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?

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

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

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

To summarize the findings of a study that explored factors influencing a fashion practice among Black female
D. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It discusses the study by O’Brien and Ahmed to illustrate why caution is needed when making claims about the
D. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

It names the company where an important mathematician worked, details the mathematician’s career at the
C. 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 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 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?

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

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

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

The text explains an influential economic theory and then demonstrates how that theory was more important to
D. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It connects two artists to the same spoken word poetry project, explains the extent of their collaboration on each
D. 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 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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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