Question ID c966ad55

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: c966ad55
The following text is from Srimati Svarna Kumari Devi’s 1894 novel The Fatal Garland (translated by A. Christina Albers in
1910). Shakti is walking near a riverbank that she visited frequently during her childhood.

She crossed the woods she knew so well. The trees seemed to extend their branches like welcoming arms. They
greeted her as an old friend. Soon she reached the river-side.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It suggests that Shakti feels uncomfortable near the river.

B. It indicates that Shakti has lost her sense of direction in the woods.

C. It emphasizes Shakti’s sense of belonging in the landscape.

D. It conveys Shakti’s appreciation for her long-term friendships.

ID: c966ad55 Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a
whole. The first sentence of the text states that Shakti knows the woods she is walking in well. The next sentence, which
is underlined, emphasizes Shakti’s familiarity with, and sense of security within, the woods by describing how the tree
branches are friendly and “welcoming,” as they are depicted as extending open arms to her. The remainder of the text
also shows that Shakti is comfortable and content in the woods by describing her as “an old friend” of the trees. Thus,
the function of the underlined portion is to emphasize Shakti’s sense of belonging in the wooded landscape that she
visits.

Choice A is incorrect because the text and underlined portion suggest that Shakti is comfortable, not uncomfortable, in
her surroundings: the trees around her are described as welcoming and reassuring. Moreover, the underlined portion
discusses Shakti’s feelings in the forest, not the river, since she hasn’t reached the river yet. Choice B is incorrect because
the text and underlined portion emphasize Shakti’s familiarity with the woods. The trees are inviting, and she feels like “an
old friend” to the woods, so she isn’t lost or confused there. Choice D is incorrect because the third sentence uses the
phrase “as an old friend” figuratively in reference to Shakti’s sense of familiarity with the landscape, not in reference to
her long-standing friendships with other people, and the text and underlined portion never discuss her feelings about
such friendships.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID d4732483
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: d4732483
Studying late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artifacts from an agricultural and domestic site in Texas,
archaeologist Ayana O. Flewellen found that Black women employed as farm workers utilized hook-and-eye closures to
fasten their clothes at the waist, giving themselves a silhouette similar to the one that was popular in contemporary
fashion and typically achieved through more restrictive garments such as corsets. Flewellen argues that this sartorial
practice shows that these women balanced hegemonic ideals of femininity with the requirements of their physically
demanding occupation.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To describe an unexpected discovery that altered a researcher’s view of how rapidly fashions among Black female
farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas changed during the period

B. To discuss research that investigated the ways in which Black female farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early
twentieth-century Texas used fashion practices to resist traditional gender ideals

C. To evaluate a scholarly work that offers explanations for the impact of urban fashion ideals on Black female
farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas

D. To summarize the findings of a study that explored factors influencing a fashion practice among Black female
farmworkers in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas

ID: d4732483 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text provides an overview of a scholarly work discussing the fashion practices of Black
female farmworkers in late 19th- and early 20th-century Texas, and how these practices were influenced by both the
fashion ideals of the time and the demands of farmwork.

Choice A is incorrect. The text never discusses the rate of fashion change among Black female farmworkers. The text
also never categorizes Flewellen’s findings as "unexpected." Choice B is incorrect. The text actually explains that Black
female farmworkers were trying to achieve traditional feminine ideals, not resist them. Choice C is incorrect. The text
doesn’t evaluate a scholarly work but rather simply describes it. Furthermore, the text is focused on "agricultural and
domestic" fashion, not urban fashion as this choice suggests.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 236fee8e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 236fee8e
Archeological excavation of Market Street Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American community in San Jose,
California, provided the first evidence that Asian food products were imported to the United States in the 1800s: bones
from a freshwater fish species native to Southeast Asia. Jinshanzhuang—Hong Kong–based import/export firms—likely
coordinated the fish’s transport from Chinese-operated fisheries in Vietnam and Malaysia to North American markets.
This route reveals the (often overlooked) multinational dimensions of the trade networks linking Chinese diaspora
communities.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A. It explains why efforts to determine the country of origin of the items mentioned in the previous sentence remain
inconclusive.

B. It provides information that helps support a claim about a discovery’s significance that is presented in the following
sentence.

C. It traces the steps that were taken to locate and recover the objects that are described in the previous sentence.

D. It outlines a hypothesis that additional evidence discussed in the following sentence casts some doubt on.

ID: 236fee8e Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The underlined sentence provides information about import/export firms, showing how
Chinese communities across the world were connected by trade routes.

Choice A is incorrect. The underlined sentence never suggests that the countries of origin of the fish are in question—in
fact, it tells us exactly where they came from. Choice C is incorrect. The passage never describes the steps taken to
discover the fish bones described in the previous sentence. Choice D is incorrect. The underlined sentence doesn’t
outline a hypothesis but instead provides evidence. And the following sentence agrees with the underlined sentence, so
we could eliminate this choice just for saying that the following sentence "casts some doubt on" the underlined one—
partly wrong is all wrong.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 5f56fdec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 5f56fdec
The following text is from George Marion McClellan’s 1895 poem “Eternity.”

My spirit swoons, and all my senses cry

For Ocean’s breast and covering of the sky.
Rock me to sleep, ye waves, and outward bound,
Just let me drift far out from toil and care,
Where lapping of the waves shall be the sound,
Which mingled with the winds that gently bear
Me on between a peaceful sea and sky,
To make my soothing slumberous lullaby.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To illustrate the increasing intensity of the speaker’s desire to escape ongoing hardship by gliding on the ocean

B. To contrast the demands of the speaker’s everyday life with the serenity of being rocked to sleep by the ocean

C. To convey the speaker’s longing for the ocean to impart a sense of inner tranquility

D. To justify the speaker’s qualms about being transported by the ocean to a quiet destination

ID: 5f56fdec Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately states the main purpose of the text, which is to convey the
speaker’s longing for the ocean to impart a sense of inner tranquility, or peace. The text begins by expressing the
speaker’s strong desire to be on the ocean, appealing directly to the waves to rock the speaker to sleep. The poem then
describes the "slumberous lullaby" formed by the sound of the waves and the winds on which the speaker wishes to be
carried "gently...between a peaceful sea and sky." All these details serve to emphasize the speaker’s desire for the ocean
to give them a sense of inner tranquility.

Choice A is incorrect. Given the poem’s expression of a longing to achieve tranquility by drifting on the ocean, it can be
inferred that the speaker desires to escape something unpleasant in daily life. However, the poem doesn’t refer directly to
any such hardship—ongoing or otherwise. And since the poem doesn’t establish that the speaker is experiencing a desire
to escape ongoing hardship, it can’t be said that such a desire increases in intensity. Choice B is incorrect. The speaker
does express a desire for the serenity of being rocked to sleep by the ocean, and it can be inferred that this desire is a
response to demands that make the speaker’s daily life stressful. However, the poem doesn’t refer directly to such
demands or contrast them with the tranquility of drifting on the ocean. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t
suggest the speaker has any qualms, or reservations, about being transported by the ocean. On the contrary, the speaker
actively desires to "drift far out" and be carried by the waves and wind. Moreover, the poem doesn’t suggest that this
drifting would have any particular destination.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 2903a041
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 2903a041
Using NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Mercedes López-Morales and colleagues measured the
wavelengths of light traveling through the atmosphere of WASP-39b, an exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system.
Different molecules absorb different wavelengths of light, and the wavelength measurements showed the presence of
carbon dioxide (CO₂) in WASP-39b’s atmosphere. This finding not only offers the first decisive evidence of CO₂ in the
atmosphere of an exoplanet but also illustrates the potential for future scientific breakthroughs held by the JWST.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It discusses a method used by some researchers, then states why an alternative method is superior to it.

B. It describes how researchers made a scientific discovery, then explains the importance of that discovery.

C. It outlines the steps taken in a scientific study, then presents a hypothesis based on that study.

D. It examines how a group of scientists reached a conclusion, then shows how other scientists have challenged that
conclusion.

ID: 2903a041 Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text begins by describing how the researchers used the JWST to detect CO₂ in WASP-
39b’s atmosphere. Then the text discusses the significance of this finding, both as the first evidence of CO₂ in an
exoplanet’s atmosphere and as an illustration of the JWST’s potential for making new discoveries in general.

Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t compare two different methods, but rather focuses on one study that used the
JWST. Choice C is incorrect. The text doesn’t present a hypothesis, but rather reports on the findings of a study. Choice D
is incorrect. The text doesn’t mention any scientists challenging the conclusion reached by López-Morales and
colleagues.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 066a3295
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 066a3295
Researchers have found a nearly 164,000-year-old molar from a member of the archaic human species known as
Denisovans in a cave in Laos, suggesting that Denisovans lived in a wider range of environments than indicated by earlier
evidence. Before the discovery, Denisovans were thought to have lived only at high altitudes in relatively cold climates in
what are now Russia and China, but the discovery of the tooth in Laos suggests that they may have lived at low altitudes
in relatively warm climates in Southeast Asia as well.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It dismisses as untrue the research presented in the previous sentence.

B. It defines a term used in the description that follows in the rest of the sentence.

C. It emphasizes the main goal of the research introduced in the previous sentence.

D. It provides context that clarifies the significance of the information that follows in the rest of the sentence.

ID: 066a3295 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text describes how a new discovery expands our understanding of Denisovans. The
underlined portion describes what we used to believe about Denisovans, which helps the reader understand the
significance of the discovery of the molar: it suggests that they lived in more places than we’d previously thought.

Choice A is incorrect. The underlined portion doesn’t do this. Instead, it explains what we used to believe about
Denisovans before the discovery—it doesn’t dismiss the new discovery as false. Choice B is incorrect. The underlined
portion doesn’t do this. No term is defined here. Choice C is incorrect. The underlined portion doesn’t do this. The text
never tells us what the “goal” of the research was, just what its discovery was.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID b0f7541b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: b0f7541b
The following text is adapted from Herman Melville’s 1857 novel The Confidence-Man. Humphry Davy was a prominent
British chemist and inventor.

Years ago, a grave American savant, being in London, observed at an evening party there, a certain coxcombical
fellow, as he thought, an absurd ribbon in his lapel, and full of smart [banter], whisking about to the admiration of as
many as were disposed to admire. Great was the savant’s disdain; but, chancing ere long to find himself in a corner
with the jackanapes, got into conversation with him, when he was somewhat ill-prepared for the good sense of the
jackanapes, but was altogether thrown aback, upon subsequently being [informed that he was] no less a personage
than Sir Humphry Davy.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It portrays the thoughts of a character who is embarrassed about his own behavior.

B. It presents an account of a misunderstanding.

C. It offers a short history of how a person came to be famous.

D. It explains why one character dislikes another.

ID: b0f7541b Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text tells a story of a first impression that turned out to be wrong: a serious American
savant was dismissive of a goofy-looking, wisecracking guest at a British party, and then was shocked to learn that the
guest was actually a prominent British chemist and inventor.

Choice A is incorrect. This is too strong and too narrow. Only at the very end is the savant "thrown aback" by the fact that
the man was Sir Humphry Davy—he’s not "embarrassed about his own behavior." Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t the main
purpose. The text never provides the history of how Sir Humphry Davy came to be famous. Nor does it provide any
history for the American savant. Choice D is incorrect. This is too narrow. It doesn’t include the second half of the text,
where the savant gets into a conversation with the man and then finds out that the man is Sir Humphry Davy.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID e13171c4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: e13171c4
Historians Tiya Miles and Roy E. Finkenbine have both documented the assistance Indigenous peoples gave to Black
freedom seekers leaving the South before the US Civil War. Much of the historical evidence of this help comes from
Indigenous oral traditions and from autobiographies written by the freedom seekers. One such narrative is Jermain
Loguen’s autobiography, which tells about how Neshnabé (Potawatomi) villagers offered him food, lodging, and
directions during his 1835 journey from Tennessee to Canada.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?

A. It provides an example of an autobiography that describes help given by an Indigenous people to a Black freedom
seeker.

B. It shows why Loguen decided to write in great detail about his experiences traveling from Tennessee to Canada in his
autobiography.

C. It argues that autobiographies are particularly important sources of information about geography in the United States
before the Civil War.

D. It suggests that most historians believe that Neshnabé villagers were more successful in assisting freedom seekers
than other people were.

ID: e13171c4 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The previous sentence broadly mentions "autobiographies written by the freedom seekers."
This sentence identifies Loguen’s autobiography as a specific example.

Choice B is incorrect. The sentence never explains why Loguen chose to write about his experiences. Choice C is
incorrect. The previous sentence identifies autobiographies as useful sources of historical information about a specific
topic, but not for "information about geography." The underlined sentence provides details of one autobiography as an
example of a source of information about that specific topic (interactions between Indigenous people and Black freedom
seekers). Choice D is incorrect. The text never discusses other specific people who helped freedom seekers, and
therefore can’t make a comparison between the Neshnabé and anyone else.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 190857f0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 190857f0
Why do sand cats purr but lions roar? Researchers hypothesize that this difference between the two feline species may
be partly due to a U-shaped bone in their throats called the hyoid. Sand cats, which are much smaller than lions, have a
rigid hyoid that rumbles when the cat’s larynx vibrates, resulting in a purr. By contrast, lions have a somewhat flexible
hyoid, and the bone is attached to the skull with a stretchy ligament that sand cats lack. These traits allow lions and most
other species of big cats to produce powerful roars. The same traits may also prevent most big cats from purring.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. The text presents a theory about two species, then discusses facts that weaken it.

B. The text compares the habitats of two species, then explains how those habitats are changing.

C. The text describes a behavior shared by two species, then discusses other behaviors shared by them.

D. The text poses a question about two species, then presents a possible answer.

ID: 190857f0 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it best describes the overall structure of the text. The text begins by posing a
question about two different cat species: "Why do sand cats purr but lions roar?" The remainder of the text then presents
a possible answer to this question by explaining a hypothesis about differences in these cats’ hyoid bone structure. The
text details how sand cats have rigid hyoids that produce purring sounds when their larynx vibrates, while lions have
more flexible hyoids attached to the skull with a stretchy ligament that enables roaring but may prevent purring.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t present facts that weaken the theory about two cat species; rather, it asks
a question about two species and then discusses a potential answer. Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t
discuss the habitats of sand cats and lions at all, nor does it mention any changes to their habitats. Choice C is incorrect
because the text doesn’t describe a behavior shared by the two cat species mentioned. On the contrary, it specifically
focuses on the different vocalization behaviors of each species (purring versus roaring) and why those differences may
exist.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID df46a2ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: df46a2ee
The following text is from Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale. Mr. Verloc is navigating the
London streets on his way to a meeting.
Before reaching Knightsbridge, Mr. Verloc took a turn to the left out of the busy main thoroughfare, uproarious with the
traffic of swaying omnibuses and trotting vans, in the almost silent, swift flow of hansoms [horse-drawn carriages]. Under
his hat, worn with a slight backward tilt, his hair had been carefully brushed into respectful sleekness; for his business
was with an Embassy. And Mr. Verloc, steady like a rock—a soft kind of rock—marched now along a street which could
with every propriety be described as private.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined phrase in the text as a whole?

A. It qualifies an earlier description of Mr. Verloc.

B. It emphasizes an internal struggle Mr. Verloc experiences.

C. It contrasts Mr. Verloc with his surroundings.

D. It reveals a private opinion Mr. Verloc holds.

ID: df46a2ee Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The underline phrase qualifies (meaning adds limits or conditions to) the description of Mr.
Verloc as “steady like a rock,” adding that he is a “soft” rock.

Choice B is incorrect. In fact, the passage never mentions Mr. Verloc experiencing any internal struggles. Choice C is
incorrect. The underlined phrase doesn’t contrast Mr. Verloc with his surroundings, but is instead modifying the
description of him as a rock. Choice D is incorrect. The underlined phrase doesn’t reveal a private opinion Mr. Verloc
holds: instead, it further describes his character for the reader.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID ff97fd53
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: ff97fd53
In 1973, poet Miguel Algarín started inviting other writers who, like him, were Nuyorican—a term for New Yorkers of
Puerto Rican heritage—to gather in his apartment to present their work. The gatherings were so well attended that
Algarín soon had to rent space in a cafe to accommodate them. Thus, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe was born. Moving to a
permanent location in 1981, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its original scope beyond the written word, hosting art
exhibitions and musical performances as well. Half a century since its inception, it continues to foster emerging
Nuyorican talent.

Which choice best describes the overall purpose of the text?

A. To explain what motivated Algarín to found the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

B. To situate the Nuyorican Poets Cafe within the cultural life of New York as a whole

C. To discuss why the Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its scope to include art and music

D. To provide an overview of the founding and mission of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe

ID: ff97fd53 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text presents a brief history of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, from how it got started in the
’70s, to its expansion in the ’80s, to its ongoing mission today.

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t the overall purpose. The text never mentions Algarín’s motivations. Choice B is incorrect.
This isn’t the overall purpose. The text never discusses the cultural life of New York as a whole. Choice C is incorrect.
This is too narrow. One sentence mentions that the Nuyorican Poets Cafe expanded its scope to include art and music,
but this is only one point in the broader history of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which is the overall focus of the text.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID c61a7c4a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: c61a7c4a
Some studies have suggested that posture can influence cognition, but we should not overstate this phenomenon. A
case in point: In a 2014 study, Megan O’Brien and Alaa Ahmed had subjects stand or sit while making risky simulated
economic decisions. Standing is more physically unstable and cognitively demanding than sitting; accordingly, O’Brien
and Ahmed hypothesized that standing subjects would display more risk aversion during the decision-making tasks than
sitting subjects did, since they would want to avoid further feelings of discomfort and complicated risk evaluations. But
O’Brien and Ahmed actually found no difference in the groups’ performance.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It argues that research findings about the effects of posture on cognition are often misunderstood, as in the case of
O’Brien and Ahmed’s study.

B. It presents the study by O’Brien and Ahmed to critique the methods and results reported in previous studies of the
effects of posture on cognition.

C. It explains a significant problem in the emerging understanding of posture’s effects on cognition and how O’Brien and
Ahmed tried to solve that problem.

D. It discusses the study by O’Brien and Ahmed to illustrate why caution is needed when making claims about the
effects of posture on cognition.

ID: c61a7c4a Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text. The text notes that
although some studies have suggested that posture may have an effect on cognition, this phenomenon should not be
overstated. In other words, the text begins by urging caution and restraint when discussing the effects of posture on
cognition, implying that even though some studies have shown posture to affect cognition, we should not assume that
posture always affects cognition or does so in a strong way. The text goes on to discuss O’Brien and Ahmed’s study as a
"case in point" (that is, as an example of the point made previously). According to the text, O’Brien and Ahmed
hypothesized that since standing is more cognitively demanding than sitting, standing subjects in their experiment would
respond differently to decision-making tasks than sitting subjects would, which would show an effect of posture on
cognition. What the researchers actually found, however, was that the standing and sitting subjects performed the same
—posture did not affect cognition. By presenting a circumstance in which posture does not appear to affect cognition, the
discussion of O’Brien and Ahmed’s study shows why it is important not to overstate the phenomenon. The purpose of the
text, therefore, is to discuss O’Brien and Ahmed’s study to illustrate why caution is needed when making claims about
posture’s effects on cognition.

Choice A is incorrect because the text discusses O’Brien and Ahmed’s study as an example of why caution is needed
when discussing posture’s effects on cognition, not as an example of how research findings related to posture and
cognition are often misunderstood. Although the text does warn against misunderstanding the scope of the relationship
between posture and cognition that has been reported in some previous studies, O’Brien and Ahmed’s study is not one of
those studies, and there is no suggestion that anyone has misunderstood O’Brien and Ahmed’s findings. Choice B is
incorrect because the text makes no mention of the methods used in previous studies of the effects of posture on
cognition. Although the text does urge caution when discussing posture’s effects on cognition, it does not critique the
results of studies that suggested that posture can affect cognition. Instead, the text suggests that such results should
not be exaggerated or taken too broadly. Choice C is incorrect because although the text implies that overstating
posture’s effects on cognition would be a problem, nothing in the text suggests that O’Brien and Ahmed share that view
or that they attempted to solve that problem. O’Brien and Ahmed are presented as hypothesizing that posture would
affect cognition in their study, not as trying to resolve the problem the text describes.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID aa5897b8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: aa5897b8
In Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park, an almost imperceptible smile from potential suitor Henry Crawford causes the
protagonist Fanny Price to blush; her embarrassment grows when she suspects that he is aware of it. This moment—in
which Fanny not only infers Henry’s mental state through his gestures, but also infers that he is drawing inferences about
her mental state—illustrates what literary scholar George Butte calls “deep intersubjectivity,” a technique for representing
interactions between consciousnesses through which Austen’s novels derive much of their social and psychological
drama.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A. It states a claim about Austen’s skill at representing psychological complexity that is reinforced by an example
presented in the following sentence.

B. It advances an interpretation of an Austen protagonist who is contrasted with protagonists from other Austen novels
cited in the following sentence.

C. It describes a recurring theme in Austen’s novels that is the focus of a literary scholar’s analysis summarized in the
following sentence.

D. It provides a synopsis of an interaction in an Austen novel that illustrates a literary concept discussed in the following
sentence.

ID: aa5897b8 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The underlined sentence provides a concrete example to ground readers’ understanding of
the “deep intersubjectivity” described in the next sentence as central to Austen’s work.

Choice A is incorrect. There is no evaluation made of Austen’s skill in this sentence, and no examples are given in the
following sentence. This choice essentially flips the paragraph: it’s this first sentence that provides an example. Choice B
is incorrect. There are no other Austen protagonists mentioned in this passage, so this couldn’t be the answer. Choice C
is incorrect. The underlined sentence doesn’t identify any “recurring theme,” but instead simply describes one interaction
from one book. This interaction exemplifies the literary technique of “deep intersubjectivity” that is introduced in the next
sentence.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID e929fe98
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: e929fe98
Composer Florence Price won first place for her score Symphony in E Minor at the 1932 Wanamaker Foundation Awards.
The piece was performed the following year by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a significant recognition of its quality.
Price continued to compose many musical pieces throughout her career, blending traditional Black spirituals with
classical European Romantic musical traditions. In recent years, Price’s concertos and symphonies have been performed
and recorded by several major orchestras, further preserving her work for others to enjoy.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To provide examples of Price’s importance as a composer

B. To argue that more major orchestras should perform Price’s compositions

C. To describe the musical styles that inspired many of Price’s symphonies

D. To compare Price’s scores with those of classical European composers

ID: e929fe98 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The text provides an overview of Florence Price’s importance by describing her success at
the 1932 Wanamaker Foundation Awards, her blending of Black spirituals and classical European Romantic musical
traditions, and the recent performances and recordings of her concertos and symphonies by major orchestras.

Choice B is incorrect. The text does mention that Price’s compositions have been performed and recorded by major
orchestras, but it doesn’t argue that more orchestras should do so. Choice C is incorrect. The text does mention the
blending of Black spirituals and classical European Romantic musical traditions, but only briefly, as part of a broader
overview of Price’s career. Choice D is incorrect. The text mentions Price’s blending of Black spirituals with classical
European Romantic musical traditions, but it doesn’t directly compare Price’s scores with those of classical European
composers.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID b4887dae
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: b4887dae
Mathematician Claude Shannon is widely regarded as a foundational figure in information theory. His most important
paper, “A Mathematical Theory of Communication,” published in 1948 when he was employed at Bell Labs, utilized a
concept called a “binary digit” (shortened to “bit”) to measure the amount of information in any signal and determine the
fastest rate at which information could be transmitted while still being reliably decipherable. Robert Gallagher, one of
Shannon’s colleagues, said that the bit was “[Shannon’s] discovery, and from it the whole communications revolution has
sprung.”

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It presents a theoretical concept, illustrates how the name of the concept has changed, and shows how the name has
entered common usage.

B. It introduces a respected researcher, describes an aspect of his work, and suggests why the work is historically
significant.

C. It names the company where an important mathematician worked, details the mathematician’s career at the
company, and provides an example of the recognition he received there.

D. It mentions a paper, offers a summary of the paper’s findings, and presents a researcher’s commentary on the paper.

ID: b4887dae Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text starts with a general statement that introduces Shannon, then describes a specific
contribution from one of his papers, then provides a quote that illustrates just how important this contribution was.

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The text only mentions very briefly, in parentheses, that “binary digit”
was shortened to “bit.” It doesn’t go into detail about this name change, and it doesn’t discuss any “common usage” of
the name at all. Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. Shannon’s employment at Bell Labs is only
mentioned once, very briefly: the text never goes into detail about his career there, and it never mentions any recognition
he received there. Choice D is incorrect. This is too narrow. Overall, the text is about Shannon’s importance in his field, not
just this one paper of his.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 6f5fc289
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 6f5fc289
The following text is adapted from Charles Dickens’s 1854 novel Hard Times. Coketown is a fictional town in England.
[Coketown] contained several large streets all very like one another, and many small streets still more like one another,
inhabited by people equally like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, with the same sound upon the
same pavements, to do the same work, and to whom every day was the same as yesterday and tomorrow, and every year
the counterpart of the last and the next.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To emphasize the uniformity of both the town and the people who live there

B. To explain the limited work opportunities available to the town’s residents

C. To reveal how the predictability of the town makes it easy for people lose track of time

D. To argue that the simplicity of life in the town makes it a pleasant place to live

ID: 6f5fc289 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The author describes Coketown as having streets that are all very similar and residents who
live similarly and do the same work. This repetition of similarities emphasizes how everything in Coketown is alike.

Choice B is incorrect. While the text mentions that all the residents “do the same work,” it never explains what that work
is or why everyone does it. Besides, the idea that they all do the same work is just one of several similarities among the
townspeople described in the text. Choice C is incorrect. While the last sentence states that “every day was the same as
yesterday and tomorrow, and every year the counterpart of the last and the next,” it never suggests that people actually
“lose track of time.” This is also too narrow to be the main idea, since time is just one of many aspects of Coketown that
the text describes as always being the same. Choice D is incorrect. The text never mentions whether life is simple in
Coketown, and the town sounds as though it’s probably a pretty dull place to live, rather than a pleasant one.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 65406d2c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 65406d2c
Dubautia carrii is a species in a family of plants known collectively as the silversword alliance, all of which grow only on
the Hawaiian Islands. Members of this alliance exhibit an extraordinary range of phenotypes, with some species
maturing into vines and others into shrubs and trees. All species in the alliance descended from a single ancestral
tarweed plant that arrived on the islands around 5 million years ago. The tarweed’s descendants diversified into distinct
species as they adapted to live in the wide variety of habitats found on the Hawaiian Islands.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To indicate the specific tarweed ancestor of all plants that grow on the Hawaiian Islands and explain why the plants
have such varied physical characteristics

B. To describe the specific habitat where Dubautia carrii are found and identify other plants that share a common
ancestor with them

C. To describe the silversword alliance and explain how the plant family became so varied

D. To advance the claim that all plants on the Hawaiian Islands are part of the silversword alliance and list possible
ancestors of the plants that make up the alliance

ID: 65406d2c Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text, which is to describe the
family of plants known as the silversword alliance and explain why the plants came to exhibit "an extraordinary range of
phenotypes." The text introduces the silversword alliance as a family of plants unique to the Hawaiian Islands, presenting
those that mature into vines and those that mature into shrubs and trees as examples of different phenotypes. The text
concludes by explaining that these plants are all descendants of "a single ancestral tarweed plant" that arrived 5 million
years ago in the Hawaiian Islands, where a "wide variety of habitats" drove the plant’s descendants to adapt and thus
differentiate themselves, diversifying into a group of related but distinct species with different physical characteristics.

Choice A is incorrect. Although the text explains why the plants within the silversword alliance have varied physical
characteristics, the text doesn’t suggest that tarweed is the ancestor of all plants on the Hawaiian Islands. The text
states instead that all members of the silversword alliance descend from a single tarweed ancestor. Choice B is incorrect
because while Dubautia carrii is mentioned as an example of a species in the silversword alliance, no details about its
particular habitat are provided. And although the text indicates that the Hawaiian Islands are home to "a wide variety of
habitats," it doesn’t describe the specific habitat where Dubautia carrii is found. The text discusses the silversword
alliance as a whole rather than focusing on Dubautia carrii or any one species within this family. Choice D is incorrect.
Although the silversword alliance is only found on the Hawaiian Islands and includes "an extraordinary range of
phenotypes," the text doesn’t claim that all plants on the Hawaiian Islands are part of the alliance. Furthermore, the text
indicates that these plants all "descended from a single ancestral tarweed plant," not that there are multiple possible
candidates for that ancestor plant.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 809addda
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 809addda
The following text is from Ameen Rihani’s 1921 poem “The Wanderer.”

I wander among the hills of alien lands

Where Nature her prerogative resigns
To Man; where Comfort in her shack reclines
And all the arts and sciences commands.
But in my soul
The eastern billows roll—
I hear the voices of my native strands.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined lines in the text as a whole?

A. It establishes that the speaker’s enthusiasm about current travels conflicts with the growing urge to return home.

B. It illustrates the speaker’s uncertainty about maintaining strong links with relatives in distant places.

C. It conveys the speaker’s sense of feeling a pull toward home while traveling in an unfamiliar place.

D. It reveals that upon returning after an extended absence, the speaker longs for the way a location once felt.

ID: 809addda Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined lines in the text as a
whole. In the opening line of the text, the speaker describes wandering in "alien lands," which establishes that the speaker
is traveling in unfamiliar territory. In the underlined lines, the speaker describes "billows" (large waves) rolling in the soul,
which suggests that the speaker feels inner turmoil. The underlined lines go on to associate these rolling billows with
voices calling to the speaker from the speaker’s "native strands," or homeland, indicating that thoughts of home are
prompting the emotional experience these lines describe. Taken together, the imagery in the underlined lines thus implies
that the speaker feels a deep emotional connection to, or pull toward, home while traveling in an unfamiliar place.

Choice A is incorrect. While the text’s first line states that the speaker is traveling and the underlined lines indicate that
the speaker experiences an emotional pull toward home, neither the underlined lines nor the text as a whole establishes
an enthusiasm about the current travels that conflicts with a growing urge to return home. The text’s description of the
lands the speaker is traveling in focuses on their artificial quality, stating, "Nature her prerogative resigns / To Man," which
doesn’t suggest enthusiasm but rather a sense of detachment or even critique. Choice B is incorrect because the
underlined lines don’t address uncertainty about maintaining links with relatives in distant places. In the underlined lines,
the speaker expresses a sense of connection to the speaker’s homeland ("native strands") but doesn’t refer to any family
members the speaker may have there or to concerns about maintaining any familial ties. Choice D is incorrect because
the poem doesn’t indicate that the speaker has returned home after an absence. Rather, the speaker explicitly states, "I
wander among the hills of alien lands," establishing that the current setting is a foreign place. Moreover, the underlined
lines express a sense of connection with, or pull toward, a distant homeland, not a sense of longing for how that
homeland or any other location once felt.
Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 4ed09415
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 4ed09415
Vadamalai Elangovan and Ganapathi Marimuthu showed that high moonlight intensity inhibits the activity of the greater
short-nosed fruit bat (Cynopterus sphinx), a result explicable in terms of benefits and costs: greater lunar intensity may
not enable the bats to increase foraging success enough to offset the higher chance of detection by predatory owls or
hawks. Most other nocturnal mammals respond to lunar intensity variations similarly to greater short-nosed fruit bats,
but mongoose lemurs (Eulemur mongoz) display the opposite pattern, as their heavy reliance on visual foraging results in
a different balance of reward and risk.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It discusses two different responses to the same natural phenomenon, explains why one of those responses occurs,
and then suggests that the other response still needs to be explained.

B. It describes and accounts for a finding, characterizes the finding as representative of a general pattern, and then
describes and accounts for an exception to that pattern.

C. It presents and explains a study result, indicates that the result is similar to the results of many other studies, and
then attributes a conflicting study result to a difference in that study’s methods.

D. It introduces an observation of a behavioral pattern, presents an explanation for the pattern, and then describes an
exception to the pattern that casts doubt on that explanation.

ID: 4ed09415 Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the overall structure of the text. The text begins by
describing a study’s finding about greater short-nosed fruit bats—namely, that high moonlight intensity inhibits the bats’
activity—and also accounts for that finding, stating that this occurs because the potential increase in foraging success
that greater lunar intensity enables doesn’t offset these bats’ increased vulnerability to predators (whose vision is also
implied to become more acute under intense moonlight). The text goes on to characterize this finding as representative
of a general pattern, stating that many nocturnal mammals behave similarly in response to changes in lunar intensity.
The text concludes by describing an exception to this pattern, explaining that mongoose lemurs display an opposite
tendency because they rely heavily on visual foraging. This strategy presumably would allow them to derive more benefit
from greater lunar intensity than many other nocturnal mammals would, resulting in a "different balance of reward and
risk" than exists for other nocturnal mammals. Therefore, the overall structure of the text is best described as a
description and account of a finding, a characterization of that finding as representative of a pattern, and then a
description and account of an exception to that pattern.

Choice A is incorrect. Although the text discusses two different responses to variations in moonlight intensity, explaining
that as moonlight intensity increases, greater short-nosed fruit bats and many other nocturnal mammals decrease their
foraging activity but mongoose lemurs increase their foraging activity, it doesn’t leave one of these responses
unexplained. The text accounts for both the typical response to increased lunar intensity (reduced activity due to
predation risk) and the exception (increased activity due to a reliance on visual foraging) by making reference to a cost-
benefit framework. Choice C is incorrect. Although the text presents a study′s finding about the effect of increased lunar
intensity on greater short-nosed fruit bats’ activity before going on to contrast this behavior with the fact that mongoose
lemurs display the opposite response to increased lunar intensity, the text doesn’t explicitly invoke other studies and
doesn’t attribute this difference in observed behavior to the fact that the study of greater short-nosed fruit bats used
different methods than studies of mongoose lemurs did. Rather, the text explains that the different observed behaviors
can be attributed to differences in species’ foraging strategies. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text characterizes the
behavior of mongoose lemurs in response to increased lunar intensity as an exception to a pattern of behavior observed
in other nocturnal mammal species, this exception doesn’t cast any doubt on the explanation that is offered for the
general pattern observed among other species. Instead, the text uses the same cost-benefit framework to explain why
increased lunar intensity is associated with decreased activity by greater short-nosed fruit bats and other nocturnal
mammals but with increased activity by mongoose lemurs.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 0b5ecf0e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 0b5ecf0e
During Rome’s republican period, which ended in the first century BCE, libraries were predominantly owned by wealthy
individuals who tightly controlled access to their book collections. The first public library became available in Rome in 28
BCE and was soon followed by one commissioned by Emperor Augustus. As modern scholar Fabio Fernandes notes,
however, these two traditions aren’t as distinct as they seem, as both the emperor and the private library owners viewed
their libraries as extensions of their personal patronage, just on vastly differing scales.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To give a brief overview of public access to libraries throughout Rome’s republican period

B. To contend that early imperial leaders in Rome wielded too much influence over libraries

C. To assert that private and early public libraries in ancient Rome had an essential similarity

D. To call into question the notion that private Roman libraries disappeared during the first century BCE

ID: 0b5ecf0e Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text. The text describes two
types of libraries in first-century BCE Rome—private libraries controlled by wealthy individuals, and the public libraries like
that commissioned by Emperor Augustus—and then notes that "these two traditions aren’t as distinct as they seem." It
explains that both private-library owners and the emperor saw their libraries as "extensions of their personal patronage,
just on vastly differing scales," because the emperor’s patronage extended to the whole citizenry of Rome. Thus, both
private and public libraries in ancient Rome were fundamentally tied to relevant principles of patronage.

Choice A is incorrect because the text mentions that Rome’s republican period only to say that it "ended in the first
century BCE," thus it doesn’t support any conclusions about possible occurrences "throughout Rome’s republican period."
Choice B is incorrect. The text neither discusses "early imperial leaders in Rome," nor whether their level of influence was
appropriate. Rather it discusses the end of "Rome’s republican period" in relation to libraries, who created them, and who
got to use them without passing judgment on propriety. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text indicates that Rome’s
republican period "ended in the first century BCE," a period that also saw the first public library come into use (28 BCE),
nothing in the text suggests that private libraries disappeared at that time.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID c6bd3447
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: c6bd3447
The following text is from Virginia Woolf’s 1919 novel Night and Day. The text describes a gathering of young artists and
intellectuals.

One person after another rose, and, as with an ill-balanced axe, attempted to hew out his conception of art a little
more clearly, and sat down with the feeling that, for some reason which he could not grasp, his strokes had gone
awry. As they sat down they turned almost invariably to the person sitting next them, and rectified and continued
what they had just said in public.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portions in the text as a whole?

A. To demonstrate individuals’ puzzlement over the reputation of a certain artwork

B. To highlight the physical effort involved in individuals’ construction of large-scale works of art

C. To draw attention to individuals’ discontent with the group’s conversation about art

D. To emphasize the extent of individuals’ struggles to articulate thoughts on art

ID: c6bd3447 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined portions in the text as a
whole. The underlined portions describe the young artists and intellectuals at the gathering as trying to "hew out," or give
shape to, their views of art more clearly, but with each seeming to be using "an ill-balanced axe" and then feeling that the
"strokes had gone awry." In context, the metaphorical language comparing attempts to refine concepts of art to
imprecisely cutting wood with an inadequate axe serves to emphasize how much the individuals at the gathering
struggled to articulate, or express, their thoughts; indeed, the text explains that the individuals couldn’t quite grasp why
their statements had gone awry and tended to try to rectify, or correct, them in continued discussion after they sat down.

Choice A is incorrect because the underlined portions characterize aspects of the young artists and intellectuals’
attempts to present their general views of art more clearly, not their views of the reputation of a certain artwork; the text
never mentions any specific artwork or its reputation. Choice B is incorrect. Although the underlined portions refer to a
physical activity—cutting wood with an axe—the descriptions are metaphorical rather than literal. The text isn’t describing
people constructing works of art, large-scale or otherwise; rather, it’s describing people talking at a gathering, using the
idea of imprecisely cutting wood with an inadequate axe to suggest that each individual struggled when trying to present
their view of art more clearly. Choice C is incorrect. Although the underlined portions do provide a reason for the young
artists and intellectuals’ discontent, the text focuses on the fact that they were each dissatisfied with their own
statements, not on how they felt about the group’s full conversation about art. Instead, the text explains that each
individual tried to present their view of art more clearly but struggled (as if imprecisely cutting wood with an inadequate
axe), couldn’t grasp what went awry, and then felt the need to rectify, or correct, what they had just said. It’s possible that
the individuals were also discontented with the group’s conversation overall, but neither the underlined portions nor the
text as a whole suggest that.
Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID a68239ed
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: a68239ed
The following text is adapted from Oscar Wilde’s 1897 nonfiction work De Profundis.

People whose desire is solely for self-realisation never know where they are going. They can’t know. In one sense of
the word it is of course necessary to know oneself: that is the first achievement of knowledge. But to recognise that
the soul of a man is unknowable, is the ultimate achievement of wisdom. The final mystery is oneself. When one
has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured the steps of the moon, and mapped out the seven heavens star
by star, there still remains oneself. Who can calculate the orbit of his own soul?

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?

A. It reinforces the text’s skepticism about the possibility of truly achieving self-knowledge.

B. It speculates that some readers will share the doubts expressed in the text about the value of self-knowledge.

C. It cautions readers that the text’s directions for how to achieve self-knowledge are hard to follow.

D. It concedes that the definition of self-knowledge advanced in the text is unpopular.

ID: a68239ed Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The text repeatedly claims that true self-knowledge can’t possibly be achieved, and this
rhetorical question emphasizes that point.

Choice B is incorrect. The underlined question doesn’t do this. The text never expresses doubts about the value of self-
knowledge—rather, the text expresses doubts about the possibility of achieving self-knowledge. Choice C is incorrect.
The underlined question doesn’t do this. The text doesn’t provide directions for how to achieve self-knowledge—rather, it
claims that true self-knowledge is impossible to achieve. Choice D is incorrect. The underlined question doesn’t do this.
The text doesn’t ever define self-knowledge, and popularity isn’t mentioned in the text at all.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID a2dd51c1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: a2dd51c1
In most building demolitions, the building materials are destroyed and sent to landfills. City officials in Portland, Oregon,
wanted to reduce this waste. The officials passed a law requiring demolition companies to deconstruct some buildings
instead. Deconstruction involves carefully taking buildings apart piece by piece. Damage to the materials is avoided so
that they can be reused in new constructions. A 2019 study found that 27 percent of materials from deconstructions in
Portland were able to be reused. The remaining materials were processed for recycling instead of going to a landfill.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To explain an effort made by the city of Portland to reduce demolition waste and some results of that effort

B. To show that popular support for measures that reduce demolition waste has increased since 2019

C. To argue that building deconstruction is not as effective as other measures at reducing demolition waste

D. To discuss laws aimed to reduce demolition waste in Portland and compare them to similar laws in other cities

ID: a2dd51c1 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The author first describes a Portland law aimed at reducing demolition waste, and then goes
on to explain that 27% of materials from building deconstructions were able to be reused and the rest were recycled.

Choice B is incorrect. The text never discusses the popularity of the law. Choice C is incorrect. The text never compares
building deconstruction to other measures designed to reduce demolition waste. Choice D is incorrect. The text never
mentions laws in cities other than Portland, Oregon.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 48e4021d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 48e4021d
The following text is from Holly Goldberg Sloan’s 2017 novel Short.

More than two years ago my parents bought a piano from some people who were moving to Utah. Mom and Dad
gave it to my brothers and me for Christmas. I had to act really happy because it was such a big present, but I pretty
much hated the thing from the second it was carried into the hallway upstairs, which is right next to my bedroom.
The piano glared at me. It was like a songbird in a cage. It wanted to be set free.
©2017 by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It explains why the narrator always wanted a piano close to her bedroom.

B. It establishes how the narrator feels about the piano.

C. It suggests that the narrator’s brothers are talented piano players.

D. It describes the event that led the narrator’s parents to buy a piano.

ID: 48e4021d Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer because it best states the main purpose of the text, which is to establish the narrator’s
feelings about the piano. The narrator reveals that she “had to act really happy” about the piano even though she “pretty
much hated the thing” as soon as it was placed upstairs near her bedroom. The narrator also describes the piano as
glaring at her and compares it to a caged bird that wants to be set free. These details establish the narrator’s feelings
about the piano, suggesting that it makes her uneasy.

Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that the narrator hated having the piano upstairs right next to her
bedroom, not that she wanted a piano to be close to her bedroom. Choice C is incorrect because the only information
provided in the text about the narrator’s brothers is that they were given the piano along with the narrator. Choice D is
incorrect because the text does not describe the event that led the narrator’s parents to buy the piano from the people
moving to Utah. Instead, the text focuses on the narrator’s feelings about the piano after it was given to her and her
brothers.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID f2c48e47
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: f2c48e47
The following text is from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1910 poem “The Earth’s Entail.”
No matter how we cultivate the land,
Taming the forest and the prairie free;
No matter how we irrigate the sand,
Making the desert blossom at command,
We must always leave the borders of the sea;
The immeasureable reaches
Of the windy wave-wet beaches,
The million-mile-long margin of the sea.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. The speaker argues against interfering with nature and then gives evidence supporting this interference.

B. The speaker presents an account of efforts to dominate nature and then cautions that such efforts are only
temporary.

C. The speaker provides examples of an admirable way of approaching nature and then challenges that approach.

D. The speaker describes attempts to control nature and then offers a reminder that not all nature is controllable.

ID: f2c48e47 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. This best describes the overall structure of the text. In the first half of the text, the speaker
describes our attempts to control nature: cultivating, taming, and irrigating different kinds of land. In the second half, the
speaker states that we can never tame the sea or the beach.

Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t describe the overall structure of the text. The speaker never argues that we should not
interfere with nature. Rather, the speaker says that we are able to tame many different kinds of land, but we are unable to
tame the sea or beaches. Choice B is incorrect. This doesn’t describe the overall structure of the text. The speaker never
describes our cultivation, taming, and irrigation of land as “temporary.” Rather, the speaker says that we are able to tame
many different kinds of land, but we are unable to tame the sea or beaches. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t describe
the overall structure of the text. The speaker never describes our cultivation, taming, and irrigation of land as an
“admirable” approach to nature.” Rather, the speaker says that we are able to tame many different kinds of land, but we
are unable to tame the sea or beaches.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 34d7bb25
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 34d7bb25
According to Indian economist and sociologist Radhakamal Mukerjee (1889–1968), the Eurocentric concepts that
informed early twentieth-century social scientific methods—for example, the idea that all social relations are reducible to
struggles between individuals—had little relevance for India. Making the social sciences more responsive to Indians’
needs, Mukerjee argued, required constructing analytical categories informed by India’s cultural and ecological
circumstances. Mukerjee thus proposed the communalist “Indian village” as the ideal model on which to base Indian
economic and social policy.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. The text recounts Mukerjee’s early training in the social scientific disciplines and then lists social policies whose
implementation Mukerjee oversaw.

B. The text mentions some of Mukerjee’s economic theories and then traces their impact on other Indian social
scientists of the twentieth century.

C. The text presents Mukerjee’s critique of the social sciences and then provides an example of his attempts to address
issues he identified in his critique.

D. The text explains an influential economic theory and then demonstrates how that theory was more important to
Mukerjee’s work than other social scientists have acknowledged.

ID: 34d7bb25 Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The text does indeed present Mukerjee’s critique of the social sciences—that they were too
Eurocentric—and then provides an example of how he attempted to address the issues he identified: by suggesting a
social science model based on the Indian village.

Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t discuss Mukerjee’s early training or his oversight of the implementation of social
policies at all. Choice B is incorrect. The text never discusses any other Indian social scientists. Choice D is incorrect. The
text never mentions other social scientists’ responses to Mukerjee’s work.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID c0e1b70a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: c0e1b70a
The following text is adapted from Etsu Inagaki Sugimoto’s 1925 memoir A Daughter of the Samurai. As a young woman,
Sugimoto moved from feudal Japan to the United States.

The standards of my own and my adopted country differed so widely in some ways, and my love for both lands was
so sincere, that sometimes I had an odd feeling of standing upon a cloud in space, and gazing with measuring eyes
upon two separate worlds. At first I was continually trying to explain, by Japanese standards, all the queer things
that came every day before my surprised eyes; for no one seemed to know the origin or significance of even the
most familiar customs, nor why they existed and were followed.

Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text?

A. To convey the narrator’s experience of observing and making sense of differences between two cultures she
embraces

B. To establish the narrator’s hope of forming connections with new companions by sharing customs she learned as a
child

C. To reveal the narrator’s recognition that she is hesitant to ask questions about certain aspects of a culture she is
newly encountering

D. To emphasize the narrator’s wonder at discovering that the physical distance between two countries is greater than
she had expected

ID: c0e1b70a Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text. The narrator asserts that
she loves both her “own” country (Japan) and her “adopted country” (the United States) even though the two countries
differ “widely.” She also indicates that, at first, she would try to explain unfamiliar experiences that she had in the United
States using the standards ingrained in her from growing up in Japan. Thus, the main purpose of the text is to convey the
narrator’s experience of observing and making sense of the differences between two cultures she embraces.

Choice B is incorrect because the text makes no reference to possible companions. Although the text does indicate that
the narrator sometimes used the cultural framework she acquired growing up in Japan to explain some experiences she’s
had, there is no suggestion that this was in service of making friends. And although “no one seemed to know” strongly
implies that the narrator has interacted with other people in the United States, there is no indication that these
conversations involved her discussing Japanese customs. Choice C is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests
that the narrator was hesitant to ask questions. In fact, the narrator indicates that “no one seemed to know the origin” of
various customs, which provides evidence that, rather than being hesitant, she sought information from several people.
Choice D is incorrect because the text makes no reference to the physical distance between Japan and the United States.
Although the narrator indicates that the two countries differ “widely” and likens them to “two separate worlds,” these
descriptions relate to cultural aspects of the countries and the narrator’s feelings about the two countries, not the
physical distance between them.
Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID f631132b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: f631132b
In the Here and Now Storybook (1921), educator Lucy Sprague Mitchell advanced the then controversial idea that books
for very young children should imitate how they use language, since toddlers, who cannot yet grasp narrative or abstract
ideas, seek reassurance in verbal repetition and naming. The most enduring example of this idea is Margaret Wise
Brown’s 1947 picture book Goodnight Moon, in which a young rabbit names the objects in his room as he drifts off to
sleep. Scholars note that the book’s emphasis on repetition, rhythm, and nonsense rhyme speaks directly to Mitchell’s
influence.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. The text outlines a debate between two authors of children’s literature and then traces how that debate shaped
theories on early childhood education.

B. The text summarizes an argument about how children’s literature should be evaluated and then discusses a
contrasting view on that subject.

C. The text lists the literary characteristics that are common to many classics of children’s literature and then indicates
the narrative subjects that are most appropriate for young children.

D. The text presents a philosophy about what material is most suitable for children’s literature and then describes a
book influenced by that philosophy.

ID: f631132b Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text starts by introducing Mitchell’s philosophy about using simple, repetitive language
in books for young children. Then it describes a book influenced by that philosophy, Goodnight Moon.

Choice A is incorrect. Although two authors are mentioned in the text, they both agree about the type of language that
should be contained in books for young children. Choice B is incorrect. The text never discusses the evaluation of
children’s literature. It does provide one view of how children’s books should be written, but never introduces a competing
view. Choice C is incorrect. The text doesn’t mention “many classics of children’s literature.” Instead, it describes an
educational theory and identifies one example of a famous children’s book that was influenced by that theory.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 47904792
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 47904792
Animals use many objects as tools to achieve goals more easily. Such goals include grooming, finding food, and
protecting themselves. For a long time, people thought tool use was unique to primates. Dolphins and other animals,
though, have busted the myth that tool use requires hands. Inventively, dolphins use sponges to protect their noses from
scratches when foraging on the seafloor. Palm cockatoos also get creative. They use leaves to pad their beaks when
opening nuts.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To question the belief that birds are intelligent

B. To compare tool use in humans with tool use in palm cockatoos

C. To establish that tool use doesn’t indicate intelligence

D. To argue that a variety of animals use tools

ID: 47904792 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately states the main purpose of the text. The text first states that
animals make use of objects as tools to help them achieve different goals. The text then explains that although people
used to think only primates use tools, tool use by dolphins (aquatic mammals) and palm cockatoos (birds) has shown
that primates are not the only animals that use tools. Thus, the main purpose of the text is to argue that a variety of
animals, not just primates, use tools.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t mention intelligence at all, focusing just on the idea that animals use tools.
Further, the text mentions one kind of bird (palm cockatoos) only as an example of a non-primate that uses tools and
describes its use of tools as creative, not unintelligent. Choice B is incorrect. Although the text mentions tool use in
primates (a group that includes humans) and in palm cockatoos, it doesn’t compare humans’ tool use with palm
cockatoos’ tool use. The text mentions palm cockatoos only as one example out of the variety of animals that use tools
and never directly mentions tool use in humans. Choice C is incorrect because the text discusses tool use but never
makes any mention of intelligence. Rather than establishing that tool use doesn’t indicate intelligence, the text describes
certain tool use as inventive and creative.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID ac5bf490
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: ac5bf490
The following text is from Reyna Grande’s 2012 memoir The Distance Between Us. In the text, Grande reflects on a time
when she and her older sister Mago were children. A Barbie is a type of doll.

I begged Mago to come play with me. She wasn’t as interested in my Barbie as she had been just two months
before, which made me sad because that was the only thing Mago had envied me for. Usually, it was me doing the
envying. After I pestered her relentlessly, she finally put her notebook down and came over to me.
©2012 by Reyna Grande

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text?

A. It indicates Grande’s unhappiness over Mago’s disinterest in Grande’s doll.

B. It expresses Grande’s anger over Mago’s refusal to spend time with her.

C. It presents an example of how Mago and Grande generally played together as children.

D. It provides a reason for why Mago is unwilling to play with Grande.

ID: ac5bf490 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined portion in the text. The
underlined portion ("which made me sad because that was the only thing Mago had envied me for") directly expresses
Grande’s unhappiness about her sister’s diminished interest in her Barbie doll. The underlined text specifically identifies
that Grande feels sad and explains why Mago’s disinterest particularly affects her—because it was the one rare instance
where her older sister had envied her, rather than the reverse.

Choice B is incorrect because the underlined portion expresses sadness, not anger. Although there is some
correspondence between the emotions anger and envy and the text does indicate that Grande usually envies her sister,
the underlined portion states that Grande feels sad about Mago’s disinterest in Grande’s Barbie, not angry about Mago’s
refusal to spend time with her. Choice C is incorrect. While the first part of the sentence that contains the underlined
portion indicates that Mago has previously taken an interest in Grande’s Barbie, implying that the sisters may regularly
have played with the Barbie together in the past, the underlined portion doesn’t provide an example of this. The
underlined portion instead explains why Mago’s recently developed disinterest in the Barbie saddens Grande. Choice D is
incorrect because neither the underlined portion nor the text as a whole explains why Mago is unwilling to play with
Grande. Rather than addressing Mago’s motivation or reasoning, the underlined portion describes Grande’s emotional
reaction to Mago’s disinterest in Grande’s Barbie and explains why this lack of interest matters to Grande.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 0ed94d4c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 0ed94d4c
Jackie Ormes’s Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem (1937–38) was the first comic strip by a Black woman to appear in a
widely read newspaper. The strip tells the story of Torchy, a young woman who leaves Mississippi to become a performer
in New York City. Torchy’s story reflects the experience of the Great Migration (1910–1970), when millions of Black
Americans left the South in search of opportunities in other parts of the United States. Torchy Brown thus shows how
Ormes used comics to comment humorously on issues affecting Black Americans, which she continued to do
throughout her career.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To show how Ormes’s Torchy Brown inspired other Black women to write comic strips in the 1930s

B. To illustrate how the subjects Ormes addressed in her comic strips changed over the course of her career

C. To give an example of how Ormes presented the experiences of Black Americans in her comic strips

D. To claim that several characters in Torchy Brown were based on people that Ormes knew personally

ID: 0ed94d4c Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The text describes how Torchy Brown depicted the experiences of a young Black woman
experiencing America’s Great Migration. It further states that Ormes continued to use comics throughout her career to
humorously comment on important issues impacting Black Americans.

Choice A is incorrect. The text never mentions other Black women comic strip writers. Choice B is incorrect. The text
never mentions any changes in the subjects Ormes addressed. Choice D is incorrect. The text never mentions the
inspiration for characters in Torchy Brown.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 4eee64fa
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 4eee64fa
Space scientists Anna-Lisa Paul, Stephen M. Elardo, and Robert Ferl planted seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana in samples of
lunar regolith—the surface material of the Moon—and, serving as a control group, in terrestrial soil. They found that while
all the seeds germinated, the roots of the regolith-grown plants were stunted compared with those in the control group.
Moreover, unlike the plants in the control group, the regolith-grown plants exhibited red pigmentation, reduced leaf size,
and inhibited growth rates—indicators of stress that were corroborated by postharvest molecular analysis.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It describes an experiment that addressed an unresolved question about the extent to which lunar regolith resembles
terrestrial soils.

B. It compares two distinct methods of assessing indicators of stress in plants grown in a simulated lunar environment.

C. It presents evidence in support of the hypothesis that seed germination in lunar habitats is an unattainable goal.

D. It discusses the findings of a study that evaluated the effects of exposing a plant species to lunar soil conditions.

ID: 4eee64fa Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text describes an experiment wherein space scientists compared plant growth in
terrestrial and lunar soil conditions. It then discusses the findings of the study, including the fact that all the seeds
germinated but that the plants grown in lunar soil exhibited signs of stress.

Choice A is incorrect. The text doesn’t address this question, and never describes any specific characteristics of either
soil. It merely describes the outcome of an experiment that exposed a plant species to lunar soil conditions. Choice B is
incorrect. The text never compares methods of assessing indicators of stress—instead, it simply mentions several stress
indicators observed in the study (red pigmentation, reduced leaf size, and inhibited growth rates). Choice C is incorrect.
The text doesn’t present any evidence that we could never achieve seed germination in lunar habitats, and in fact states
that the seeds in the lunar soil did germinate.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID a70cbc53
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: a70cbc53
Raymond Antrobus, an accomplished poet and writer of prose, recently released his debut spoken word poetry album,
The First Time I Wore Hearing Aids, in collaboration with producer Ian Brennan. The album contains both
autobiographical and reflective pieces combining Antrobus’s spoken words with Brennan’s fragmented audio elements
and pieces of music to convey how people who are deaf may experience sound, both its presence and absence. Some
critics suggest that the album questions the function of sound in the world, highlighting that the experience of sound is
multifaceted.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It introduces a collaborative spoken word poetry project, details the approach taken to produce the work, and then
provides an example of critique the album received upon release.

B. It mentions a collection of spoken word poems, distinguishes one poem as being an exemplar on the album, and then
offers a summary of the subject matter of the whole collection.

C. It summarizes the efforts to produce a collection of spoken word poems, presents biographies of two people who
worked on the album, and speculates about the meaning behind the poetry.

D. It connects two artists to the same spoken word poetry project, explains the extent of their collaboration on each
poem, and then provides an overview of the technique used to produce the work.

ID: a70cbc53 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The text first introduces the album as being a collaboration between Antrobus and Brennan,
then describes the approach taken to produce it, then mentions how critics have said that it calls into question the
function of sound.

Choice B is incorrect. While the text does mention a collection of spoken word poems, it doesn’t single out one poem as
being particularly noteworthy. Additionally, the text doesn’t simply summarize the subject matter—it goes into detail
about the content and production of the album. Choice C is incorrect. The text doesn’t provide biographical information
about the two artists, and the text doesn’t speculate about the meaning behind the poetry—instead, it relays what some
critics have said about the album. Choice D is incorrect. The text doesn’t provide just an overview of the production
techniques used but instead goes into more detail about the content and audio elements of the album, as well as critical
response to the album.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 5e732e67
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 5e732e67
Many films from the early 1900s have been lost. These losses include several films by the first wave of Black women
filmmakers. We know about these lost movies only from small pieces of evidence. For example, an advertisement for
Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome’s documentary Doing Their Bit still exists. There’s a reference in a magazine to Tressie
Souders’s film A Woman’s Error. And Maria P. Williams’s The Flames of Wrath is mentioned in a letter and a newspaper
article, and one image from the movie was discovered in the 1990s.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. The text identifies a complex problem, then presents examples of unsuccessful attempts to solve that problem.

B. The text summarizes a debate among researchers, then gives reasons for supporting one side in that debate.

C. The text describes a general situation, then illustrates that situation with specific examples.

D. The text discusses several notable individuals, then explains commonly overlooked differences between those
individuals.

ID: 5e732e67 Answer

Correct Answer:
C
Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. The first three sentences describe the general situation: these early films have been lost,
and we only know about them from small pieces of evidence. The rest of the text offers specific examples of the small
pieces of evidence.

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The fact that we only know about these lost early films from small
pieces of evidence isn’t presented as a “complex problem”—that’s too extreme. And the examples presented are not
“unsuccessful attempts” to solve it. If anything, the examples represent a success, because we discovered that these
films existed in the first place. Choice B is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. There’s no “debate” presented in the
text, so there’s no “side” for the text to support. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The text doesn’t
discuss any “differences” between the filmmakers.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 56ec23a0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 56ec23a0
Hiroshi Senju is known worldwide for his paintings of waterfalls. These paintings are large and tend not to show the
entire waterfall. Instead, Senju focuses on just the point where the falling water reaches the pool below, keeping the top
of the waterfall out of view. While Senju’s paintings are rooted in art movements originating in the United States, the artist
uses traditional Japanese techniques and materials that make his work instantly recognizable.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It introduces an artist and then explains some common characteristics of well-known paintings by that artist.

B. It explains a specific painting technique and then provides examples of artists who use the technique.

C. It describes a famous painting and then compares it to a lesser-known painting from the same time period.

D. It gives an opinion on an artist and then suggests multiple reasons why the artist’s work has been largely overlooked.

ID: 56ec23a0 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The first sentence introduces Senju as a famous artist, while the next three sentences
describe the defining features of his art, such as it only showing part of the waterfall and its origins in US art movements
and Japanese techniques.

Choice B is incorrect. The text doesn’t provide examples of any other artists who use Senju’s techniques. Choice C is
incorrect. The text doesn’t describe any single famous painting or make comparisons between paintings. Choice D is
incorrect. The text doesn’t provide an opinion on Senju (just facts), nor does it suggest that his art has been overlooked—
in fact, it states that he is “known worldwide.”

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 1782cdd7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 1782cdd7
In many agricultural environments, the banks of streams are kept forested to protect water quality, but it’s been unclear
what effects these forests may have on stream biodiversity. To investigate the issue, biologist Xingli Giam and
colleagues studied an Indonesian oil palm plantation, comparing the species richness of forested streams with that of
nonforested streams. Giam and colleagues found that species richness was significantly higher in forested streams, a
finding the researchers attribute to the role leaf litter plays in sheltering fish from predators and providing food resources.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. It discusses research intended to settle a debate about how agricultural yields can be increased without negative
effects on water quality.

B. It explains the differences between stream-protection strategies used in oil palm plantations and stream-protection
strategies used in other kinds of agricultural environments.

C. It describes findings that challenge a previously held view about how fish that inhabit streams in agricultural
environments attempt to avoid predators.

D. It presents a study that addresses an unresolved question about the presence of forests along streams in agricultural
environments.

ID: 1782cdd7 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The author first describes an unresolved question: what effect do bank forests have on
stream biodiversity? Then the author presents a study that answers the question: bank forests increase stream
biodiversity.

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t the main purpose of the text. The text never mentions agricultural yields. Choice B is
incorrect. This isn’t the main purpose of the text. The text never mentions other kinds of agricultural environments.
Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t the main purpose of the text. The text never mentions any previously held view about how
fish in these streams try to avoid predators.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 6d44060a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 6d44060a
Works of moral philosophy, such as Plato’s Republic or Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, are partly concerned with how to
live a morally good life. But philosopher Jonathan Barnes argues that works that present a method of living such a life
without also supplying a motive are inherently useful only to those already wishing to be morally good—those with no
desire for moral goodness will not choose to follow their rules. However, some works of moral philosophy attempt to
describe what constitutes a morally good life while also proposing reasons for living one.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It provides a characterization about a field of thought by noting two works in it and then details a way in which some
works in that field are more comprehensive than others.

B. It mentions two renowned works and then claims that despite their popularity it is impossible for these works to
serve the purpose their authors intended.

C. It summarizes the history of a field of thought by discussing two works and then proposes a topic of further research
for specialists in that field.

D. It describes two influential works and then explains why one is more widely read than the other.

ID: 6d44060a Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The text starts by stating what moral philosophy is concerned with and naming two
examples of works in the field. Then it describes a shortcoming of some works in that field (they say how but not why),
and finally it states that other works try to avoid that shortcoming (by including both how and why to live a morally good
life).

Choice B is incorrect. This is too extreme. The text never mentions whether the two works are popular or not, and it never
argues that these works don’t serve their intended purpose of describing how to live a morally good life. Rather, the text
claims that works of moral philosophy that don’t include both how and why to be moral are not useful to readers who
don’t already want to be moral. Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The text never discusses the history
of moral philosophy at all, and it doesn’t propose any topic for further research. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t the overall
structure. The text never discusses which of the two works is more widely read.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 02e49a0c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 02e49a0c
Genetic studies have led researchers to suggest that turtles are most closely related to the group that includes modern
crocodiles. But studies of fossils have suggested instead that turtles are most closely related to other groups, such as
the one that contains modern snakes. However, many of the fossil studies have relied on incomplete data sets. For a
2022 investigation, biologist Tiago R. Simões and colleagues examined more than 1,000 reptile fossils collected
worldwide. From this large data set, they found clear agreement with the results of the genetic studies.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence?

A. It offers an overview of the tools scientists use to examine fossils.

B. It describes a limitation of some studies about the origin of turtles.

C. It summarizes previous research on the evolution of crocodiles.

D. It criticizes a widely held belief about genetic studies of reptiles.

ID: 02e49a0c Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The sentence mentions that some fossil studies have relied on incomplete data sets,
suggesting that these studies are limited in what they can tell us about turtles’ origins.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence mentions the incompleteness of the data sets studied, it doesn’t mention any
tools or techniques used to examine fossils. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence doesn’t mention anything about the
evolution of crocodiles. Choice D is incorrect. This sentence doesn’t directly mention or criticize any "widely held belief,"
and it focuses on a limitation of fossil studies of reptiles, not genetic studies.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID 48555763
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 48555763
The following text is from Herman Melville’s 1854 novel The Lightning-rod Man.
The stranger still stood in the exact middle of the cottage, where he had first planted himself. His singularity impelled a
closer scrutiny. A lean, gloomy figure. Hair dark and lank, mattedly streaked over his brow. His sunken pitfalls of eyes
were ringed by indigo halos, and played with an innocuous sort of lightning: the gleam without the bolt. The whole man
was dripping. He stood in a puddle on the bare oak floor: his strange walking-stick vertically resting at his side.

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the overall structure of the text?

A. It elaborates on the previous sentence’s description of the character.

B. It introduces the setting that is described in the sentences that follow.

C. It establishes a contrast with the description in the previous sentence.

D. It sets up the character description presented in the sentences that follow.

ID: 48555763 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. This best states the function of the underlined sentence. The sentence basically says: “He
stood out, so I looked more closely at him.” Then the rest of the text describes him in detail.

Choice A is incorrect. This doesn’t state the function of the underlined sentence. The previous sentence basically says:
“He was still standing in the middle of the cottage”—it doesn’t include any description of the character himself. Choice B
is incorrect. This doesn’t state the function of the underlined sentence. The following sentences describe the character,
not the setting. Choice C is incorrect. This doesn’t state the function of the underlined sentence. The underlined sentence
basically says: “He stood out, so I looked more closely at him.” The previous sentence basically says: “He was still
standing in the middle of the cottage.” There’s no contrast between these two sentences.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID e7247766
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: e7247766
Horizontal gene transfer occurs when an organism of one species acquires genetic material from an organism of another
species through nonreproductive means. The genetic material can then be transferred “vertically” in the second species—
that is, through reproductive inheritance. Scientist Atma Ivancevic and her team have hypothesized infection by
invertebrate parasites as a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer between vertebrate species: while feeding, a parasite
could acquire a gene from one host, then relocate to a host from a different vertebrate species and transfer the gene to it
in turn.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It explains why parasites are less susceptible to horizontal gene transfer than their hosts are.

B. It clarifies why some genes are more likely to be transferred horizontally than others are.

C. It contrasts how horizontal gene transfer occurs among vertebrates with how it occurs among invertebrates.

D. It describes a means by which horizontal gene transfer might occur among vertebrates.

ID: e7247766 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text defines horizontal gene transfer and then gives one possibility for how it happens in
vertebrates (via infection by parasites). The underlined part describes how that mechanism could work.

Choice A is incorrect. The underlined portion doesn’t do this. Parasites are only described as the mechanism that does
the transferring, not the species that gives or receives the genes. Choice B is incorrect. The underlined portion doesn’t do
this. The text never discusses which genes are more likely to be transferred. Choice C is incorrect. The underlined
portion doesn’t do this. The text never discusses how horizontal gene transfer occurs among invertebrates.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 8bc66f89
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 8bc66f89
Part of the Atacama Desert in Peru has surprisingly rich plant life despite receiving almost no rainfall. Moisture from
winter fog sustains plants once they’re growing, but the soil’s tough crust makes it hard for seeds to germinate in the first
place. Local birds that dig nests in the ground seem to be of help: they churn the soil, exposing buried seeds to moisture
and nutrients. Indeed, in 2016 Cristina Rengifo Faiffer found that mounds of soil dug up by birds were far more fertile and
supported more seedlings than soil in undisturbed areas.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?

A. It elaborates on the idea that the top layer of Atacama Desert soil forms a tough crust.

B. It describes the process by which seeds are deposited into Atacama Desert soil.

C. It identifies the reason particular bird species dig nests in Atacama Desert soil.

D. It explains how certain birds promote seed germination in Atacama Desert soil.

ID: 8bc66f89 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined portion functions in the text as a
whole. The first two sentences establish a natural phenomenon: there is a richness of plant life found in the Atacama
Desert despite the hard soil that makes it challenging for seeds to germinate. The next sentence, which contains the
underlined portion, offers a potential explanation for the phenomenon: local birds dig ground nests exposing seeds to
moisture and materials in the soil necessary for germination. The last sentence summarizes a study that compared the
fertileness of mounds of dirt dug up by birds to mounds that were undisturbed to support the explanation in the
underlined portion. Thus, the underlined portion mainly functions to explain how certain birds promote seed germination
in the Atacama Desert soil.

Choice A is incorrect because the underlined portion doesn’t address the topic of the soil’s tough crust or its formation.
Instead, the text elaborates on the idea that local birds that build ground nests may help seeds germinate in the hard
soil. Choice B is incorrect because the underlined portion describes how some birds may support seed germination in
Atacama Desert soil but doesn’t describe how the seeds are deposited into the soil before germination begins. Choice C
is incorrect because neither the underlined portion nor the text as a whole identifies a reason that a particular bird
species may choose to dig ground nests in the Atacama Desert soil.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID b4d29611
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: b4d29611
Michelene Pesantubbee, a historian and citizen of the Choctaw Nation, has identified a dilemma inherent to research on
the status of women in her tribe during the 1600s and 1700s: the primary sources from that era, travel narratives and
other accounts by male European colonizers, underestimate the degree of power conferred on Choctaw women by their
traditional roles in political, civic, and ceremonial life. Pesantubbee argues that the Choctaw oral tradition and findings
from archaeological sites in the tribe’s homeland supplement the written record by providing crucial insights into those
roles.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It details the shortcomings of certain historical sources, then argues that research should avoid those sources
altogether.

B. It describes a problem that arises in research on a particular topic, then sketches a historian’s approach to addressing
that problem.

C. It lists the advantages of a particular research method, then acknowledges a historian’s criticism of that method.

D. It characterizes a particular topic as especially challenging to research, then suggests a related topic for historians to
pursue instead.

ID: b4d29611 Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The text begins by stating a problem with research on the status of Choctaw women in the
1600s and 1700s: written primary sources underestimate the power they had in their traditional roles. Then it presents
one historian’s solution: looking to oral tradition and archeological findings for more insight into these roles.

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The text never says that research should avoid written primary
sources, just that research should also use oral tradition and archeological sites as sources. Choice C is incorrect. This
isn’t the overall structure. The text never mentions the advantages of using written primary sources. Choice D is
incorrect. This isn’t the overall structure. The text never says that the status of Choctaw women during the 1600s and
1700s is too challenging to research. And it doesn’t mention any other topics to research instead.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID f6352bd3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: f6352bd3
Many archaeologists assume that large-scale engineering projects in ancient societies required an elite class to plan and
direct the necessary labor. However, recent discoveries, such as the excavation of an ancient canal near the Gulf Coast of
Alabama, have complicated this picture. Using radiocarbon dating, a team of researchers concluded that the 1.39-
kilometer-long canal was most likely constructed between 576 and 650 CE by an Indigenous society that was relatively
free of social classes.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It describes a common view among archaeologists, then discusses a recent finding that challenges that view.

B. It outlines a method used in some archaeological fieldwork, then explains why an alternative method is superior to it.

C. It presents contradictory conclusions drawn by archaeologists, then evaluates a study that has apparently resolved
that contradiction.

D. It identifies a gap in scientific research, then presents a strategy used by some archaeologists to remedy that gap.

ID: f6352bd3 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. The text starts by introducing a common view among archaeologists about the need for an
elite class to direct large-scale engineering projects. Then, it discusses the discovery of a large canal most likely built by
a society without an elite class, which challenges the first view.

Choice B is incorrect. Although the text discusses carbon dating as an archaeological method, it doesn’t compare it to
any other alternative methods. Choice C is incorrect. The study doesn’t resolve any contradictions—rather, it introduces a
contradiction to the one view presented at the beginning of the text. Choice D is incorrect. The text never identifies any
gaps in scientific research.

Question Difficulty:
Medium
Question ID 764331f8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 764331f8
The following text is from Louise Erdrich’s 1986 novel The Beet Queen. The narrator discusses her relationship with her
young niece, Dot. Celestine, the narrator’s sister-in-law, is Dot’s mother.

Dot was as impatient with babyhood as I. She tried at once to grow out of it. Celestine never saw that, because she,
and only she, took pleasure in Dot’s helpless softness. Only Celestine was saddened by her daughter’s fierce
progress. Day by day, Dot grew stronger. In her shopping-cart stroller she exercised to exhaustion, bouncing for
hours to develop her leg muscles.
©1986 by Louise Erdrich

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A. It offers a detail that shows how Dot is growing stronger.

B. It expresses hope that Celestine will mature psychologically.

C. It explores some of the narrator’s psychological characteristics.

D. It indicates how sad Celestine is by describing a behavior she engages in.

ID: 764331f8 Answer

Correct Answer:
A
Rationale
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a
whole. In the text, the narrator makes observations about her young niece, Dot, noting that Dot is making progress toward
outgrowing babyhood and is growing stronger "day by day." The description of Dot purposefully exercising by "bouncing
for hours" reinforces the narrator’s earlier characterization of Dot. The underlined sentence thus offers a detail that
shows how Dot is growing stronger.

Choice B is incorrect. While a sentence earlier in the text mentions Celestine’s psychological state (sadness because Dot
is growing fast), the underlined sentence doesn’t focus on Celestine at all. Instead, the sentence focuses on Dot’s
physical activities to show that she is getting stronger. Choice C is incorrect because the underlined sentence describes
Dot’s behavior, not the narrator’s psychological characteristics. While a sentence earlier in the text establishes that the
narrator, like Dot, was "impatient with babyhood," the underlined sentence specifically addresses Dot’s physical activities
in her stroller. Choice D is incorrect. While an earlier sentence in the text mentions that Celestine is sad, the underlined
sentence doesn’t focus on how Celestine feels nor does it describe a behavior that Celestine engages in. The sentence
focuses entirely on Dot’s actions, describing her as "bouncing for hours" to show that she is growing stronger.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID ad4f7362
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: ad4f7362
The following text is from John Dryden’s 1697 translation of Virgil’s poem the Aeneid, written in the first century BCE.
Queen Dido has just heard the Trojan hero Aeneas recount a sad tale.

But anxious cares already seiz’d the queen:

She fed within her veins a flame unseen;
The hero’s valor, acts, and birth inspire
Her soul with love, and fan the secret fire.
His words, his looks, imprinted in her heart,
Improve the passion, and increase the smart.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To indicate that Dido is hiding her skepticism of Aeneas’s account

B. To emphasize that Dido has been deeply affected by Aeneas’s story

C. To imply that Dido engages both emotionally and intellectually with Aeneas

D. To suggest that Dido is worried that Aeneas might discover a secret she is keeping from him

ID: ad4f7362 Answer

Correct Answer:
B
Rationale
Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text, which is to foreground
Queen Dido’s strong emotional response to Aeneas’s story. Throughout, the text emphasizes how deeply the queen is
affected by both Aeneas’s tale and persona. At the outset, the speaker explicitly states that "anxious cares...seiz’d the
queen" and then uses the metaphor of fire ("within her veins a flame unseen" and "secret fire") to evoke the warmth of
Dido’s feelings for Aeneas. In addition, the line "His words, his looks, imprinted in her heart" suggests the deep
impression that Aeneas’s story makes on Dido, eliciting passion for him ("improv[ing] the passion") and empathy for his
suffering ("increas[ing] the smart").

Choice A is incorrect because there’s no indication in the text that Dido is skeptical of Aeneas’s account, much less that
she’s trying to conceal that skepticism. On the contrary, the text shows her being moved by his words and developing
feelings for him. Choice C is incorrect. While the text mentions that Dido is impressed by Aeneas’s "valor, acts, and birth,"
which might suggest (but doesn’t necessarily entail) intellectual engagement, the text doesn’t represent Dido’s
engagement with Aeneas in a manner that suggests a balance between emotion and intellect. Rather, the text primarily
emphasizes her emotional response—specifically her attraction to Aeneas and her emotional investment in his story,
indicating that his "valor, acts, and birth inspire / Her soul with love, and fan the secret fire" and that his words and looks
elicit passion and empathy. Choice D is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that Dido is worried about Aeneas
discovering a secret she is concealing from him. Though the text begins by mentioning Dido’s "anxious cares," this refers
to her growing passion for Aeneas and pity for his suffering, not to worry about a secret she is concealing. The text’s
reference to a "flame unseen" and "secret fire" points to Dido’s growing feelings for Aeneas that develop as he recounts
his tale, not to a secret that existed before their encounter; moreover, the text provides no indication that Dido is worried
Aeneas might discover these feelings.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 9b01bcf4
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 9b01bcf4
The 1967 release of Harold Cruse’s book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual isolated him from almost all other scholars
and activists of the American Civil Rights Movement—though many of those thinkers disagreed with each other, he
nonetheless found ways to disagree with them all. He thought that activists who believed that Black people such as
himself should culturally assimilate were naïve. But he also sharply criticized Black nationalists such as Marcus Garvey
who wanted to establish independent, self-contained Black economies and societies, even though Cruse himself
identified as a Black nationalist.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

A. It describes a direction that Cruse felt the Civil Rights Movement ought to take.

B. It indicates that Cruse’s reputation as a persistent antagonist of other scholars is undeserved.

C. It describes a controversy that Cruse’s work caused within the Black nationalist movement.

D. It helps explain Cruse’s position with respect to the community of civil rights thinkers.

ID: 9b01bcf4 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer. The text as a whole claims that Cruse disagreed with virtually all other Civil Rights scholars
and activists. The underlined sentence describes one way that Cruse both did and didn’t fit in with those thinkers: he
criticized Black nationalists, even though he identified as one.

Choice A is incorrect. The underlined sentence doesn’t do this. It describes Cruse’s criticisms—it never mentions what
Cruse did want the movement to do instead. Choice B is incorrect. This conflicts with the text, which argues that Cruse
did disagree with almost all other scholars of the Civil Rights Movement. Choice C is incorrect. This is a step too far. The
text never says that Cruse’s work caused controversy within the Black nationalist movement.

Question Difficulty:
Hard
Question ID 40270820
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: 40270820
Catherine L. Cardelús is a researcher who studies canopy soil. Canopy soil is formed in a tree’s branches (its canopy)
when dead leaves and other falling things collect. This material breaks down, becoming canopy soil. Canopy soil helps
preserve a healthy water cycle (how water moves through the environment) in rainforests. This benefit is one reason
Cardelús is interested in the canopy soils in large choibá trees in rainforests in Costa Rica.

Which choice best describes the text’s overall structure?

A. It explains a disagreement between researchers and how it was resolved.

B. It presents an idea and mentions a researcher who disagrees with that idea.

C. It compares the sizes of two types of trees over several years.

D. It introduces a researcher and gives information about what she researches.

ID: 40270820 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it most accurately describes the overall structure of the text. The text begins by
mentioning Catherine L. Cardelús, "a researcher who studies canopy soil." The text then provides information about her
chosen research topic: the formation of canopy soil in tree branches, the role of canopy soil in preserving a healthy water
cycle in rainforests, and Cardelús’s specific interest in "the canopy soils in large choibá trees in rainforests in Costa Rica."
Thus, the text introduces a researcher and then gives information about what she researches.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t mention any disagreement between researchers, nor does it describe how
such a disagreement was resolved. Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t present an idea that Cardelús
disagrees with; rather, it describes her research interests and the significance of canopy soil. Choice C is incorrect
because the text doesn’t compare the sizes of different types of trees over time. While the text mentions "large choibá
trees," it doesn’t compare them to any other tree type or discuss changes in tree size over several years.

Question Difficulty:
Easy
Question ID dcd9ad50
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and
Purpose

ID: dcd9ad50
The following text is adapted from George Eliot’s 1857 short story “The Sad Fortunes of the Rev. Amos Barton.” Mr. Ely is
a clergyman in the town of Milby.

By the laity of Milby and its neighbourhood [Mr. Ely] was regarded as a man of quite remarkable powers and
learning, who must make a considerable sensation in London pulpits and drawing-rooms on his occasional visit to
the metropolis; and by his brother clergy he was regarded as a discreet and agreeable fellow. Mr. Ely never got into a
warm discussion; he suggested what might be thought, but rarely said what he thought himself; he never let either
men or women see that he was laughing at them, and he never gave any one an opportunity of laughing at him.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It shows that Mr. Ely had originally been held in high regard by his friends and then details the events that caused their
regard for him to subside.

B. It implies that Mr. Ely’s neighbors are more naïve in their estimation of him than people in London are and then
explains why his neighbors have been so easily misled.

C. It stresses the discrepancy between Mr. Ely’s public and private conduct and then alludes to his motivation for hiding
his true personality.

D. It presents the favorable opinion of Mr. Ely that other people hold and then describes the behaviors of Mr. Ely that
enable him to maintain that favorable opinion.

ID: dcd9ad50 Answer

Correct Answer:
D
Rationale
Choice D is the best answer because it best describes the overall structure of the text. The first part of the text presents
the favorable opinions that others hold of Mr. Ely: the laity of Milby regard him as having "remarkable powers and
learning" and assume that he also impresses people in London, while his fellow clergy see him as "a discreet and
agreeable fellow." The text then goes on to describe Mr. Ely’s behaviors that enable him to cultivate and preserve his
positive reputation. The text conveys that he avoids confrontations, abstaining from "warm discussion[s]" (that is, heated
or contentious ones); that he avoids offending anyone by "rarely [saying] what he thought himself" and by refraining from
openly ridiculing anyone; and that he doesn’t give anyone any reason to ridicule or belittle his own character ("he never
gave any one an opportunity of laughing at him"). In other words, these are all behaviors that suggest that Mr. Ely avoids
doing anything that might make people dislike him or think poorly of him. Thus, the text begins by presenting the
favorable view that people have of Mr. Ely and then describes the behaviors that enable him to maintain that favorable
view.

Choice A is incorrect because the text doesn’t describe any events that caused people’s regard for Mr. Ely to diminish.
Instead, the text explains that the people of Milby hold him in high regard and describes behaviors that suggest how he
cultivates that regard. Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that Mr. Ely’s neighbors are more naïve than
Londoners are or that they’ve been misled. Although the text suggests that Mr. Ely is very guarded in his outward
behavior and conceals from people when he may be internally mocking them, which might suggest that people know him
less well than they think they do, there’s nothing in the text to suggest that Londoners are less naïve and therefore less
easily misled than Mr. Ely’s neighbors are. The text states that the people of Milby believe Mr. Ely to be "remarkable" and
that they assume that people in London must find him so, too; it doesn’t say anything about what Londoners actually
think of him. Choice C is incorrect. While the text discusses Mr. Ely’s public conduct at length, describing the ways in
which he carefully cultivates an agreeable public persona, the text doesn’t discuss how Mr. Ely behaves in private at all; it
therefore wouldn’t be accurate to say that the text begins by emphasizing a discrepancy between his public and private
conduct. Furthermore, although the text concludes with examples illustrating that Mr. Ely typically doesn’t share his true
thoughts, indicating that he may be hiding aspects of his true personality when in public, and although the text as a whole
conveys the idea that Mr. Ely benefits from this behavior, which might hint at his motives for doing so, the text doesn’t
conclude by alluding to those motives. Instead, the text merely concludes with a description of the behaviors he engages
in to win his neighbors’ and colleagues’ approval.

Question Difficulty:
Medium