Question ID a0120582

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: a0120582

Economic Policy Uncertainty in

the United Kingdom, 2005–2010
(larger values = more uncertainty)

200

150
Uncertainty

100

50

0
005 006 007 008 009 010
2 2 2 2 2 2

Year

tax and public spending policy

trade policy
general economic policy

High levels of public uncertainty about which economic policies a country will adopt can make planning
difficult for businesses, but measures of such uncertainty have not tended to be very detailed. Recently,
however, economist Sandile Hlatshwayo analyzed trends in news reports to derive measures not only for
general economic policy uncertainty but also for uncertainty related to specific areas of economic policy, like
tax or trade policy. One revelation of her work is that a general measure may not fully reflect uncertainty
about specific areas of policy, as in the case of the United Kingdom, where general economic policy
uncertainty ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to illustrate the claim?
A. aligned closely with uncertainty about tax and public spending policy in 2005 but differed from
uncertainty about tax and public spending policy by a large amount in 2009.

B. was substantially lower than uncertainty about tax and public spending policy each year from 2005 to
2010.
C. reached its highest level between 2005 and 2010 in the same year that uncertainty about trade policy and
tax and public spending policy reached their lowest levels.

D. was substantially lower than uncertainty about trade policy in 2005 and substantially higher than
uncertainty about trade policy in 2010.
Question ID 15c0ed26
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

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

Which choice most logically completes the text?

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

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

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

D. lacks the sensors to observe the wavelengths of light needed to discern how solar system bodies change
over time.
Question ID d2b5e069
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: d2b5e069
Psychologists Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt have argued that experiencing awe—a sensation of
reverence and wonder typically brought on by perceiving something grand or powerful—can enable us to feel
more connected to others and thereby inspire us to act more altruistically. Keltner, along with Paul K. Piff, Pia
Dietze, and colleagues, claims to have found evidence for this effect in a recent study where participants
were asked to either gaze up at exceptionally tall trees in a nearby grove (reported to be a universally awe-
inspiring experience) or stare at the exterior of a nearby, nondescript building. After one minute, an
experimenter deliberately spilled a box of pens nearby.

Which finding from the researchers’ study, if true, would most strongly support their claim?

A. Participants who had been looking at the trees helped the experimenter pick up significantly more pens
than did participants who had been looking at the building.

B. Participants who helped the experimenter pick up the pens used a greater number of positive words to
describe the trees and the building in a postexperiment survey than did participants who did not help the
experimenter.

C. Participants who did not help the experimenter pick up the pens were significantly more likely to report
having experienced a feeling of awe, regardless of whether they looked at the building or the trees.

D. Participants who had been looking at the building were significantly more likely to notice that the
experimenter had dropped the pens than were participants who had been looking at the trees.
Question ID 14ea5897
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 14ea5897
Icebergs generally appear to be mostly white or blue, depending on how the ice reflects sunlight. Ice with air
bubbles trapped in it looks white because much of the light reflects off the bubbles. Ice without air bubbles
usually looks blue because the light travels deep into the ice and only a little of it is reflected. However, some
icebergs in the sea around Antarctica appear to be green. One team of scientists hypothesized that this
phenomenon is the result of yellow-tinted dissolved organic carbon in Antarctic waters mixing with blue ice
to produce the color green.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the team’s hypothesis?

A. White ice doesn’t change color when mixed with dissolved organic carbon due to the air bubbles in the
ice.

B. Dissolved organic carbon has a stronger yellow color in Antarctic waters than it does in other places.

C. Blue icebergs and green icebergs are rarely found near each other.

D. Blue icebergs and green icebergs contain similarly small traces of dissolved organic carbon.
Question ID bf1fe112
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: bf1fe112
Researchers hypothesized that a decline in the population of dusky sharks near the mid-Atlantic coast of
North America led to a decline in the population of eastern oysters in the region. Dusky sharks do not
typically consume eastern oysters but do consume cownose rays, which are the main predators of the
oysters.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the researchers’ hypothesis?
A. Declines in the regional abundance of dusky sharks’ prey other than cownose rays are associated with
regional declines in dusky shark abundance.

B. Eastern oyster abundance tends to be greater in areas with both dusky sharks and cownose rays than in
areas with only dusky sharks.

C. Consumption of eastern oysters by cownose rays in the region substantially increased before the regional
decline in dusky shark abundance began.

D. Cownose rays have increased in regional abundance as dusky sharks have decreased in regional
abundance.
Question ID 4d671b68
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

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

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

What does the text most strongly suggest about corals that produce bright colors?

A. These corals have likely been subjected to stressful environmental conditions.

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

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

D. These corals are more likely to survive without algae colonies than brown corals are.
Question ID 0a017199
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

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

ID: 0a017199
Some animal-behavior studies involve observing wild animals in their natural habitat, and some involve
capturing wild animals and observing them in a laboratory. Each approach has advantages over the other. In
wild studies, researchers can more easily presume that the animals are behaving normally, and in lab studies,
researchers can more easily control factors that might affect the results. But if, for example, the results from
a wild study and a lab study of Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) contradict each other, one or
both of the studies must have failed to account for some factor that was relevant to the birds’ behavior.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

A. When the results of a natural-habitat study and those from a lab study of a wild animal such as the
Western scrub-jay conflict, the study in the natural habitat is more likely than the lab study to have
accurate results.

B. Studying wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay in both their natural habitat and lab settings is likely
to yield conflicting results that researchers cannot fully resolve.

C. Wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay can be effectively studied in their natural habitat and in the
lab, but each approach has drawbacks that could affect the accuracy of the findings.

D. Differing results between natural-habitat and lab studies of wild animals such as the Western scrub-jay
are a strong indication that both of the studies had design flaws that affected the accuracy of their
results.
Question ID 7e1dd168
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

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

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

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

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

D. Once a neural network is programmed, it is trained on certain tasks to see if it can independently arrive at
processes that are similar to those performed by biological brains.
Question ID e4466b2f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

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

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

They in their cruel traps, and we in ours,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Question ID e55ded58
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: e55ded58
Black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are a nutritionally dense food, but they are difficult to digest in part because
of their high levels of soluble fiber and compounds like raffinose. They also contain antinutrients like tannins
and trypsin inhibitors, which interfere with the body’s ability to extract nutrients from foods. In a research
article, Marisela Granito and Glenda Álvarez from Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela claim that inducing
fermentation of black beans using lactic acid bacteria improves the digestibility of the beans and makes
them more nutritious.

Which finding from Granito and Álvarez’s research, if true, would most directly support their claim?

A. When cooked, fermented beans contained significantly more trypsin inhibitors and tannins but
significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans.

B. Fermented beans contained significantly less soluble fiber and raffinose than nonfermented beans, and
when cooked, the fermented beans also displayed a significant reduction in trypsin inhibitors and tannins.

C. When the fermented beans were analyzed, they were found to contain two microorganisms, Lactobacillus
casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, that are theorized to increase the amount of nitrogen absorbed by the
gut after eating beans.

D. Both fermented and nonfermented black beans contained significantly fewer trypsin inhibitors and
tannins after being cooked at high pressure.
Question ID e0d51f42
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

ID: e0d51f42
Ancestral Puebloans, the civilization from which present-day Pueblo tribes descended, emerged as early as
1500 B.C.E. in an area of what is now the southwestern United States and dispersed suddenly in the late
1200s C.E., abandoning established villages with systems for farming crops and turkeys. Recent analysis
comparing turkey remains at Mesa Verde, one such village in southern Colorado, to samples from modern
turkey populations in the Rio Grande Valley of north central New Mexico determined that the latter birds
descended in part from turkeys cultivated at Mesa Verde, with shared genetic markers appearing only after
1280. Thus, researchers concluded that ______

Which choice most logically completes the text?

A. conditions of the terrains in the Rio Grande Valley and Mesa Verde had greater similarities in the past than
they do today.

B. some Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s and carried farming
practices with them.

C. Indigenous peoples living in the Rio Grande Valley primarily planted crops and did not cultivate turkeys
before 1280.

D. the Ancestral Puebloans of Mesa Verde likely adopted the farming practices of Indigenous peoples living
in other regions.
Question ID 349fa4d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Inferences Hard

Ideas

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

Which choice most logically completes the text?

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

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

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

D. dogs from the Near East began to be exchanged for glass beads and other artifacts from Siberia.
Question ID 841a15d0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Cross-Text Hard

Connections

ID: 841a15d0

Text 1
Films and television shows commonly include a long list of credits naming the people involved in a
production. Credit sequences may not be exciting, but they generally ensure that everyone’s contributions are
duly acknowledged. Because they are highly standardized, film and television credits are also valuable to
anyone researching the careers of pioneering cast and crew members who have worked in the mediums.

Text 2
Video game scholars face a major challenge in the industry’s failure to consistently credit the artists,
designers, and other contributors involved in making video games. Without a reliable record of which people
worked on which games, questions about the medium’s development can be difficult to answer, and the
accomplishments of all but its best-known innovators can be difficult to trace.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 1 most likely respond to the discussion in Text 2?
A. By recommending that the scholars mentioned in Text 2 consider employing the methods regularly used
by film and television researchers

B. By pointing out that credits have a different intended purpose in film and television than in the medium
addressed by the scholars mentioned in Text 2

C. By suggesting that the scholars mentioned in Text 2 rely more heavily on credits as a source of
information than film and television researchers do

D. By observing that a widespread practice in film and television largely prevents the kind of problem faced
by the scholars mentioned in Text 2
Question ID 4165e701
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context Hard

ID: 4165e701
Given that the conditions in binary star systems should make planetary formation nearly impossible, it’s not
surprising that the existence of planets in such systems has lacked ______ explanation. Roman Rafikov and
Kedron Silsbee shed light on the subject when they used modeling to determine a complex set of factors that
could support planets’ development.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. a discernible

B. a straightforward

C. an inconclusive

D. an unbiased
Question ID 5c38a6d5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context Hard

ID: 5c38a6d5
In studying the use of external stimuli to reduce the itching sensation caused by an allergic histamine
response, Louise Ward and colleagues found that while harmless applications of vibration or warming can
provide a temporary distraction, such ______ stimuli actually offer less relief than a stimulus that seems less
benign, like a mild electric shock.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. deceptive

B. innocuous

C. novel

D. impractical
Question ID 788d91ea
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Information and Command of Hard

Ideas Evidence

ID: 788d91ea

Mean Attentiveness Scores by

Leave Time Condition
Mean test score (higher scores
indicate greater attentiveness)

600
540
480
420
360
300
240
180
120
60
0
first second third
Test administration

no leave
2–4 days leave
1–5 weeks leave

To investigate potential cognitive benefits of taking leave from work, psychologist Jan Packer and colleagues
conducted a six-month study of Australian university staff members who took no leave from work during the
study, took 2–4 days of leave, or took 1–5 weeks of leave. Tests of attentiveness were administered to
participants three times during the study: at random for the no-leave staff, and for the rest, one week before
their leave, one week following their return to work, and one week after the second test administration. After
analyzing the results, the researchers concluded that longer leave times might not confer a greater cognitive
benefit than shorter leave times do.

Which choice best describes data from the graph that support the researchers’ conclusion?
A. In the second test administration, participants who took 2–4 days of leave had higher average
attentiveness scores than did those who took no leave, but in the third test administration, those who took
no leave had higher average scores than those who took 1–5 weeks of leave.

B. In the first test administration, participants who took 2–4 days of leave had lower average attentiveness
scores than did those who took 1–5 weeks of leave and those who took no leave.
C. In both the second and third test administrations, participants who took 2–4 days of leave had higher
average attentiveness scores than did participants who took 1–5 weeks of leave.

D. In the second and third test administrations, participants who took 2–4 days of leave had higher average
attentiveness scores than did those who took no leave.
Question ID 123cf5db
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context Hard

ID: 123cf5db
The work of Kiowa painter T.C. Cannon derives its power in part from the tension among his ______
influences: classic European portraiture, with its realistic treatment of faces; the American pop art
movement, with its vivid colors; and flatstyle, the intertribal painting style that rejects the effect of depth
typically achieved through shading and perspective.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. complementary

B. unknown

C. disparate

D. interchangeable
Question ID a84b11c2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context Hard

ID: a84b11c2
Some scientists have suggested that mammals in the Mesozoic era were not a very ______ group, but
paleontologist Zhe-Xi Luo’s research suggests that early mammals living in the shadow of dinosaurs weren’t
all ground-dwelling insectivores. Fossils of various plant-eating mammals have been found in China,
including species like Vilevolodon diplomylos, which Luo says could glide like a flying squirrel.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A. predatory

B. obscure

C. diverse

D. localized
Question ID d995ff9d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and Hard
Purpose

ID: d995ff9d
Historians have argued that a crucial component of the Civil Rights Movement’s success in the 1960s was
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Citizen Education Program (CEP), which invited promising
activists from across the South to its one-week training sessions in Dorchester, Georgia. Led by experienced
organizers such as Dorothy Cotton and Septima Clark, CEP attendees—more than 7,000 in all—participated in
workshops on topics ranging from public speaking to legal doctrine before returning home and using their
newly acquired knowledge to spearhead local civil rights initiatives.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
A. It underscores the extent of the CEP’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

B. It illustrates the CEP organizers’ efforts to educate participants on a wide variety of topics.

C. It suggests that CEP attendees held a diverse array of opinions about the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference’s political philosophy.

D. It establishes that criticism of the CEP was limited to a few individuals in the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference.
Question ID 9c607676
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Cross-Text Hard

Connections

ID: 9c607676
Text 1
Growth in the use of novel nanohybrids—materials created from the conjugation of multiple distinct
nanomaterials, such as iron oxide and gold nanomaterials conjugated for use in magnetic imaging—has
outpaced studies of nanohybrids’ environmental risks. Unfortunately, risk evaluations based on nanohybrids’
constituents are not reliable: conjugation may alter constituents’ physiochemical properties such that
innocuous nanomaterials form a nanohybrid that is anything but.
Text 2
The potential for enhanced toxicity of nanohybrids relative to the toxicity of constituent nanomaterials has
drawn deserved attention, but the effects of nanomaterial conjugation vary by case. For instance, it was
recently shown that a nanohybrid of silicon dioxide and zinc oxide preserved the desired optical transparency
of zinc oxide nanoparticles while mitigating the nanoparticles’ potential to damage DNA.

Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the assertion in the underlined
portion of Text 1?
A. By concurring that the risk described in Text 1 should be evaluated but emphasizing that the risk is more
than offset by the potential benefits of nanomaterial conjugation

B. By arguing that the situation described in Text 1 may not be representative but conceding that the effects
of nanomaterial conjugation are harder to predict than researchers had expected

C. By denying that the circumstance described in Text 1 is likely to occur but acknowledging that many
aspects of nanomaterial conjugation are still poorly understood

D. By agreeing that the possibility described in Text 1 is a cause for concern but pointing out that
nanomaterial conjugation does not inevitably produce that result
Question ID bf0c8b48
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context Hard

ID: bf0c8b48
The following text is adapted from George Eliot’s 1871–72 novel Middlemarch.

[Mr. Brooke] had travelled in his younger years, and was held in this part of the country to have
contracted a too rambling habit of mind. Mr. Brooke’s conclusions were as difficult to predict as the
weather.

As used in the text, what does the word “contracted” most nearly mean?
A. Restricted

B. Described

C. Developed

D. Settled
Question ID bfcbec2d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and Hard
Purpose

ID: bfcbec2d
A number of Indigenous politicians have been elected to the United States Congress since 2000 as members
of the country’s two established political parties. In Canada and several Latin American countries, on the
other hand, Indigenous people have formed their own political parties to advance candidates who will
advocate for the interests of their communities. This movement has been particularly successful in Ecuador,
where Guadalupe Llori, a member of the Indigenous party known as Pachakutik, was elected president of the
National Assembly in 2021.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

A. To trace the history of an Indigenous political movement and speculate about its future development

B. To argue that Indigenous politicians in the United States should form their own political party

C. To highlight two approaches to achieving political representation for Indigenous people

D. To consider how Indigenous politicians in the United States have influenced Indigenous politicians in
Canada and Latin America
Question ID 401e1856
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and Hard
Purpose

ID: 401e1856
Changes to vegetation cover and other human activities influence carbon and nitrogen levels in soil, though
how deep these effects extend is unclear. Hypothesizing that differences in land use lead to differences in
carbon and nitrogen levels that are not restricted to the topsoil layer (0–30 cm deep), Chukwuebuka Okolo
and colleagues sampled soils across multiple land-use types (e.g., grazing land, cropland, forest) within each
of several Ethiopian locations. They found, though, that across land-use types, carbon and nitrogen
decreased to comparably low levels beyond depths of 30 cm.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A. It describes a phenomenon that scientists do not fully understand, explains a research team’s hypothesis
about that phenomenon, and then describes a finding that led the team to refine the hypothesis.

B. It introduces an unresolved scientific question, presents a research team’s hypothesis pertaining to that
question, and then describes an observation made by the team that conflicts with that hypothesis.

C. It discusses a process that scientists are somewhat unclear about, introduces competing hypotheses
about that process, and then explains how a research team concluded that one of those hypotheses is
likely correct.

D. It explains a hypothesis that has been the subject of scientific debate, discusses how a research team
tested that hypothesis, and then presents data the team collected that validate the hypothesis.
Question ID 26ac2597
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Words in Context Hard

ID: 26ac2597
The following text is from the 1989 novel The Ancient Child by Kiowa writer N. Scott Momaday. The main
character has achieved tremendous commercial success as a painter.

More and more often he was asked to compromise his art or himself in one way or another, and more
often than not he did so, for he was inclined to be passive and naïve; it was difficult for him to say no.
Those who exhibited his work, who praised and purchased it, and who demanded its proliferation began
to determine it.
©1989 by N. Scott Momaday

As used in the text, what does the word “determine” most nearly mean?
A. Conclude

B. Dictate

C. Evaluate

D. Select
Question ID 6a9bf335
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and Hard
Purpose

ID: 6a9bf335
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
Question ID da17503b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Craft and Structure Text Structure and Hard
Purpose

ID: da17503b
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.
Question ID a56a50e6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: a56a50e6
Historically, most conductors of major orchestras and opera companies have been European men, but a new,
more diverse generation of artists is stepping up to the podium. Mexico’s Alondra de la Parra took over as
conductor for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in 2017, ______ and Colombia’s Lina Gonzalez-Granados
did the same for the Los Angeles Opera in 2022.

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

B. lastly,

C. granted,

D. for instance,
Question ID 4e564c4f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

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

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

B. Nonetheless,

C. In turn,

D. That is,
Question ID 14bec4c8
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

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

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

B. However,

C. For instance,

D. Hence,
Question ID f87d07d3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

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

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

B. for example,

C. that said,

D. similarly,
Question ID 29f5d8bd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

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

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

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

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

D. The Alta conflict had a lasting impact, resulting in international attention and legal protections for Sámi
rights to lands, waters, and resources.
Question ID 410d7d28
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: 410d7d28
In her poetry collection Thomas and Beulah, Rita Dove interweaves the titular characters’ personal stories
with broader historical narratives. She places Thomas’s journey from the American South to the Midwest in
the early 1900s within the larger context of the Great Migration. ______ Dove sets events from Beulah’s
personal life against the backdrop of the US Civil Rights Movement.

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

B. Thus,

C. Regardless,

D. Similarly,
Question ID 59aa305b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 59aa305b
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia.
The city’s population is 907,802.
Ulaanbaatar contains 31.98 percent of Mongolia’s population.
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam.
The city’s population is 7,781,631.
Hanoi contains 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population.

The student wants to emphasize the relative sizes of the two capitals’ populations. Which choice most
effectively uses information from the given sentences to emphasize the relative sizes of the two capitals’
populations?
A. Mongolia’s capital is Ulaanbaatar, which has 907,802 people, and Vietnam’s capital is Hanoi, which has
7,781,631 people.

B. Comparing Vietnam and Mongolia, 7,781,631 is 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population, and 907,802 is
31.98 percent of Mongolia’s.

C. Even though Hanoi (population 7,781,631) is larger than Ulaanbaatar (population 907,802), Ulaanbaatar
accounts for more of its country’s population.

D. The populations of the capitals of Mongolia and Vietnam are 907,802 (Ulaanbaatar) and 7,781,631
(Hanoi), respectively.
Question ID 3a3312ac
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Medium

Synthesis

ID: 3a3312ac
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Elizabeth Catlett’s sculpture Recognition (1970) shows two African American figures with rounded, indistinct
features.
The figures reach out to each other in a pose that symbolizes a close, supportive relationship.
Her sculpture Students Aspire (1978) shows two African American figures with sharply defined features.
The figures hold an equal sign above their heads with one hand and embrace each other with the other hand.
This pose symbolizes their support for each other in the pursuit of equality.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two sculptures. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Catlett’s Students Aspire depicts two figures supporting each other in the pursuit of equality.

B. Recognition and Students Aspire both show African American figures in poses that symbolize supportive
relationships.

C. Catlett completed Recognition in 1970 and Students Aspire in 1978.

D. The figures in Recognition have features that are rounded and indistinct, while the figures in Students
Aspire have sharply defined features.
Question ID dffab2d7
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: dffab2d7
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
African American women played prominent roles in the Civil Rights Movement, including at the famous 1963 March
on Washington.
Civil rights activist Anna Hedgeman, one of the march’s organizers, was a political adviser who had worked for
President Truman.
Civil rights activist Daisy Bates was a well-known journalist and advocate for school desegregation.
Hedgeman worked behind the scenes to make sure a woman was included in the lineup of speakers at the march.
Bates was the sole woman to speak, delivering a brief but memorable address to the cheering crowd.

The student wants to compare the two women’s contributions to the March on Washington. Which choice
most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. Hedgeman and Bates contributed to the march in different ways; Bates, for example, delivered a brief but
memorable address.

B. Hedgeman worked in politics and helped organize the march, while Bates was a journalist and school
desegregation advocate.

C. Although Hedgeman worked behind the scenes to make sure a woman speaker was included, Bates was
the sole woman to speak at the march.

D. Many African American women, including Bates and Hedgeman, fought for civil rights, but only one spoke
at the march.
Question ID 5cbd602c
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

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

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

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

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

D. Torres, a marine ecologist, studied blue whales in the South Taranaki Bight region, where the whales
forage.
Question ID e5e5f6f6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Hard

ID: e5e5f6f6
When designing costumes for film, American artist Suttirat Larlarb typically custom fits the garments to each
actor. ______ for the film Sunshine, in which astronauts must reignite a dying Sun, she designed a golden
spacesuit and had a factory reproduce it in a few standard sizes; lacking a tailor-made quality, the final
creations reflected the ungainliness of actual spacesuits.

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

B. Thus,

C. Likewise,

D. Moreover,
Question ID 64595457
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

ID: 64595457
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
The magnificent frigatebird (fregata magnificens) is a species of seabird that feeds mainly on fish, tuna, squid, and
other small sea animals.
It is unusual among seabirds in that it doesn’t dive into the water for prey.
One way it acquires food is by using its hook-tipped bill to snatch prey from the surface of the water.
Another way it acquires food is by taking it from weaker birds by force.
This behavior is known as kleptoparasitism.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two ways a magnificent frigatebird acquires food.
Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. A magnificent frigatebird never dives into the water, instead using its hook-tipped bill to snatch prey from
the surface.

B. Neither of a magnificent frigatebird’s two ways of acquiring food requires the bird to dive into the water.

C. Of the magnificent frigatebird’s two ways of acquiring food, only one is known as kleptoparasitism.

D. In addition to snatching prey from the water with its hook-tipped bill, a magnificent frigatebird takes food
from other birds by force.
Question ID 75676e11
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions Easy

ID: 75676e11
The liquid metals in Earth’s core circulate constantly, and this circulation generates electrical currents that
flow between Earth’s North and South magnetic poles. These electrical currents, ______ create a barrier
around Earth that protects us from radiation and charged particles coming from space.

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

B. likewise,

C. nevertheless,

D. in reality,
Question ID 990bd995
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Hard

Synthesis

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

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

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

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

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