount of food. Based on analysis of the
tadpoles after three weeks, the researchers concluded that increased competition drove bufadienolide
production at the expense of growth.

Which choice uses data from the table to most effectively support the researchers’ conclusion?

A. The difference in average tadpole body mass was small between the low and medium population density
conditions and substantially larger between the low and high population density conditions.

B. Tadpoles in the low and medium population density conditions had substantially lower average
bufadienolide concentrations but had greater average body masses than those in the high population
density condition.

C. Tadpoles in the high population density condition displayed a relatively modest increase in the average
amount of bufadienolide but roughly double the average bufadienolide concentration compared to those
in the low population density condition.

D. Tadpoles produced approximately the same number of different bufadienolide toxins per individual across
the population density conditions, but average tadpole body mass decreased as population density
increased.

ID: d54126ab Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. This data shows that the tadpoles in the high-density pond (meaning those with the most
competition) didn’t grow as big as the other two groups but produced more bufadienolide.

Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t fully support the conclusion. It doesn’t include any data about bufadienolide production.
Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t fully support the conclusion. It doesn’t include any data about growth. Choice D is
incorrect. This doesn’t fully support the conclusion. It doesn’t demonstrate that the tadpoles in the high-density pond
produced more bufadienolide overall. The fact that they didn’t produce more kinds of bufadienolide isn’t relevant to the
conclusion.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 84b290f2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 84b290f2
In vertical inheritance, parents pass genes to their offspring, but in horizontal transfer (HT), one species,
often bacteria, passes genetic material to an unrelated species. In a 2022 study, herpetologist Atsushi
Kurabayashi and his team investigated HT in multicellular organisms—namely, snakes and frogs in
Madagascar. The team detected BovB—a gene transmitted vertically in snakes—in many frog species. The
apparent direction of gene transfer seems counterintuitive because frogs usually don’t survive encounters
with snakes and so wouldn’t be able to transmit the newly acquired gene to offspring, but the team
concluded that BovB is indeed transmitted from snakes to frogs, either directly or indirectly, via HT.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the team’s conclusion?
A. BovB can be transmitted across frog species through HT.

B. Parasites known to feed on species of snakes and frogs in which the BovB gene occurs also carry BovB.

C. BovB cannot be reliably transmitted from a snake species to bacteria that are usually encountered by frog
species.

D. Frog species with BovB show few discernible advantages as compared with frog species that do not carry
BovB.

ID: 84b290f2 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. If there are parasites that feed on both snakes and frogs, they could carry BovB from snakes to
frogs. HT could occur “indirectly” through those encounters, which frogs are more likely to survive than snake encounters.

Choice A is incorrect. The team’s conclusion specifically argues that BovB is transmitted from snakes to frogs via HT, and
this choice doesn’t mention snakes. Choice C is incorrect. The team argues that BovB is transmitted from snakes to frogs via
HT, and this answer choice discusses a scenario in which the gene is not transmitted. Choice D is incorrect. Whether or not
frog species with BovB are advantaged isn’t relevant to the team’s conclusion about how the gene is transmitted.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e3b5bb66
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: e3b5bb66
The most recent iteration of the immersive theater experience Sleep No More, which premiered in New York
City in 2011, transforms its performance space—a five-story warehouse—into a 1930s-era hotel. Audience
members, who wander through the labyrinthine venue at their own pace and follow the actors as they play
out simultaneous, interweaving narrative loops, confront the impossibility of experiencing the production in
its entirety. The play’s refusal of narrative coherence thus hinges on the sense of spatial fragmentation that
the venue’s immense and intricate layout generates.

What does the text most strongly suggest about Sleep No More’s use of its performance space?
A. The choice of a New York City venue likely enabled the play’s creators to experiment with the use of
theatrical space in a way that venues from earlier productions could not.

B. Audience members likely find the experience of the play disappointing because they generally cannot
make their way through the entire venue.

C. The production’s dependence on a particular performance environment would likely make it difficult to
reproduce exactly in a different theatrical space.

D. Audience members who navigate the space according to a recommended itinerary will likely have a better
grasp of the play’s narrative than audience members who depart from that itinerary.

ID: e3b5bb66 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The text says that the production’s use of its large, winding space has a very specific effect on
the audience. Given that the space itself is so important to creating this effect, it would be difficult to reproduce the
production in a different space.

Choice A is incorrect. The fact that the venue is in New York City isn’t connected to the experimental nature of the
performance. It’s the size of the venue, not its location in New York, that affects the theatrical experience. Choice B is
incorrect. The text never suggests that audience members are disappointed because they can’t see the entire production. In
fact, it suggests that that’s an important part of the experience. Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t mention a
recommended itinerary for audience members.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b97fa5dd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: b97fa5dd

Ratio of Manganese to Calcium in Samples

from Alboran Sea and Mauritanian Coast

100
Manganese to calcium ratio

90
(micromoles per mole)

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Approximate years before present
(in thousands)

Alboran Sea
Mauritanian coast

The population of the coral Lophelia pertusa declined significantly around 9,000 years ago in the Alboran Sea
and around 11,000 years ago near the Mauritanian coast. Using the ratio of manganese to calcium, which
inversely correlates with ocean oxygenation levels, marine scientist Rodrigo da Costa Portilho-Ramos and
colleagues evaluated whether oxygenation played a role in the declines of L. pertusa. The researchers
concluded that oxygenation may have been important in the Alboran Sea but not near the Mauritanian coast,
since ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the statement?
A. a substantial increase in oxygenation in the Alboran Sea corresponded with the local decline in L. pertusa,
but the opposite relationship between oxygenation and L. pertusa was found near the Mauritanian coast.

B. L. pertusa declined in the Alboran Sea during a period of substantial local decline in oxygenation, but L.
pertusa declined near the Mauritanian coast during a period of little local change in oxygenation.

C. oxygenation in the Alboran Sea was higher before the decline in L. pertusa than after the decline, whereas
oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast was relatively low both before and after the decline in L. pertusa.
 D. oxygenation in the Alboran Sea tended to be substantially higher than oxygenation near the Mauritanian
coast during the period studied.

ID: b97fa5dd Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer because it effectively uses data from the graph to complete the statement about Rodrigo da
Costa Portilho-Ramos and colleagues’ conclusion. The graph shows the ratio of manganese to calcium in L. pertusa coral
samples from the Alboran Sea and the Mauritanian coast. The graph reflects time in approximate years before present: in
other words, the greater the number in years noted on the graph’s horizontal axis, the farther that moment is in the past. The
text indicates that the researchers tested the samples to determine whether oxygenation played a role in the decline of L.
pertusa. The text goes on to note that a change in the ratio of manganese to calcium would signal an inverse, or opposite,
change in oxygenation. According to the graph, the ratio of manganese to calcium in samples from the Alboran Sea
increased from about 30 micromoles per mole 10,000 years ago to about 80 micromoles per mole 8,000 years ago, which
means that oxygenation decreased between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago. Meanwhile, there was almost no discernible
change in the ratio of manganese to calcium in samples from the Mauritanian coast between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago.
According to the text, the population of L. pertusa declined significantly around 9,000 years ago in the Alboran Sea and
around 11,000 years ago near the Mauritanian coast. Thus, the increase in the ratio of manganese to calcium around 9,000
years ago in the Alboran Sea coincides with the decline in the L. pertusa population, suggesting an association between the
decrease in oxygenation and the decline in population of the coral. No such relationship is suggested around 11,000 years
ago near the Mauritanian coast. So, oxygenation likely played a role in the L. pertusa decline in the Alboran Sea but not in the
coral’s decline near the Mauritanian coast.

Choice A is incorrect because it asserts the opposite of what the graph indicates regarding oxygenation in the Alboran Sea,
and it misrepresents what the graph indicates about oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast. The graph indicates that at the
time of the decline in L. pertusa (approximately 9,000 years ago), the samples from the Alboran Sea contained a ratio of
manganese to calcium that was increasing. According to the text, this ratio inversely correlates with ocean oxygenation
levels, so if the ratio was increasing, oxygenation was decreasing, not substantially increasing. Furthermore, the graph
shows that the ratio of manganese to calcium remained relatively stable in coral samples from the Mauritanian coast during
the period studied, which suggests that there was no discernible relationship between oxygenation and the coral’s
population decline in that location, not that there was a substantial decrease in oxygenation corresponding to the coral’s
decline. Choice C is incorrect. Although the graph suggests that the level of oxygenation in the Alboran Sea was higher
before the decline in L. pertusa than after—because the ratio of manganese to calcium inversely correlates with ocean
oxygenation levels and this ratio was lower before the decline than after—the graph doesn’t support the claim that
oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast was consistently low before and after the coral’s decline there. Rather, the graph
indicates that relative to coral samples from the Alboran Sea, the ratio of manganese to calcium in samples from near the
Mauritanian coast was consistently low, which suggests that oxygenation levels were relatively high both before and after
the decline of L. pertusa. Choice D is incorrect because it states the opposite of what the graph indicates: the graph shows
that throughout the period studied, the ratio of manganese to calcium was higher in coral samples from the Alboran Sea
than it was in samples from near the Mauritanian coast. Since the text indicates that the ratio of manganese to calcium
inversely correlates with ocean oxygenation levels, oxygenation in the Alboran Sea was therefore lower than, not higher than,
oxygenation near the Mauritanian coast during the period studied. Moreover, even if choice D did accurately represent the
graph, it wouldn’t effectively complete the statement since a comparison of the ocean oxygenation levels at the two
locations is not relevant to the claim that a decline in oxygenation levels was associated with the decline of L. pertusa in the
Alboran Sea but not near the Mauritanian coast.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 787729f7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: 787729f7
Researchers recently found that disruptions to an enjoyable experience, like a short series of advertisements
during a television show, often increase viewers’ reported enjoyment. Suspecting that disruptions to an
unpleasant experience would have the opposite effect, the researchers had participants listen to
construction noise for 30 minutes and anticipated that those whose listening experience was frequently
interrupted with short breaks of silence would thus ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. find the disruptions more irritating as time went on.

B. rate the listening experience as more negative than those whose listening experience was uninterrupted.

C. rate the experience of listening to construction noise as lasting for less time than it actually lasted.

D. perceive the volume of the construction noise as growing softer over time.

ID: 787729f7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. It most logically completes the text. The text tells us that disruptions to an enjoyable experience
increase viewers’ enjoyment. It also says that researchers suspect the opposite is true for disruptions to an unpleasant
experience. Thus, we can infer that the researchers expect to find that the interrupted unpleasant experience was worse for
listeners than the uninterrupted unpleasant experience.

Choice A is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how irritating the
disruptions themselves are perceived to be. Rather, the text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable
with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true of unpleasant experiences. Choice C is incorrect. It doesn’t
logically complete the text. The text never makes any claims about how long any experience is perceived to be. Rather, the
text says that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to
be true of unpleasant experiences. Choice D is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never makes any
claims about how interruptions affect the perceived volume of the unpleasant or pleasant experience. Rather, the text says
that pleasant experiences are perceived as more enjoyable with interruptions, and that the opposite is suspected to be true
of unpleasant experiences.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a9aa25f9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: a9aa25f9
“Gestures” in painting are typically thought of as bold, expressive brushstrokes. In the 1970s, American
painter Jack Whitten built a 12-foot (3.7-meter) tool he named the “developer” to apply paint to an entire
canvas in one motion, resulting in his series of “slab” paintings from that decade. Whitten described this
process as making an entire painting in “one gesture,” signaling a clear departure from the prevalence of
gestures in his work from the 1960s. Some art historians claim this shift represents “removing gesture” from
the process. Therefore, regardless of whether using the developer constitutes a gesture, both Whitten and
these art historians likely agree that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. any tool that a painter uses to create an artwork is capable of creating gestures.

B. Whitten’s work from the 1960s exhibits many more gestures than his work from the 1970s does.

C. Whitten became less interested in exploring the role of gesture in his work as his career progressed.

D. Whitten’s work from the 1960s is much more realistic than his work from the 1970s is.

ID: a9aa25f9 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. ​Whitten thinks the tool made “one gesture” paintings, while historians think the tool “removed
gesture” from the process completely. But putting that debate aside, both Whitten and the historians would agree that the
paintings he made with the tool in the ’70s have way fewer gestures than his paintings from the ’60s, in which gestures are
“prevalent,” meaning widely and extensively present.

Choice A is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text only discusses the “developer”—it never mentions other tools.
Choice C is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. If anything, the text suggests the opposite: that Whitten became more
interested in exploring the role of gesture in his work as his career progressed, as his earlier paintings had many gestures,
and his ’70s paintings only had “one gesture.” Choice D is incorrect. This inference isn’t supported. The text never discusses
the “realism” of Whitten’s art.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b8abc32e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: b8abc32e
The following text is from Milan Kundera’s 1984 novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being (translated by
Michael Henry Heim in 1984). Karenin is a dog that belongs to Tomas and Tereza.

Karenin was not overjoyed by the move to Switzerland [from Prague]. Karenin hated change. Dog time
cannot be plotted along a straight line; it does not move on and on, from one thing to the next. It moves
in a circle like the hands of a clock, which—they, too, unwilling to dash madly ahead—turn round and
round the face, day in and day out following the same path. In Prague, when Tomas and Tereza bought a
new chair or moved a flower pot, Karenin would look on in displeasure. It disturbed his sense of time. It
was as though they were trying to dupe the hands of the clock by changing the numbers on its face.
©1984 by Milan Kundera. Translation ©1984 by Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. As a dog, Karenin possesses a sense of time that involves a strong preference for predictability and an
aversion to disruption.

B. After he’s moved to a new home, Karenin’s negative response to changes has become more pronounced.

C. Similar to Tomas and Tereza, Karenin comprehends time as circular rather than as a straightforward
progression.

D. As is the case for other dogs, Karenin’s sense of time seems to accelerate depending on the objects and
places that surround him.

ID: b8abc32e Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. The text begins by stating that
Tomas and Tereza’s dog Karenin felt disrupted by a recent move because of his dislike of change. The text then goes on to
suggest that this is because the way a dog experiences time differs from the way humans experience time: time for a dog
doesn’t move linearly, going "on and on, from one thing to the next," but instead moves circularly, "like the hands of a clock."
That is, time for a dog is experienced as a cyclical pattern characterized by routine and predictability, with each day
"following the same path." The text then concludes by providing examples of seemingly insignificant changes in routine that
profoundly "disturbed [Karenin’s] sense of time," causing him to feel displeasure. Thus, the main idea of the text is that
Karenin’s sense of time as a dog involves a strong preference for predictability and an aversion to disruption.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text emphasizes Karenin’s displeasure with the recent move to a new home, it doesn’t
suggest that the move has made his negative responses more pronounced than they once were. Rather, in accounting for
Karenin’s displeasure with the move to Switzerland, the text explains that Karenin generally has a negative response to any
kind of change. Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that Karenin comprehends time similarly to how
Tomas and Tereza comprehend it. On the contrary, the text strongly implies a contrast between dogs’ circular experience of
time with the way humans experience time as a straightforward progression that can be "plotted on a straight line." Choice D
is incorrect because the text provides no indication that a change in the places and objects surrounding Karenin causes him
to feel as though time is accelerating. Although the text does use the language of "dash[ing] madly ahead" in relation to time,
the phrase appears in the context of a comparison illustrating how dogs experience time: time for a dog moves just as the
hands of a clock do, in a circle and "unwilling to dash madly ahead"—that is, always in a regular and predictable way.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 823f6c65
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: 823f6c65
A heliograph is a semaphore device used for sending optical communications—usually in the form of Morse
code—by reflecting flashes of sunlight off a mirror. Heliographs were used for rapid communication across
expansive distances for military, surveying, and forestry purposes during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, but they were largely effective only during the daytime, and the range of the device
depended on factors such as the opacity of the air and line of sight. Therefore, heliographs were eventually
replaced by technology that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. worked on similar principles but was easier to produce and maintain.

B. was not so constrained by environmental circumstances.

C. could be used for more than military, surveying, or forestry purposes.

D. enabled communication that didn’t require knowledge of Morse code.

ID: 823f6c65 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The passage explains that heliographs “were largely effective only during the daytime” and that
“the range of the device depended on factors such as the opacity of the air and line of sight.” These constraints would have
greatly limited the use of the heliograph, so we can infer that this would have been a reason to replace it with new
technology.

Choice A is incorrect. The passage doesn’t discuss the production and maintenance of heliographs, so there’s no basis for
this inference. Choice C is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention any “other purposes” that a heliograph wouldn’t work for,
so there’s no basis for this inference. Choice D is incorrect. The passage doesn’t mention knowledge of Morse code as a
particular problem with the use of heliographs, so there’s no basis for this inference.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3ef2af4f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 3ef2af4f
“Poetry” is a 1919 poem by Marianne Moore. The poem highlights an ambivalence toward poetry as the
speaker acknowledges its merits while also expressing a sense of displeasure, writing ______

Which quotation from “Poetry” most effectively illustrates the claim?

A. “nor is it valid / to discriminate against ‘business documents and / school-books’; all these phenomena
are important.”

B. “One must make a distinction / however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not /
poetry”

C. “when [poems] become so derivative as to become unintelligible, the / same thing may be said for all of
us—that we / do not admire what / we cannot understand.”

D. “Reading [poetry], however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers that there is in / it after all, a
place for the genuine.”

ID: 3ef2af4f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer because it most effectively uses a quotation from "Poetry" to illustrate the claim that the poem
highlights an ambivalence, or a conflicted attitude, toward poetry. In the quotation, the speaker suggests that one might read
poetry with "contempt," or disdain, for it, but even with this negative attitude one will find "a place for the genuine." Because
the quotation expresses conflicting attitudes toward poetry, it effectively illustrates the speaker’s ambivalence in discussing
the merits and displeasure of reading poetry.

Choice A is incorrect because it doesn’t mention poetry or show ambivalence. Choice B is incorrect. Although the idea of
"half poets" may seem to relate to ambivalence, the speaker mentions only negative attitudes toward certain works and the
quotation therefore lacks a contrasting positive or neutral attitude that would be needed to indicate ambivalence. Choice C is
incorrect because the speaker mentions only negative attitudes toward certain works and the quotation therefore lacks a
contrasting positive or neutral attitude that would be needed to indicate ambivalence.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b00c53b3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: b00c53b3
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s 1893 painting The Banjo Lesson, which depicts an elderly man teaching a boy to play
the banjo, is regarded as a landmark in the history of works by Black artists in the United States. Scholars
should be cautious when ascribing political or ideological values to the painting, however: beliefs and
assumptions that are commonly held now may have been unfamiliar to Tanner and his contemporaries, and
vice versa. Scholars who forget this fact when discussing The Banjo Lesson therefore ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. risk judging Tanner’s painting by standards that may not be historically appropriate.

B. tend to conflate Tanner’s political views with those of his contemporaries.

C. forgo analyzing Tanner’s painting in favor of analyzing his political activity.

D. wrongly assume that Tanner’s painting was intended as a critique of his fellow artists.

ID: b00c53b3 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. It most logically completes the text. The text argues that Tanner and his contemporaries may
have been unfamiliar with modern beliefs and values. This suggests that scholars who attribute those modern values to
Tanner’s painting are risking judging the painting by standards that are not historically accurate.

Choice B is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text argues that Tanner AND his contemporaries may have
been unfamiliar with modern views. It never suggests that Tanner’s views were different from his contemporaries’ views.
Choice C is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never suggests that scholars should analyze Tanner’s
political activity instead of his painting. Rather, the text argues that Tanner and his contemporaries may have been unfamiliar
with modern beliefs and values. Choice D is incorrect. It doesn’t logically complete the text. The text never suggests that
Tanner wanted to critique his contemporaries with his painting. Rather, the text argues that Tanner AND his contemporaries
may have been unfamiliar with modern beliefs and values.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID be184fba
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: be184fba
Correlations Between Congestion Ratings and Features of
the Crowd in Raters’ Immediate Vicinity
Crowd feature Before obstacle After obstacle Overall

Density 0.8592 0.7308 0.7447

Velocity −0.9357 −0.9518 −0.8587

Researcher Xiaolu Jia and colleagues monitored individuals’ velocity and the surrounding crowd density as a
group of study participants walked through a space and navigated around an obstacle. Participants rated
how congested it seemed before the obstacle, after the obstacle, and overall, and the researchers correlated
those ratings with velocity and density. (Correlations range from −1 to 1, with greater distance from 0
indicating greater strength). The researchers concluded that the correlations with velocity are stronger than
those with density.

Which choice best describes data from the table that support the researchers’ conclusion?
A. The correlation between congestion ratings before the obstacle and density is further from 0 than the
correlation between overall congestion rating and velocity is.

B. The correlation between congestion ratings before the obstacle and velocity is further from 0 than the
correlation between congestion overall and velocity is.

C. For each of the three ratings, the correlation with velocity is negative while the correlation with density is
positive.

D. For each of the three ratings, correlations with velocity are further from 0 than the corresponding
correlations with density are.

ID: be184fba Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The text tells us that the farther the correlation is from 0, the “stronger” it is (doesn’t matter if it’s
negative or positive). The table shows that the correlations with velocity are farther from zero than the correlations with
density, which supports the conclusion that the correlations with velocity are stronger.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t support the conclusion. It makes an “apples to oranges” comparison by comparing
density and velocity correlations across features instead of comparing them for each feature. Choice B is incorrect. This
choice doesn’t support the conclusion. It doesn’t include the density correlations for comparison. Choice C is incorrect. This
choice doesn’t support the conclusion. The text tells us that the farther the correlation is from 0, the “stronger” it is: it doesn’t
matter for “strength” whether it’s negative or positive.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f7e843d4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: f7e843d4
Artificial leaves are a developing renewable energy technology that mimics the process of photosynthesis in
plants. These devices are silicon-based solar cells coated in chemical catalysts that activate reactions that
split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gas. The technology, while generating lots of interest, is not
yet commercially viable as a large-scale energy source. To meet this challenge, scientists from many fields
are researching ways to store, transport, and distribute the energy the devices produce while other scientists
are working to improve the cost and efficiency of the devices.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. Continued research and development in artificial-leaf technology is needed before the devices can be
widely used as an energy source.

B. The recent increase in the commercial use of artificial leaves as an energy source has encouraged many
scientists to research ways to improve the technology.

C. Artificial leaves split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen gas using catalysts more efficiently than
plants do using the process of photosynthesis.

D. Artificial leaves were developed to mimic the natural process of photosynthesis in plants in order to store
energy for long-term commercial use.

ID: f7e843d4 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately states the main idea of the text. According to the text, artificial
leaves are a renewable energy technology that’s in development and generating interest. The text goes on to state that
artificial-leaf technology "is not yet commercially viable as a large-scale energy source" and that scientists from several
fields are doing additional research to refine the technology. Thus, the main idea is that continued research and development
in artificial-leaf technology is needed before the devices can be widely used as an energy source.

Choice B is incorrect. While the text does state that scientists from many fields are researching artificial leaves, they’re doing
so to address the fact that the leaves are not yet commercially viable, rather than in response to an increase in commercial
use. Choice C is incorrect. Although the text does explain that artificial leaves help split water molecules into oxygen and
hydrogen gas using catalysts, it doesn’t argue that this process is more efficient than photosynthesis. This is merely a detail
of the text and not the main idea, which is about the additional research needed to improve the cost and efficiency of these
artificial leaves. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text indicates that artificial leaves mimic photosynthesis in plants, this is
an incidental detail in support of the main idea that additional research is needed to make artificial leaves commercially
viable.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3a3281a9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 3a3281a9

Modeled Radial Growth of

Sugar Maple Trees
0.25
(centimeters per year)

0.20
Radial growth

0.15

0.10

0.05

0
ent nge nge
rr a a
cu e ch e ch
t
era rem
d t
m
o ex

Climate scenario

with nitrogen
without nitrogen

Inés Ibáñez and colleagues studied a forest site in which some sugar maple trees receive periodic
fertilization with nitrogen to mimic the broader trend of increasing anthropogenic nitrogen deposition in soil.
Ibáñez and colleagues modeled the radial growth of the trees with and without nitrogen fertilization under
three different climate scenarios (the current climate, moderate change, and extreme change). Although they
found that climate change would negatively affect growth, they concluded that anthropogenic nitrogen
deposition could more than offset that effect provided that change is moderate rather than extreme.

Which choice best describes data from the graph that support Ibáñez and colleagues’ conclusion?
A. Growth with nitrogen under the current climate exceeded growth with nitrogen under moderate change,
but the latter exceeded growth without nitrogen under extreme change.

B. Growth without nitrogen under the current climate exceeded growth without nitrogen under moderate
change, but the latter exceeded growth with nitrogen under extreme change.
C. Growth with nitrogen under moderate change exceeded growth without nitrogen under moderate change,
but the latter exceeded growth without nitrogen under extreme change.

D. Growth with nitrogen under moderate change exceeded growth without nitrogen under the current
climate, but the latter exceeded growth with nitrogen under extreme change.

ID: 3a3281a9 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer because it describes data from the graph that support Ibáñez and colleagues’ conclusion that
increasing anthropogenic nitrogen deposition can compensate for the negative effect of climate change on tree growth if
that change is moderate but not if it’s extreme. The bar graph shows the growth of sugar maple trees with and without
nitrogen fertilization under three different climate-change scenarios: current conditions, a moderate change, and an extreme
change. According to the graph, radial growth without nitrogen fertilization is projected to be about 0.16 centimeters (cm)
under current conditions, 0.15 cm under a moderate change, and 0.04 cm under an extreme change. The graph also shows
that with nitrogen fertilization, growth is projected to be about 0.18 centimeters under a moderate change but only about
0.06 centimeters under an extreme change. Thus, the data in the graph support the researchers’ conclusion by showing
greater growth for a moderate change using nitrogen fertilization than they do either under current conditions without
nitrogen fertilization or under an extreme change with nitrogen fertilization.

Choice A is incorrect. Although it accurately represents the data in the graph, this fact pattern doesn’t support Ibáñez and
colleagues’ conclusion that the decline in radial growth due to climate change will be partly offset by higher levels of
anthropogenic nitrogen, but only if change to the climate is moderate and not if it’s extreme. To support this would require
comparing radial growth without nitrogen fertilization under current climate conditions to the growth with nitrogen
fertilization under both moderate and extreme changes. This choice mentions only growth with nitrogen fertilization under
current climate conditions and moderate change and growth without nitrogen fertilization under an extreme change, which
don’t provide a basis to determine whether higher nitrogen in the future will be able to offset reduced growth due to climate
change. Choice B is incorrect. Although it accurately represents the data in the graph, this fact pattern doesn’t support
Ibáñez and colleagues’ conclusion that the decline in radial growth due to climate change will be partly offset by higher
levels of atmospheric nitrogen, but only if change to the climate is moderate and not if it’s extreme. The support needed
would compare radial growth under current climate conditions without nitrogen fertilization to the growth with nitrogen
fertilization under moderate and extreme changes. This choice mentions only growth without nitrogen fertilization under
current conditions and moderate change and growth with nitrogen fertilization under extreme change, which don’t provide a
basis to determine whether higher nitrogen in the future will be able to offset reduced growth due to climate change. Choice
C is incorrect. Although it accurately represents the data in the graph, this fact pattern doesn’t support Ibáñez and
colleagues’ conclusion that the decline in radial growth due to climate change will be partly offset by higher levels of
atmospheric nitrogen, but only if change to the climate is moderate and not if it’s extreme. The support needed would
compare radial growth without adding nitrogen under current climate conditions to the growth with nitrogen fertilization
under moderate and extreme changes. This choice mentions only the growth with and without nitrogen fertilization under
moderate climate change and growth without nitrogen fertilization under extreme change, which don’t provide a basis to
determine whether higher nitrogen in the future will be able to offset reduced growth due to climate change.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3858f84c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 3858f84c

Median Ages of First Marriage for Men

and Women in the United States and
in England and Wales, 1900–2000
35
30
Median marriage age

25
20
15
10
5
0
00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 00
19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20
Years

Women (England and Wales)

Men (United States)
Women (United States)
Men (England and Wales)

A sociology student is reading an essay on the median age of first marriage in Western countries throughout
the twentieth century. The author of the essay cites factors common to these countries that the author
believes caused an increase in the median age of first marriage, such as new technologies that shortened
the time needed for domestic chores, making two-person households less necessary and living alone more
viable. The student asserts that beyond these factors there must be additional ones specific to particular
Western countries that influenced the increase of age at first marriage.

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph that support the student’s assertion?
A. Between 1970 and 2000, the median age of first marriage rose more sharply for men in England and
Wales than it did for men in the United States.
 B. In England and Wales, the median age of first marriage was consistently higher for men than for women
between 1900 and 2000, but this was not always the case in the United States.

C. The median age of first marriage for men in England and Wales was lower in 1970 than in 1950 or 1990.

D. Between 1900 and 2000, the median age of first marriage for women in England and Wales was
consistently higher than for women in the United States, as was the case for men.

ID: 3858f84c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The student concluded that country-specific factors influence changes to median age of first
marriage. This choice describes a time period when the rate of change differed between countries, suggesting that country-
specific factors may have played a role in these changes.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice misreads the graph. The median age of first marriage was consistently higher for men than
for women in the United States during the time period depicted. Choice C is incorrect. The student concluded that country-
specific factors influence changes to median age of first marriage. However, this choice doesn’t provide any contrasts
between countries and thus doesn’t support the idea of country-specific factors influencing median age of first marriage.
Choice D is incorrect. The students’ conclusion is about changes that occurred during the 20th century. This choice provides
broad information about the century as a whole, so it doesn’t give insight into how median age at first marriage changed over
time.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 01d4dfd9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: 01d4dfd9
Marta Coll and colleagues’ 2010 Mediterranean Sea biodiversity census reported approximately 17,000
species, nearly double the number reported in Carlo Bianchi and Carla Morri’s 2000 census—a difference only
partly attributable to the description of new invertebrate species in the interim. Another factor is that the
morphological variability of microorganisms is poorly understood compared to that of vertebrates,
invertebrates, plants, and algae, creating uncertainty about how to evaluate microorganisms as species.
Researchers’ decisions on such matters therefore can be highly consequential. Indeed, the two censuses
reported similar counts of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, suggesting that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. Coll and colleagues reported a much higher number of species than Bianchi and Morri did largely due to
the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of Bianchi and Morri’s
census.

B. some differences observed in microorganisms may have been treated as variations within species by
Bianchi and Morri but treated as indicative of distinct species by Coll and colleagues.

C. Bianchi and Morri may have been less sensitive to the degree of morphological variation displayed within
a typical species of microorganism than Coll and colleagues were.

D. the absence of clarity regarding how to differentiate among species of microorganisms may have resulted
in Coll and colleagues underestimating the number of microorganism species.

ID: 01d4dfd9 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer because it presents the conclusion that most logically completes the text’s discussion of the
different counts of species in the Mediterranean Sea. The text states that Coll and colleagues reported almost double the
number of species that Bianchi and Morri reported in their study ten years earlier. According to the text, this difference can
only be partly attributed to new invertebrate species being described in the years between the two studies, which means
there must be an additional factor that made Coll and colleagues’ count so much higher than Bianchi and Morri’s count. The
text goes on to explain that factor: researchers have a relatively poor understanding of microorganisms’ morphological
variability, or the differences in microorganisms’ structure and form. This poor understanding makes it hard to classify
microorganisms by species and means that researchers’ decisions about classifying microorganisms can have a large effect
on the overall species counts that researchers report. Additionally, the text says that the two censuses reported similar
numbers of vertebrate, plant, and algal species, which means that the difference in overall species did not come from
differences in those categories. Given all this information, it most logically follows that Coll and colleagues may have treated
some of the differences among microorganisms as indicative of the microorganisms being different species, whereas
Bianchi and Morri treated those differences as variations within species, resulting in Coll and colleagues reporting many
more species than Bianchi and Morri did.

Choice A is incorrect because the text explicitly addresses this issue by stating that the description of new invertebrate
species in the years between the two studies can explain only part of the difference in the number of species reported by the
studies. The focus of the text is on explaining the difference between Coll and colleagues’ count and Bianchi and Morri’s
count that cannot be accounted for by the inclusion of invertebrate species that had not been described at the time of
Bianchi and Morri’s study. Choice C is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that Bianchi and Morri may have been
less sensitive to how much the form and structure of microorganisms vary within the same species than Coll and colleagues
were. If Bianchi and Morri had been less sensitive to within-species variation than Coll and colleagues were, Bianchi and
Morri would likely have reported more species than Coll and colleagues did, since less sensitivity to within-species variation
would lead researchers to classify as different species microorganisms that more sensitive researchers would classify as
variations within the same species. The text indicates, however, that Bianchi and Morri reported far fewer species than Coll
and colleagues did; since the text also excludes other explanations for this difference, it suggests that in fact Bianchi and
Morri were more sensitive to within-species variation than Coll and colleagues were, leading Bianchi and Morri to report
fewer overall species. Choice D is incorrect because the text is focused on explaining why Coll and colleagues reported
many more species than Bianchi and Morri did, and an underestimate of the number of microorganism species by Coll and
colleagues would not explain that difference—it would suggest, in fact, that the difference in the number of species should
have been even larger.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e92c75a8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: e92c75a8
Barchester Towers is an 1857 novel by Anthony Trollope. In the novel, Trollope’s portrayal of Dr. Proudie
underscores the character’s exaggerated sense of his own abilities: ______

Which quotation from Barchester Towers most effectively illustrates the claim?
A. “It must not…be taken as proved that Dr. Proudie was a man of great mental powers, or even of much
capacity for business, for such qualities had not been required in him.”

B. “[Dr. Proudie] was comparatively young, and had, as he fondly flattered himself, been selected as
possessing such gifts, natural and acquired, as must be sure to recommend him to a yet higher notice.”

C. “[Dr. Proudie’s] residence in the metropolis, rendered necessary by duties thus entrusted to him, his high
connexions, and the peculiar talents and nature of the man, recommended him to persons in power.”

D. “[Dr. Proudie] was certainly possessed of sufficient tact to answer the purpose for which he was required
without making himself troublesome.”

ID: e92c75a8 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. In this quotation, Dr. Proudie is described as "fondly flatter[ing] himself" that he has gifts that
"must be sure to recommend him to a yet higher notice." In other words, he expects his skills to push him to greater fame
and success. This implies an exaggerated sense of his own abilities, which matches the claim we’re trying to support.

Choice A is incorrect. This quotation doesn’t describe Proudie’s view of himself, nor does it paint him in an especially
flattering light. Instead, by saying his mental powers and business skill are not "proved," it implies that he is actually dim-
witted and bad at business. Choice C is incorrect. This choice describes Proudie’s closeness to power and importance, but it
doesn’t show what Proudie thinks of himself. Proudie is not describing himself or his abilities here. The narrator is. Choice D
is incorrect. While this quotation offers Proudie very mild praise, it doesn’t show what Proudie thinks of himself or his own
abilities, which is what the claim focuses on.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c83508f3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: c83508f3
Corn-Related Vocabulary in Various Southeastern Languages
Language English Proposed origin in vocabulary of
family Word (language) translation the Totozoquean language family

tanchi’ (Chickasaw); tanchi (Choctaw);

Muskogean corn no
vce (Muscogee, pronounced “uh-chi”)

Iroquoian se-lu (Cherokee) corn no

Caddoan -k’as- (Caddo) dried corn yes

Chitimacha k’asma (Chitimacha) corn yes

In Caddo, a language from what is now the US Southeast, vocabulary pertaining to corn cultivation resembles
equivalent vocabulary in the Totozoquean language family in Mexico. This resemblance is perhaps
attributable to cultural contact: such words could have entered Caddo through the intermediary of the
neighboring but unrelated Chitimacha language, concurrent with the dissemination of corn itself from Mexico
into the Southeast after 700 CE. That the vocabulary pertaining to domestic crops accompanies them as
they diffuse into new regions is an established phenomenon globally. Crops may also be decoupled from
vocabulary altogether: corn cultivation became ubiquitous among the Southeastern tribes, yet ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?
A. the origins of vocabulary pertaining to the crop vary across languages in the region, with the words for
corn in Cherokee and the Muskogean languages showing no demonstrable relationship to Totozoquean
vocabulary.

B. the region is linguistically diverse, being home not only to Chitimacha and Caddo, but also to the
Muskogean language family (including Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Muscogee) and to one Iroquoian
language (Cherokee).

C. corn-related vocabulary underwent changes when entering other, unrelated languages, as can be seen by
the divergence of the Caddo word from the Chitimacha word it originated in.

D. words for corn in the languages of the Muskogean family evolved from a common root, with the
Muscogee word having lost certain consonant sounds still present in the Chickasaw and Choctaw words.

ID: c83508f3 Answer

Correct Answer: A
Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The table provides evidence that the words for corn in the Cherokee and Muskogean languages
appear unrelated to those in Caddo language, which is described as closely related to the Totozoquean language family. This
supports the claim that corn cultivation spread across the Southeast without necessarily spreading Totozoquean vocabulary
along with it.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice emphasizes the diversity of Southeastern languages in general, but we’re specifically
looking for information about words associated with corn. Choice C is incorrect. This choice shows how words for corn can
change and evolve, but we’re looking for an example that shows how some words for corn can be completely unrelated.
Choice D is incorrect. This choice shows words for corn that share a common root, but we’re looking for an example that
shows how some words for corn can be unrelated.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f396849d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: f396849d
During their larval phase, numerous species of coral reef fish are drawn toward areas where light is present.
To better understand how artificial light at night (ALAN) might affect some coral reef fish, researchers
explored the effect of exposure to low levels of ALAN on the reproductive success of the common clownfish
(Amphiprion ocellaris). While exposure to low levels of ALAN had no significant effect on spawning frequency
and egg fertilization in A. ocellaris, incubation in the presence of ALAN completely inhibited hatching. These
findings suggest that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. A. ocellaris that settle in areas with low levels of ALAN have significantly higher rates of successful egg
fertilization than A. ocellaris that settle in areas without ALAN do.

B. the reproductive success of A. ocellaris would be at risk if they were to selectively settle in regions that
are regularly exposed to low levels of ALAN.

C. the reproductive success of A. ocellaris is more greatly affected by the presence of low levels of ALAN
during incubation than the reproductive success of other species of coral reef fish is.

D. the spawning frequency of A. ocellaris was more strongly affected by the presence of low levels of ALAN
than egg fertilization was, though both were less affected than incubation.

ID: f396849d Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of artificial light at night (ALAN) and
the common clownfish (A. ocellaris). The text indicates that researchers found that when A. ocellaris is exposed to low levels
of ALAN, spawning frequency and egg fertilization aren’t significantly affected but hatching is completely inhibited—that is,
the eggs never hatch. Therefore, if A. ocellaris were to settle only in regions where the fish would be regularly exposed to low
levels of ALAN, their eggs would stop hatching and their reproductive success would be at risk.

Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that exposure to low levels of ALAN had no significant effect on egg
fertilization for A. ocellaris, so there’s no reason to expect there would be any significant difference in rates of successful egg
fertilization between areas with low levels of ALAN and areas without ALAN. Choice C is incorrect because the text doesn’t
discuss the particular effects of low levels of ALAN on any species of coral reef fish besides A. ocellaris. For this reason,
there’s no support in the text for the idea that the reproductive success of A. ocellaris is more greatly affected by the
presence of low levels of ALAN than the reproductive success of other species of coral reef fish is. Choice D is incorrect. The
text does indicate that A. ocellaris incubation was most strongly affected by low levels of ALAN, but it doesn’t indicate that
there was a greater effect on spawning frequency than on egg fertilization; in fact, the text states that there was no
significant effect on either.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6760c788
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 6760c788
In the 1980s, many musicians and journalists in the English-speaking world began to draw attention to music
from around the globe—such as mbaqanga from South Africa and quan họ from Vietnam—that can’t be
easily categorized according to British or North American popular music genres, typically referring to such
music as “world music.” While some scholars have welcomed this development for bringing diverse musical
forms to prominence in countries where they’d previously been overlooked, musicologist Su Zheng claims
that the concept of world music homogenizes highly distinct traditions by reducing them all to a single
category.

Which finding about mbaqanga and quan họ, if true, would most directly support Zheng’s claim?
A. Mbaqanga and quan họ developed independently of each other and have little in common musically.

B. Mbaqanga is significantly more popular in the English-speaking world than quan họ is.

C. Mbaqanga and quan họ are now performed by a diverse array of musicians with no direct connections to
South Africa or Vietnam.

D. Mbaqanga and quan họ are highly distinct from British and North American popular music genres but
similar to each other.

ID: 6760c788 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. Zheng’s claim is that the idea of world music “homogenizes” (meaning makes similar) distinct
kinds of music by reducing them to one category. In other words, Zheng thinks the concept of world music is a harmful
oversimplification of diverse musical forms. To support this claim, we need evidence that these musical traditions are so
different from one another that they should not fall into the same category. If it’s true that mbaqanga and quan họ developed
separately and have little in common musically, then it wouldn’t make sense to lump them into the same category.

Choice B is incorrect. If true, this wouldn’t affect the claim. To support the claim, we need evidence that these musical
traditions are so different from one another that they should not fall into the same category. A difference in popularity
doesn’t necessarily mean that the two musical traditions shouldn’t be categorized together: instead, we need to know if the
music itself is similar or different. Choice C is incorrect. If true, this wouldn’t affect the claim. To support the claim, we need
evidence that these musical traditions are so different from each other that they should not fall into the same category. This
choice doesn’t do that. Choice D is incorrect. If true, this would actually weaken the claim. Zheng thinks it’s reductive or
oversimplifying to put distinct musical traditions into a single category. But if mbaqanga and quan họ are similar to each
other, then it would make sense to put them in the same category.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID 0e48e4cb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: 0e48e4cb
Some ethicists hold that the moral goodness of an individual’s actions depends solely on whether the
actions themselves are good, irrespective of the context in which they are carried out. Philosopher L.
Sebastian Purcell has shown that surviving works of Aztec (Nahua) philosophy express a very different view.
Purcell reveals that these works posit an ethical system in which an individual’s actions are judged in light of
how well they accord with the individual’s role in society and how well they contribute to the community. To
the extent that these works are representative of Aztec thought, Purcell’s analysis suggests that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. the Aztecs would have disputed the idea that the morality of an individual’s actions can be assessed by
appealing to standards of behavior that are independent of the individual’s social circumstances.

B. the Aztecs would not have accepted the notion that the morality of an individual’s actions can be fairly
evaluated by people who do not live in the same society as that individual.

C. actions by members of Aztec society who contributed a great deal to their community could be judged as
morally good even if those actions were inconsistent with behaviors the Aztecs regarded as good in all
contexts.

D. similar actions performed by people in different social roles in Aztec society would have been regarded as
morally equivalent unless those actions led to different outcomes for the community.

ID: 0e48e4cb Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion about Aztec (Nahua) ethics. The text
indicates that, according to Purcell’s interpretation of available Aztec philosophical works, the Aztec ethical system views an
individual’s actions in relation to that individual’s societal role and how the actions affect the community. The text contrasts
this view with another held by some ethicists, namely that actions are morally good or bad regardless of the context in which
they occur. Thus, Purcell’s analysis suggests that the Aztecs would have asserted that the morality of an individual’s actions
are rooted in that person’s position in the community and the actions’ effects and therefore cannot be determined in the
absence of that context.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates that morally judging an action according to Aztec ethics requires an
understanding of the action’s effects and the individual’s social circumstances, it does not specify that only members of that
society can acquire this information. Choice C is incorrect because it implies that the Aztecs considered some actions good
or bad regardless of the surrounding context, which contradicts the text’s claim that the Aztecs believed that the morality of
an individual’s action is dependent on the action’s effects on the community and the person’s specific circumstances. Choice
D is incorrect. Although the text indicates that in Aztec ethics the morality of an action depends in part on how it affects the
community, this is only one of the two factors—the other being the person’s societal role—that need to be considered.
Therefore, it is possible that two actions with the same effect on the community could be considered morally distinct if they
are performed by individuals in different social roles.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID b355bef7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: b355bef7

Weight of Three Aerial Robots

550
500
450
400
Weight (grams)

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Robot

Ultra-Fast Robot Hand

Permanent Magnet Hand
Yale Model T

Aerial robots vary considerably in their holding force; the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand, for example, has a holding
force of 56 newtons, more than twice that of the Permanent Magnet Hand and more than four times that of
the Yale Model T. Since an aerial robot must lift its own weight along with its cargo, engineer Jiawei Meng
and colleagues used a ratio of each robot’s holding force to the robot’s weight to calculate payload capacity,
with higher ratios corresponding to greater capacity, concluding that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher
payload capacity than the Yale Model T.

Which choice best describes data in the graph that support Meng and colleagues’ conclusion?
A. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T each weigh more than 450 grams.

B. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T each weigh more than the Permanent Magnet Hand
does.

C. The Yale Model T has a lower holding force than the Permanent Magnet Hand despite weighing more.

D. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand weighs only slightly more than the Yale Model T does.
 ID: b355bef7 Answer
Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer because it describes data in the graph that support Meng and colleagues’ conclusion that the
Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. According to the text, payload capacity is
calculated by using a ratio of a robot’s holding force to the robot’s weight, and higher ratios indicate a greater payload
capacity. The Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a holding force of 56 newtons, four times greater than that of the Yale Model T.
Additionally, the graph shows that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a weight of approximately 500 grams, slightly more than
the Yale Model T’s weight of approximately 480 grams. Therefore, the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher ratio of holding
force to weight than the Yale Model T. Since higher ratios correspond to greater payload capacity, the information from the
graph indicating that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand weighs only slightly more than the Yale Model T combined with the
information in the text ultimately supports the conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than
the Yale Model T.

Choice A is incorrect. Although, according to the graph, it’s true that both the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T
weigh more than 450 grams, this statement doesn’t support Meng and colleagues’ conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand
has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. This statement emphasizes a similarity, not a distinction, between the
two robots. Choice B is incorrect. Although, according to the graph, it’s true that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale
Model T both weigh more than the Permanent Magnet Hand does, this statement doesn’t support Meng and colleagues’
conclusion that the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand has a higher payload capacity than the Yale Model T. This statement emphasizes
a similarity, not a distinction, between the Ultra-Fast Robot Hand and the Yale Model T. Furthermore, the comparison to the
Permanent Magnet Hand is irrelevant to the claim about the relative ratios and payload capacities of the Ultra-Fast Robot
Hand and the Yale Model T. Choice C is incorrect. Although the text states that the Yale Model T has a lower holding force
than the Permanent Magnet Hand, the graph provides no information about holding force. Moreover, information about the
Permanent Magnet Hand is irrelevant to the conclusion by Meng and colleagues, which only concerns the Ultra-Fast Robot
Hand and the Yale Model T.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 497015e1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Central Ideas and Hard
Ideas Details

ID: 497015e1
For centuries, the widespread acknowledgment of the involvement of the cerebellum—a dense brain
structure in vertebrates—in coordinating motor control in humans has hindered recognition of other possible
functions of the structure. Neuroscience research from the last two decades now suggests that the
cerebellum regulates emotion and social behavior, and recent research by Ilaria Carta and colleagues has
identified a pathway connecting the cerebellum to a center for motivation and reward processing known as
the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. The recent verification of a pathway between the VTA and the cerebellum confirms the cerebellum’s long-
suspected role in motor coordination.

B. Recent advances in the field of neuroscience have challenged widely accepted claims about the function
of a pathway connecting the VTA and the cerebellum.

C. The cerebellum has primarily been thought to regulate motor functioning, but in recent years
neuroscience researchers have been uncovering additional functions.

D. Technological limitations have historically hindered the study of the cerebellum, but the recent
development of new technologies has led to greater insights into its functions.

ID: 497015e1 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The text says that the cerebellum has long been thought to regulate motor functioning, but new
research shows that it may also have other functions—including regulating emotion and social behavior and some
connection to motivation and rewards processing.

Choice A is incorrect. The VTA is described as “a center for motivation and reward processing,” and the discovery of the
pathway between the VTA and the cerebellum supports the theory that the cerebellum is involved in functions other than
motor coordination. Choice B is incorrect. The text says that recent research has identified this pathway, but it doesn’t
discuss any previous “widely accepted claims” about the pathway’s function. The “widespread acknowledgement”
mentioned early in the passage is about the cerebellum alone, not its connection to the VTA. Choice D is incorrect. The text
never discusses any technological limitations or any new technologies.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c4bc50cd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: c4bc50cd

Mean Ticket Prices Chosen in Two Studies

of Participative Pricing Messaging
80
70
Mean chosen price ($)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2
Study

pay what you can

pay what you think it’s worth
pay what you want

Participative pricing, in which purchasers choose the prices they pay for products, can enable sellers to
capitalize on the heterogeneous values consumers assign to the same goods and services, but doing so
requires careful messaging. Annie Peng Cui and Jennifer Wiggins recruited 171 participants (ages 18–60)
online for an initial study and 83 students (ages 18–31) at a state university for a second study to test the
effect of three different messages—“pay what you can,” “pay what you think it’s worth,” and “pay what you
want”—on how much participants would pay for concert tickets. Their results illustrate both the
heterogeneity of consumer valuations and how sellers can benefit by prompting consumers to consider their
own valuations: ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the text?
A. the students tended to value the concert tickets more highly than did the more age-diverse group
recruited online, but when considering what they could afford to pay, the students tended to choose a
lower price than did the other group.

B. in all three messaging conditions, the group of participants recruited online tended to choose lower prices
than did the students, but both groups tended to choose prices closest to the actual cost of the tickets
 when prompted to consider the tickets’ value.

C. the students tended to value the concert tickets more highly than did the more age-diverse group
recruited online, but both groups tended to choose a higher price when considering the value of the
tickets than when considering what they could afford or wanted to pay.

D. within each group of participants, there was wide variation in the value that individuals assigned to the
concert tickets, but the students tended to assign a higher value to the tickets than did the more age-
diverse group recruited online.

ID: c4bc50cd Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer because it most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the text about the effect of
messaging on participative pricing. The graph shows mean ticket prices chosen by participants in response to three
messages across two studies: Study 1, which the text indicates was conducted with an age-diverse group recruited online,
and Study 2, which was conducted with student participants. The graph indicates that in the "pay what you think it’s worth"
condition, the mean price of the concert tickets in Study 2 was about $74, which is greater than the mean price of about $55
in Study 1. In other words, when participants were asked to consider their valuation of the tickets, the response was
heterogeneous, or mixed. Moreover, according to the graph, both Study 1 and Study 2 show higher prices for the tickets
under the "pay what you think it’s worth" condition than they do under both the "pay what you can" and the "pay what you
want" conditions. That is, the data suggest that both groups of participants named higher prices when considering the value
of the tickets than when considering either what they could afford or wanted to pay, a finding that supports the idea that
sellers can benefit when prompting consumers to consider their own valuations when they choose prices.

Choice A is incorrect because it contradicts information in the graph. Although the graph shows that students in Study 2
assigned a higher value to the tickets than did the age-diverse group in Study 1, which would support the idea that consumer
valuations were heterogeneous, the graph shows that in the "pay what you can" (i.e., what you can afford) condition, the
students in Study 2 assigned a higher price (about $40), not a lower price, than the age-diverse group in Study 1 did (about
$30). Moreover, even if it were true that the students had assigned a lower price in this condition, it wouldn’t support the
result described in the text, only that the participants across the two studies had different ideas of what they can afford to
pay. Choice B is incorrect. Although a finding that participants tended to choose prices that were closest to the actual ticket
costs in the "pay what you think it’s worth" condition would support the idea that sellers benefit by prompting consumers to
think about their own valuations (since it’s implied that sellers would lose money in the other conditions, where chosen
prices were lower than the participants’ valuations), neither the text nor the graph addresses how any of the prices chosen by
the study participants relate to the tickets’ actual market price. Choice D is incorrect. Although the wide variation in
participant valuations would support the idea that consumer valuations tend to be heterogeneous, neither the text nor the
graph provides any information from which to discern the relative levels of variance among the responses from participants
in either study.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 29f5d8bd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 29f5d8bd
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 1978, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta River in Norway.
The dam would disrupt Sámi fishing and reindeer herding.
The dam was ultimately built, but the Alta conflict had a lasting impact.
It brought international attention to the issue of Sámi rights.
It led to a set of 2005 legal protections establishing Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about the Alta conflict. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. During the Alta conflict, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta
River in Norway that would disrupt local fishing and reindeer herding.

B. Although the dam that the Sámi activists had protested was ultimately built, the Alta conflict had a lasting
impact.

C. Sámi rights to lands, waters, and resources received international attention and legal protections as a
result of the Alta conflict.

D. The Alta conflict had a lasting impact, resulting in international attention and legal protections for Sámi
rights to lands, waters, and resources.

ID: 29f5d8bd Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. It makes a generalization—the conflict had a lasting impact—and then supports it with evidence
—the attention and protections were results of the conflict.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t make a generalization about the conflict. It describes a specific event from the
conflict. Choice B is incorrect. This choice makes a generalization about the Alta conflict, but doesn’t support it. Choice C is
incorrect. This choice makes a statement about the aftermath of the conflict, but doesn’t support it. The statement is also a
little too specific to be a generalization.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5cbd602c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 5cbd602c
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Leigh Torres is a marine ecologist.
She conducted a study of blue whales in New Zealand’s South Taranaki Bight region.
She wanted to know how ocean temperature affects where the whales forage for krill in that region.
She found that during a marine heat wave, the whales foraged farther offshore than they had during cooler periods.
The offshore waters, which were colder than areas closer to shore, had a higher relative abundance of krill.

The student wants to emphasize the aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Analyzing ocean temperature data, Torres found that during a marine heat wave, blue whales foraged
farther offshore than they had during cooler periods.

B. In her study, Torres sought to determine how ocean temperature affects where blue whales forage for krill
in the South Taranaki Bight region.

C. Torres’s study revealed that blue whales were attracted to offshore waters with a relatively high
abundance of krill.

D. Torres, a marine ecologist, studied blue whales in the South Taranaki Bight region, where the whales
forage.

ID: 5cbd602c Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes the aim, or goal, of the research study, noting that Torres sought to
determine how ocean temperature affects where blue whales forage for krill.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the results of the study, noting what Torres found at the end; it doesn’t
emphasize the aim, or goal, of the study, which is what Torres sought at the beginning. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence
makes a claim about the study’s results; it doesn’t emphasize the aim, or goal, of the study. Choice D is incorrect. The
sentence indicates the location of Torres’s study; it doesn’t emphasize the aim, or goal, of the study.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f87d07d3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: f87d07d3
The mineral mtorolite is most commonly found in Zimbabwe. Mtorolite is cryptocrystalline, meaning that its
crystalline structure is so fine that the individual crystals cannot be distinguished by the naked eye or even
under a microscope. The crystals in microcrystalline minerals are also not visible to the naked eye; ______
they can usually be seen under a microscope.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. thus,

B. for example,

C. that said,

D. similarly,

ID: f87d07d3 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer because "that said" logically signals that the information that follows—that the crystals of
microcrystalline minerals can be seen with a microscope—is an exception to the previous information about the crystalline
structure of minerals not being visible under a microscope.

Choice A is incorrect because "thus" illogically signals that the information that follows is a direct result or consequence of
the fact that the crystals of microcrystalline minerals aren’t visible to the naked eye. Instead, the fact that they can be seen
under a microscope is an exception to the previous information about crystalline minerals. Choice B is incorrect because "for
example" illogically signals that the information that follows exemplifies the fact that the crystals of microcrystalline
minerals aren’t visible to the naked eye. Instead, the fact that they can be seen under a microscope is an exception to the
previous information about crystalline minerals. Choice D is incorrect because "similarly" illogically signals that the
information that follows is similar or comparable to the fact that the crystals of microcrystalline minerals aren’t visible to the
naked eye. Instead, the fact that they can be seen under a microscope is an exception to the previous information about
crystalline minerals.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 14bec4c8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 14bec4c8
A turtle shell appears external to the animal, protecting its body like armor. ______ the shell is often
incorrectly assumed to be an exoskeleton, a rigid outer casing like that of a crustacean or an insect, when in
fact it is an endoskeleton, a part of the turtle’s internal bone structure, more akin to a spine or a pair of ribs.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. That being said,

B. However,

C. For instance,

D. Hence,

ID: 14bec4c8 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. "Hence" logically signals that the information in this sentence about turtle shells—that people
incorrectly assume they are exoskeletons—is a consequence of the shells appearing external to the animal.

Choice A is incorrect because "that being said" illogically signals that this sentence qualifies or contrasts with the previous
information about turtle shells appearing external to the animal. Instead, it presents a consequence of that information.
Choice B is incorrect because "however" illogically signals that this sentence contrasts with the previous information about
turtle shells appearing external to the animal. Instead, it presents a consequence of that information. Choice C is incorrect
because "for instance" illogically signals that this sentence provides an example supporting the previous information about
turtle shells appearing external to the animal. Instead, it presents a consequence of that information.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 4e564c4f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 4e564c4f
With its clichéd imagery of suburban lawns and power lines, John Ashbery’s 2004 poem “Ignorance of the
Law Is No Excuse” may seem barren terrain for critical analysis. ______ cultural critic Lauren Berlant finds
fertile ground in just its first two stanzas, devoting most of a book chapter to deciphering the “weight of the
default space” Ashbery creates in this poem.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Likewise,

B. Nonetheless,

C. In turn,

D. That is,

ID: 4e564c4f Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. “Nonetheless” is a transition that indicates disagreement. The first sentence describes the
unlikelihood of finding much for critical analysis in Ashbery’s poem (“barren terrain”), while the second sentence describes
how Berlant did in fact find much to analyze in Ashbery’s poem (“fertile ground”), so the transition “nonetheless” fits
perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of a new but similar idea, which doesn’t make
sense here. The idea in this sentence directly contradicts the idea in the previous sentence. Choice C is incorrect. This
choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense in this context—a poem seemingly having little
opportunity for critical analysis would not cause someone to write an extensive critical analysis (in fact, we might expect the
opposite). Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a restatement of the same idea in other words.
But the text isn’t restating the first idea here. Instead, it’s offering a contradiction to the idea expressed in the first sentence.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9dcc184d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 9dcc184d
Plato believed material objects to be crude representations of unseen ideal forms. In his view, such abstract,
nonmaterial forms are the ultimate source of knowledge. Aristotle disagreed, positing that knowledge is best
obtained through direct engagement with the material world; ______ sensory experience of the material is the
ultimate source of knowledge.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. regardless,

B. admittedly,

C. in other words,

D. meanwhile,

ID: 9dcc184d Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. “In other words” logically signals that the claim about sensory experience that follows—that
sensory experience is the source of knowledge—is a restatement of Aristotle’s theory from earlier in the sentence.

Choice A is incorrect because “regardless” illogically signals that the claim about sensory experience that follows is true in
spite of Aristotle’s theory from earlier in the sentence. Instead, this claim is a restatement of his theory. Choice B is incorrect
because “admittedly” illogically signals that the claim about sensory experience that follows is an exception to Aristotle’s
theory from earlier in the sentence. Instead, this claim is a restatement of his theory. Choice D is incorrect because
“meanwhile” illogically signals that the claim about sensory experience that follows is separate from (while occurring
simultaneously with) Aristotle’s theory from earlier in the sentence. Instead, this claim is a restatement of his theory.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 990bd995
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 990bd995
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
A thermal inversion is a phenomenon where a layer of atmosphere is warmer than the layer beneath it.
In 2022, a team of researchers studied the presence of thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants.
Gas giants are planets largely composed of helium and hydrogen.
The team found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were also likely to contain heat-absorbing metals.
One explanation for this relationship is that these metals may reside in a planet’s upper atmosphere, where their
absorbed heat causes an increase in temperature.

The student wants to present the study’s findings to an audience already familiar with thermal inversions.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Heat-absorbing metals may reside in a planet’s upper atmosphere.

B. The team studied thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants, which are largely composed of helium and
hydrogen.

C. Researchers found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were likely to contain heat-absorbing
metals, which may reside in the planets’ upper atmospheres.

D. Gas giants were likely to contain heat-absorbing metals when they featured a layer of atmosphere warmer
than the layer beneath it, researchers found; this phenomenon is known as a thermal inversion.

ID: 990bd995 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. It describes the study’s findings in a way that assumes the audience is already familiar with
thermal inversions.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t fully describe the findings of the study, because it doesn’t include anything about
thermal inversions. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe the study’s findings. Choice D is incorrect. This choice
isn’t suited for an audience already familiar with thermal inversion. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term
defined.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID aba812aa
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: aba812aa
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Nissologists are scientists who study islands.
Some nissologists define an island as any piece of land surrounded by water.
Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 221,000 islands.
Other nissologists define an island as being 1 kilometer square, a certain distance from the mainland, and having at
least 50 permanent residents.
Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 24 islands.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island. Which
choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish these goals?
A. The definition of an island as any piece of land surrounded by water is supported by some nissologists,
scientists who study islands.

B. Multiple counts of Sweden’s islands have been based on different definitions of an island.

C. Based on a recent count, Sweden has a relatively small number of islands with at least 50 permanent
residents.

D. Nissologists’ different definitions can result in huge disparities in counts of islands, as the example of
Sweden shows.

ID: aba812aa Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence makes a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island—specifically,
that the use of one definition rather than another can result in huge disparities in the number of islands counted—and
supports that generalization by citing Sweden as an example.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence introduces one definition of an island to an audience unfamiliar with nissologists; it
doesn’t make a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island. Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence
synthesizes information from the notes about counts of Sweden’s islands, it doesn’t make and support a generalization
about nissologists’ definition of an island. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence makes an inference about islands in Sweden;
it doesn’t mention nissologists’ definition of an island or make a generalization about it.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f99639a1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: f99639a1
When one looks at the dark craggy vistas in Hitoshi Fugo’s evocative photo series, one’s mind might wander
off to the cratered surfaces of faraway planets. ______ it’s the series’ title, Flying Frying Pan, that brings one
back to Earth, reminding the viewer that each photo is actually a close-up view of a familiar household object:
a frying pan.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Consequently,

B. Alternatively,

C. Ultimately,

D. Additionally,

ID: f99639a1 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The first sentence describes an experience that the viewer has when they’re looking at the
photos: they imagine other planets. This sentence describes an experience that the viewer has afterward: the title reminds
them that the photos are of frying pans, bringing them back to reality. “Ultimately” is a transition that means “eventually” or
“in the end,” so it fits the context perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense here. The viewer imagining
other planets when they’re looking at the photos doesn’t cause the title to bring them back to reality. Choice B is incorrect.
This choice uses a transition that indicates another option or possibility, which doesn’t make sense here. Rather, the viewer
has both experiences: first the viewer imagines that they’re looking at another planet, and then the title reminds them that it’s
just a frying pan. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of an agreeing idea. But the
viewer’s experience in the second sentence is actually the opposite of the viewer’s experience in the first sentence. In the
first sentence, the viewer is imagining that they’re seeing a landscape from another planet. In the second sentence, the
viewer is reminded that they’re looking at a frying pan.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0ed087c7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 0ed087c7
To perform a quad axel, a figure skater must leap into the air and complete four and a half rotations before
landing, an extreme feat. ______ in 2022, when 17-year-old Ilia Malinin landed the first quad axel—considered
the most difficult quad jump—in a high-level competition, the audience was left awestruck.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Moreover,

B. Fittingly,

C. Next,

D. However,

ID: 0ed087c7 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. "Fittingly" logically signals that the information in this sentence—that the audience was amazed
when Malinin landed the first quad axel—describes a suitable or appropriate reaction to the completion of this extremely
difficult jump.

Choice A is incorrect. "Moreover" illogically signals that the information in this sentence merely adds to the previous
information about the difficulty of completing a quad axel. Instead, the audience’s amazement is a suitable or appropriate
reaction to this accomplishment. Choice C is incorrect. "Next" illogically signals that the information in this sentence is
simply the next step in a process. Instead, the audience’s amazement is a suitable or appropriate reaction to the
accomplishment. Choice D is incorrect. "However" illogically signals that the information in this sentence is in contrast or an
exception to the difficulty of completing a quad axel. Instead, the audience’s amazement is a suitable or appropriate reaction
to this accomplishment.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c6b6128f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: c6b6128f
Seismologists Kaiqing Yuan and Barbara Romanowicz have proposed that the magma fueling Iceland’s more
than 30 active volcano systems emerges from deep within Earth. The great depths involved—nearly 3,000 km
—mark Iceland’s volcanoes as extreme outliers; ______ many of Earth’s volcanoes are fed by shallow pockets
of magma found less than 15 km below the surface.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. indeed,

B. nevertheless,

C. in addition,

D. consequently,

ID: c6b6128f Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The second part of the sentence says that many volcanoes use shallow pockets of magma.
This is an elaboration of the same underlying idea from the first part of the sentence, which says that the super deep magma
of Icelandic volcanoes’ makes them outliers. “Indeed” is a transition used for elaborating on the same idea, so it fits the
context perfectly.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But these two parts of the sentence agree with each other,
so “nevertheless” doesn’t make sense. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of a
new idea. But the second part of the sentence isn’t adding a new idea: it’s elaborating on the same idea expressed in the first
part of the sentence. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense here.
The fact that Iceland’s deep-magma volcanoes are outliers doesn’t cause many other volcanoes to get fed by shallow
pockets of magma.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1572e3e1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 1572e3e1
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
As engineered structures, many bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive.
A research team led by Yashraj Bhosale wanted to better understand the mechanics behind these structural
properties.
Bhosale’s team used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks into nest-like structures.
The researchers analyzed the points where sticks touched one another.
When pressure was applied to the model nests, the number of contact points between the sticks increased, making
the structures stiffer.

The student wants to present the primary aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Bhosale’s team wanted to better understand the mechanics behind bird nests’ uniquely flexible yet
cohesive structural properties.

B. The researchers used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks and analyzed
the points where sticks touched one another.

C. After analyzing the points where sticks touched, the researchers found that the structures became stiffer
when pressure was applied.

D. As analyzed by Bhosale’s team, bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive engineered structures.

ID: 1572e3e1 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. It describes the reason Bhosale’s team wanted to study the structures of bird nests—that is to
say, the study’s primary aim.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the primary aim of the research study. It describes how the study worked,
but not why it was done. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the primary aim of the research study. It
describes a result of the experiment, but not why it was carried out. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the
primary aim of the research study.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID abec0478
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: abec0478
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
A sestina is a thirty-nine-line poetic form.
Each line of the poem ends with one of six end words, which alternate according to a set pattern.
“Forage Sestina” is a sestina by Marilyn Hacker.
Its end words are words, structure, wire, beam, wall, and room.
“Towards Autumn” is a sestina by Marilyn Hacker.
Its end words are daughter, friend, bread, mother, lover, and myself.

The student wants to use one of the poems to illustrate the sestina form. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Hacker employs the sestina, a poetic form with thirty-nine lines and six end words, in both “Forage
Sestina” and “Towards Autumn.”

B. As a sestina, “Towards Autumn” contains thirty-nine lines and six end words—in this case, daughter, friend,
bread, mother, lover, and myself—that alternate in a set pattern.

C. The thirty-nine-line sestina form uses the words daughter, friend, bread, mother, lover, and myself, which
are found in the poem “Forage Sestina.”

D. Hacker has used the sestina form multiple times, as in “Towards Autumn,” which contains these six
words: words, structure, wire, beam, wall, and room.

ID: abec0478 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The sentence uses the poem "Towards Autumn" to illustrate the form of a sestina, explaining
that a sestina’s thirty-nine lines all end in one of six alternating words and showcasing that poem’s specific end words.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence identifies both of Hacker’s poems as sestinas; it doesn’t use one of the poems to
illustrate the form of a sestina. Choice C is incorrect. While the sentence appears to use the poem "Forage Sestina" to
illustrate a feature of the sestina form, it misrepresents the information in the notes. According to the notes, "Forage Sestina"
doesn’t use these six end words; it uses six other words instead. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence uses the poem
"Towards Autumn" as an example of one of Hacker’s sestinas, it misrepresents the information in the notes. According to the
notes, "Towards Autumn" doesn’t use these six end words; it uses six other words instead.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 867ceff8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 867ceff8
The Sun and other stars are powered by nuclear fusion reactions, in which two atoms collide to form a single
heavier atom, releasing energy. Scientists have long believed that fusion has the potential to meet humanity’s
clean energy needs. ______ prior to December 2022, no fusion reaction in a laboratory setting had ever
generated a net energy gain.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. For this reason,

B. Moreover,

C. Specifically,

D. That said,

ID: 867ceff8 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. Scientists believe in fusion’s potential as an energy source, but have struggled to actually make
it work—in other words, there is a contradiction between scientists’ beliefs and their reality. “That said” is a disagreement
transition that works perfectly in this context.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense here. Scientists not being
able to generate extra energy from lab fusion reactions isn’t an effect of them believing in fusion’s potential. Choice B is
incorrect. This transition indicates the addition of another supporting point. But this sentence is not adding a supporting
point to the previous sentence—scientists not being able to successfully generate energy from fusion isn’t another point in
favor of fusion meeting humanity’s clean energy needs. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that introduces or
elaborates on a particular example. But this sentence doesn’t give an example of scientists’ belief in fusion’s potential to
meet humanity’s clean energy needs—in fact, it contrasts that optimistic belief with the reality of past failures to successfully
employ fusion for energy production.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID cd75bd44
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: cd75bd44
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The popular wood-wide web theory posits that trees can communicate and exchange resources with one another via
common mycorrhizal networks (CMNs) of fungi.
Ecologist Dr. Suzanne Simard first suggested this theory in 1997.
She described trees as “super-cooperators.”
In the 2022 study “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” mycologist Dr. Justine Karst and colleagues evaluated
dozens of CMN studies.
They write that CMNs “have captured the interest of broad audiences. We are concerned, however, that recent claims
about CMNs in forests are disconnected from evidence.”

The student wants to use a quotation to emphasize a potential problem with the wood-wide web theory.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Describing trees as “super-cooperators,” Simard first suggested that trees can exchange resources with
one another in 1997.

B. In “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” Karst and colleagues note that common mycorrhizal networks
“have captured the interest of broad audiences.”

C. After evaluating dozens of CMN studies, Karst and colleagues expressed concern that recent claims
about common mycorrhizal networks are “disconnected from evidence.”

D. Despite the concerns expressed in the 2022 study “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” the wood-wide
web theory remains popular.

ID: cd75bd44 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. This choice uses a quotation to convey the authors’ criticism and challenge to the wood-wide
web theory due to an absence of evidence.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize a potential problem with the wood-wide web theory. It uses a quotation
to introduce the theory and its originator. It doesn’t mention any criticism or challenge to the theory. Choice B is incorrect.
This choice uses a quotation, but it doesn’t emphasize a potential problem with the wood-wide web theory. It uses a
quotation to describe the appeal and interest of the theory, but it doesn’t indicate why the authors are concerned or what
evidence they have. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t use a quotation at all. It paraphrases the main idea of the 2022
study, but it doesn’t include any specific words or phrases from the notes. It also doesn’t emphasize a potential problem with
the theory, but rather its popularity.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3011fe39
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 3011fe39
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Marcela Guerrero is a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
She curated the Whitney’s 2018 exhibition Pacha, Llaqta, Wasichay: Indigenous Space, Modern Architecture, New Art.
This exhibition featured works by seven emerging Latino artists.
She curated the Whitney’s 2020 exhibition Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925–1945.
This exhibition included nearly 200 works by twentieth-century Latino and Mexican artists.

The student wants to describe the exhibition that Guerrero curated in 2018. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the exhibition Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake
American Art, 1925–1945 included nearly 200 works by twentieth-century Mexican and Latino artists.

B. Pacha, Llaqta, Wasichay: Indigenous Space, Modern Architecture, New Art, an exhibition at the Whitney
Museum of American Art, featured works by seven emerging Latino artists.

C. In both 2018 and 2020, Marcela Guerrero curated exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art in
New York.

D. While one exhibition that Marcela Guerrero curated featured works by emerging artists, another included
works by twentieth-century artists.

ID: 3011fe39 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The sentence describes the 2018 exhibition Guerrero curated, noting that the exhibition, which
was titled Pacha, Llaqta, Wasichay: Indigenous Space, Modern Architecture, New Art, featured the works of seven emerging
Latino artists.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence describes the exhibition Guerrero curated in 2020; it doesn’t describe her 2018
exhibition. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes a similarity between the two exhibitions Guerrero curated; it
doesn’t describe her 2018 exhibition. Choice D is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes a difference between the two
exhibitions Guerrero curated; it doesn’t describe her 2018 exhibition.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e6af160c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: e6af160c
Ugandan American professor Peter Nazareth believed that Elvis Presley’s music is best understood not as a
homogeneous collection but as an anthology (because Elvis showcased the contributions of a wide range of
gospel, blues, and rock artists). ______ Nazareth entitled his college course on Elvis and his music, which
focused on Elvis’s many musical influences, “Elvis as Anthology.”

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. To that end,

B. In sum,

C. That is,

D. In addition,

ID: e6af160c Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. "To that end" logically signals that the activity described in this sentence—Nazareth titling his
course "Elvis as Anthology"—is meant to further Nazareth’s goal of helping others understand Presley’s music as an
anthology with a wide range of influences.

Choice B is incorrect. "In sum" illogically signals that the activity described in this sentence summarizes Nazareth’s view of
Presley’s music as an anthology. Instead, titling his course "Elvis as Anthology" is a way for him to promote this view. Choice
C is incorrect. "That is" illogically signals that the activity described in this sentence is a clarification or interpretation of
Nazareth’s view of Presley’s music as an anthology. Instead, titling his course "Elvis as Anthology" is a way for him to
promote this view. Choice D is incorrect. "In addition" illogically signals that the activity described in this sentence is merely
an additional fact about Nazareth. Instead, titling his course "Elvis as Anthology" is a way for him to promote his view of
Presley’s music as an anthology.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 0a6b66b3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 0a6b66b3
In 1815, while in exile in Jamaica, Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar penned a letter praising England’s
republican government and expressing hope that Latin American nations seeking independence from Spain
might achieve something similar. The letter was addressed to a local merchant, Henry Cullen; ______ though,
Bolívar’s goal was to persuade political leaders from England and Europe to support his cause.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. additionally,

B. ultimately,

C. accordingly,

D. consequently,

ID: 0a6b66b3 Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. “Ultimately” means “in the long run” or “at the highest level.” Although Bolívar wrote to a local
merchant, his ultimate goal was to send a message to political leaders in Europe. Therefore, “ultimately” fits perfectly in this
context.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of an agreeing idea. However, the second part
of the sentence actually disagrees with the first part. Bolívar addressed the letter to Cullen, but he was really sending a
message to someone else. Notice how the contrast word “though” also acts as a transition between these ideas. Choice C is
incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition. Bolívar’s writing of the letter to Cullen would not cause him to have
a goal of persuading European powers to support him. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition.
Bolívar’s writing of the letter to Cullen would not cause him to have a goal of persuading European powers to support him.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 1f851ceb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 1f851ceb
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The background colors of US and UK road signs are used to denote each sign’s purpose.
Directional signs are a type of sign containing information such as route names, distance to a destination, etc.
Highways, major roadways, and minor roadways in the US generally use green for directional signs.
Highways in the UK generally use blue for directional signs.
Major roadways in the UK generally use green for directional signs.

The student wants to contrast how green backgrounds are used in US and UK road signs. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Blue backgrounds are generally used on directional highway signs in the UK, in contrast to the green
highway signs used in the US.

B. In the US, green signs indicate directional information on both highways and major roadways, but in the
UK, directional signs of this color generally appear only on major roadways.

C. Green road signs are used in both the US and UK to denote directional information on major roadways,
like distance to a destination or route names.

D. Both the UK and the US use directional signs, which include information on route names and distance to a
destination.

ID: 1f851ceb Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The sentence contrasts how green backgrounds are used in US and UK road signs, noting that
the US uses them for both highways and major roadways while the UK uses them only for major roadways.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence does contrast US and UK road signs, the contrast focuses on the use of blue
versus green backgrounds rather than on the use of green backgrounds specifically. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence
indicates a similarity between the uses of green road signs in the US and the UK rather than contrasting them. Choice D is
incorrect. The sentence indicates a similarity between road signs in the US and those in the UK; it doesn’t contrast how green
backgrounds are used in each country’s signs.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e261a81f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: e261a81f
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The Million Song Dataset (MSD) includes main audio features and descriptive tags for popular songs.
Audio features include acoustic traits such as loudness and pitch intervals.
Many algorithms use these audio features to predict a new song’s popularity.
These algorithms may fail to accurately identify main audio features of a song with varying acoustic traits.
Algorithms based on descriptive tags that describe fixed traits such as genre are more reliable predictors of song
popularity.

The student wants to explain a disadvantage of relying on audio features to predict a song’s popularity.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Many popularity-predicting algorithms are based on a song’s audio features, such as loudness and pitch
intervals.

B. Algorithms based on audio features may misidentify the main features of a song with varying acoustic
traits, making such algorithms less reliable predictors of popularity than those based on fixed traits.

C. Audio features describe acoustic traits such as pitch intervals, which may vary within a song, whereas
descriptive tags describe fixed traits such as genre, which are reliable predictors of popularity.

D. The MSD’s descriptive tags are reliable predictors of a song’s popularity, as the traits they describe are
fixed.

ID: e261a81f Answer

Correct Answer: B

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. This choice uses relevant information from the notes to explain a disadvantage of relying on
audio features to predict a song’s popularity—namely, that it may misidentify features of certain songs. It also contrasts
audio features with descriptive tags, which are more reliable predictors.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice only states a fact about the algorithms without evaluating their reliability or accuracy.
Choice C is incorrect. This choice only describes the difference between audio features and descriptive tags without
indicating why this difference matters for predicting popularity. Choice D is incorrect. This choice only mentions descriptive
tags, which are not the focus of the student’s rhetorical goal.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID bcb73490
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: bcb73490
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Neuroscientists Krishnan Padmanabhan and Zhen Chen sought to better understand the workings of the brain’s
olfactory system.
They devised a study using mathematical models.
They found that certain fibers allow the brain to toggle from one method of processing smells to another.
In one method, cells in the piriform cortex (where the perception of odor forms) capture olfactory information at a
given moment.
In the other, the cells track changes in olfactory information over time.

The student wants to summarize the study’s findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. To arrive at these findings, which describe dual methods of processing smells in the piriform cortex,
Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study using mathematical models.

B. Padmanabhan and Chen showed that olfactory information is captured by cells in the piriform cortex,
where the perception of odor forms.

C. Using mathematical models, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study to better understand the workings
of the brain’s olfactory system.

D. According to Padmanabhan and Chen, the brain can toggle between capturing olfactory information at a
given moment and tracking changes in that information over time.

ID: bcb73490 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence effectively summarizes the study’s findings, explaining what Padmanabhan and
Chen found: that the brain can toggle between one method of processing smells (capturing information at a given moment)
and another (tracking changes in information over time).

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence mentions findings, it mainly focuses on Padmanabhan and Chen’s methodology. It
doesn’t effectively summarize the study’s findings. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence notes a fact about the olfactory
system—that the perception of odor forms in the piriform cortex—but doesn’t summarize the findings of Padmanabhan and
Chen’s study. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence presents the goal of Padmanabhan and Chen’s study; it doesn’t summarize
the study’s findings.
Question Difficulty: Hard
Question ID c5423706
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: c5423706
In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between dispersalists and vicariancists. ______ there
are those who argue that dispersal is the most crucial determining factor in a species’ distribution, and those
who insist that vicariance (separation due to geographic barriers) is. Biogeographer Isabel Sanmartín counts
herself among neither.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Furthermore,

B. By contrast,

C. Similarly,

D. That is,

ID: c5423706 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. “That is” logically signals that this sentence clarifies the terms of the scientific debate
introduced in the previous sentence by explaining the difference between dispersalists and vicariancists.

Choice A is incorrect because “furthermore” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is merely additional to
(and separate from) the information in the previous sentence about the scientific debate. Instead, the information about
dispersalists and vicariancists clarifies the terms of that debate. Choice B is incorrect because “by contrast” illogically
signals that the information in this sentence contrasts with the information in the previous sentence about the scientific
debate. Instead, the information about dispersalists and vicariancists clarifies the terms of that debate. Choice C is incorrect
because “similarly” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is merely similar to the information in the previous
sentence about the scientific debate. Instead, the information about dispersalists and vicariancists clarifies the terms of that
debate.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID f60a20af
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: f60a20af
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The ancient Arab dhow was a sailing vessel distinguishable by its triangular sails and stitched hull construction.
Dhows were used primarily for trade along the coasts of Arab, South Asian, and East African countries.
Contemporary shipbuilders in Oman use a mix of modern and traditional materials to build replicas of ancient
dhows.
Most of the materials used are traditional.
Replica hulls are stitched together using the same traditional coconut palm fiber rope used on the hulls of ancient
dhows.

The student wants to make a generalization about the materials used in dhow replicas. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. A traditional material that was used to stitch together the hulls of ancient dhows, coconut palm fiber rope
is still used by shipbuilders.

B. The ancient Arab dhow was a sailing vessel used primarily for trade and distinguishable by its triangular
sails.

C. Although most materials used in dhow replicas are traditional, some modern materials are used.

D. Contemporary shipbuilders in Oman build replicas of the dhow, which was an ancient sailing vessel with a
stitched hull construction.

ID: f60a20af Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence makes a generalization about the materials used in dhow replicas, noting that
while some modern materials are used, most of the materials are traditional.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence provides an example of a traditional material used in ancient dhows; it doesn’t indicate
that the material is used in dhow replicas or make any other generalization about materials used in those replicas. Choice B
is incorrect. The sentence explains what an ancient dhow was; it doesn’t make a generalization about materials used to
make dhow replicas. Choice D is incorrect. The sentence introduces the construction of dhow replicas to an audience
unfamiliar with the vessel; it doesn’t make a generalization about the materials used in those replicas.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9579edb4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 9579edb4
Magnetic levitation (maglev) trains are suspended above a track by powerful electromagnets, reducing
friction and thus allowing for much faster speeds. Though maglev advocates in the US have long imagined
these trains crisscrossing the country, their dream remains unrealized. ______ of the handful of maglev trains
currently in operation, all are in Asia.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. In fact,

B. To that end,

C. Nevertheless,

D. That said,

ID: 9579edb4 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This sentence emphasizes just how far maglev advocates’ dreams are from coming true. “In
fact” is a transition used to emphasize the truth of a statement that modifies the previous statement and therefore fits
perfectly in this context.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense here. Maglev advocates’
dream remaining unrealized would not cause there to be only a few maglev trains, all located in Asia. Choice C is incorrect.
This choice uses a disagreement transition, which doesn’t make sense here. In fact, this sentence agrees with the previous
sentence—both talk about how maglev trains are far from becoming common in the US. Choice D is incorrect. This choice
uses a disagreement transition, which doesn’t make sense here. In fact, this sentence agrees with the previous sentence—
both talk about how maglev trains are far from becoming common in the US.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 21f19050
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 21f19050
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In 1971, experimental musician Pauline Oliveros created Sonic Meditations.
Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based exercises called meditations.
Each meditation consists of instructions for participants to make, imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.
The instructions for Meditation V state, “walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.”
Those for Meditation XVIII state, “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”

The student wants to provide an explanation and an example of Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based meditations that consist of instructions;
Meditation XVIII, for instance, instructs participants to “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”

B. In 1971, Oliveros created Sonic Meditations, a series of meditations that consist of instructions for
participants to make, imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.

C. “Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears” is one example of the instructions found in
Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations.

D. While both meditations consist of instructions, Meditation XVIII instructs participants to “listen,” whereas
Meditation V instructs participants to “walk.”

ID: 21f19050 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. It describes what a “Sonic Meditation” is, and then gives an example in the form of Meditation
XVIII.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice describes what a “Sonic Meditation” is, but doesn’t give an example of one. Choice C is
incorrect. This choice gives an example of a “Sonic Meditation,” but doesn’t explain what the meditations are. Choice D is
incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe what a “Sonic Meditation” is.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6be089ec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 6be089ec
A 2017 study of sign language learners tested the role of iconicity—the similarity of a sign to the thing it
represents—in language acquisition. The study found that the greater the iconicity of a sign, the more likely it
was to have been learned. ______ the correlation between acquisition and iconicity was lower than that
between acquisition and another factor studied: sign frequency.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. In fact,

B. In other words,

C. Granted,

D. As a result,

ID: 6be089ec Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. “Granted” logically signals that the following information—that iconicity is not as highly
correlated with acquisition as sign frequency—is true in spite of the information about the correlation between iconicity and
acquisition in the previous sentence.

Choice A is incorrect because “in fact” illogically signals that the sentence that follows either emphasizes or refutes the
information in the previous sentence regarding the correlation between iconicity and acquisition. Instead, the sentence that
follows provides additional information that is true in spite of the preceding information; it neither emphasizes nor refutes
that information. Choice B is incorrect because “in other words” illogically signals that the sentence that follows is a
restatement of the information in the previous sentence; instead, the sentence that follows provides additional information
that is true in spite of the preceding information. Choice D is incorrect because “as a result” illogically signals that the
sentence that follows is a result of the information in the previous sentence regarding the correlation between iconicity and
acquisition; instead, the sentence that follows is true in spite of the preceding information.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID a2941bd8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: a2941bd8
Iraqi artist Nazik Al-Malaika, celebrated as the first Arabic poet to write in free verse, didn’t reject traditional
forms entirely; her poem “Elegy for a Woman of No Importance” consists of two ten-line stanzas and a
standard number of syllables. Even in this superficially traditional work, ______ Al-Malaika was breaking new
ground by memorializing an anonymous woman rather than a famous man.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. therefore,

B. in fact,

C. moreover,

D. though,

ID: a2941bd8 Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The first sentence tells us that Al-Malaika sometimes used "traditional forms". The second tells
us that even when she used traditional forms, Al-Malaika was "breaking new ground". To connect these ideas, we need a
contrast word like "but." "Though" is a contrast word similar to "but."

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t a logical transition. The first sentence tells us that Al-Malaika sometimes used "traditional
forms". The second tells us that even when she used traditional forms, Al-Malaika was "breaking new ground". To connect
these ideas, we need a contrast word like "but." "Therefore" doesn’t show contrast; it shows cause and effect. Choice B is
incorrect. This isn’t a logical transition. The first sentence tells us that Al-Malaika sometimes used "traditional forms". The
second tells us that even when she used traditional forms, Al-Malaika was "breaking new ground". To connect these ideas,
we need a contrast word like "but." "In fact" is a phrase that usually emphasizes the truth of the previous statement. Choice C
is incorrect. This isn’t a logical transition. The first sentence tells us that Al-Malaika sometimes used "traditional forms". The
second tells us that even when she used traditional forms, Al-Malaika was "breaking new ground". To connect these ideas,
we need a contrast word like "but." "Moreover" doesn’t show contrast—it introduces additional information that continues or
supports the previous idea.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5ef8db0f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 5ef8db0f
In retrospect, one of the lessons of the 2003 Human Genome Project is that a gene is affected by many
factors, not the least of which is its interactions with the protein products of other genes. ______ rather than
just focusing on the human genome, efforts to better understand gene mutations related to disease have
begun to consider the human proteome, the complete set of proteins expressed by human genes.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. In other words,

B. That said,

C. For example,

D. Accordingly,

ID: 5ef8db0f Answer

Correct Answer: D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. "Accordingly" logically signals that this sentence states a result or consequence of the previous
information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Taking into account an important lesson of the 2003 project (that a
gene is affected by interactions with the protein products of other genes), research has begun to consider the human
proteome instead of just the genome.

Choice A is incorrect because "in other words" illogically signals that the information in this sentence is a paraphrase or
restatement of the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Instead, this sentence states a result or
consequence of that information. Choice B is incorrect because "that said" illogically signals that the information in this
sentence qualifies or contrasts with the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Instead, this sentence
states a result or consequence of that information. Choice C is incorrect because "for example" illogically signals that this
sentence provides an example supporting the previous information about the 2003 Human Genome Project. Instead, this
sentence states a result or consequence of that information.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 004680af
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 004680af
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Freddie Wong (born 1985) is a director and special effects artist from the United States.
He is best known for the action-comedy web series Video Game High School (VGHS).
VGHS premiered in 2012 on RocketJump, a YouTube channel that Wong cocreated.
The series was celebrated for its inventive video game–centric world and high-quality special effects.
VGHS was nominated for a Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Digital Series.

The student wants to begin a narrative about Wong’s award-nominated web series. Which choice most
effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. In 2012, director and visual effects artist Freddie Wong launched a new action-comedy web series: Video
Game High School.

B. Video Game High School was celebrated for its inventive video game–centric world and high-quality
special effects, and it was nominated for a Producer’s Guild Award for Outstanding Digital Series.

C. Wong, cocreator of the YouTube channel RocketJump, would go on to see his web series be nominated
for a Producers Guild Award.

D. In 2012, Video Game High School premiered on RocketJump; it would later be nominated for an award.

ID: 004680af Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice introduces Wong and VGHS in an active and specific way, as if to an audience
unfamiliar with the series. It also sets up the time and genre of the web series, which are useful ways to introduce the series
of events in a narrative.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for beginning a narrative. A narrative is a story that follows a sequence of
events and creates interest and suspense for the reader. This choice jumps to the end, explaining the success of VGHS
without explaining what it is. Choice C is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for beginning a narrative. It doesn’t actually
introduce the web series by name. It just jumps to later in the story without sufficient explanation. Choice D is incorrect. This
choice is not very effective for beginning a narrative. It doesn’t explain what VGHS is, and it doesn’t mention Wong.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID d600f35e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: d600f35e
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Some powerful works of literature have so influenced readers that new legislation has been passed as a result.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789) is the autobiography of a man who endured slavery on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Equiano’s book contributed to the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
The Jungle (1906) is a fictional work by Upton Sinclair that describes unsanitary conditions in US meatpacking
plants.
Sinclair’s book contributed to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.

The student wants to emphasize a difference between the two books. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Although both are powerful works of literature that contributed to new legislation, Equiano’s book is an
autobiography, while Sinclair’s is fictional.

B. They may have written about different topics, but Equiano and Sinclair both influenced readers.

C. The 1807 Slave Trade Act resulted in part from a book by Equiano, while the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act
resulted in part from a book by Sinclair.

D. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano and The Jungle are two works of literature that
contributed to new legislation (concerning the slave trade and food safety, respectively).

ID: d600f35e Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice emphasizes a difference between the two books by using relevant information from
the notes to contrast their genres.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice mentions a difference between the books (their different topics), but it emphasizes a
similarity between the books (their influence on readers). Choice C is incorrect. This choice provides information about the
books that reflects both a similarity (both resulted in new laws) and a difference (the specific laws that resulted), without
emphasizing either. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize a difference between the two books. Instead, it
emphasizes a similarity.

Question Difficulty: Hard