Question ID afec1a70

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty
Reveal Answer

ID: afec1a70

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

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

The student wants to present the primary aim of the research study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?

Bhosale’s team wanted to better understand the mechanics behind bird nests’ uniquely flexible yet cohesive structural properties.

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

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

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

ID: afec1a70 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. It describes the reason Bhosale’s team wanted to study the structures of bird nests—that is to say, the study’s primary aim.
Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the primary aim of the research study. It describes how the study worked, but not why it was done. Choice C is
incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the primary aim of the research study. It describes a result of the experiment, but not why it was carried out. Choice D is
incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the primary aim of the research study.

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID b46e0c8a

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: b46e0c8a

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Organisms release cellular material into their environment by shedding substances such as hair or skin.
The DNA in these substances is known as environmental DNA, or eDNA.
Researchers collect and analyze eDNA to detect the presence of species that are difficult to observe.
Geneticist Sara Oyler-McCance’s research team analyzed eDNA in water samples from the Florida Everglades to detect invasive constrictor snake species
in the area.
The study determined a 91% probability of detecting Burmese python eDNA in a given location.

The student wants to present the study to an audience already familiar with environmental DNA. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from
the notes to accomplish this goal?

Sara Oyler-McCance’s researchers analyzed eDNA in water samples from the Florida Everglades for evidence of invasive constrictor snakes, which are
difficult to observe.

An analysis of eDNA can detect the presence of invasive species that are difficult to observe, such as constrictor snakes.

Researchers found Burmese python eDNA, or environmental DNA, in water samples; eDNA is the DNA in released cellular materials, such as shed skin
cells.

Sara Oyler-McCance’s researchers analyzed environmental DNA (eDNA)—that is, DNA from cellular materials released by organisms—in water samples
from the Florida Everglades.
ID: b46e0c8a Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice presents the study in a way that assumes the audience is already familiar with eDNA.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the study. It only states a general fact about eDNA analysis. Choice C is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for
an audience already familiar with eDNA. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term defined or explained. Choice D is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited
for an audience already familiar with eDNA. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term defined or explained. It also doesn’t present the study.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 48d0bb34

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 48d0bb34

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Sam Maloof (1916–2009) was an American woodworker and furniture designer.

He was the son of Lebanese immigrants.
He received a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1985.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, owns a rocking chair that Maloof made from walnut wood.
The armrests and the seat of the chair are sleek and contoured, and the back consists of seven spindle-like slats.

The student wants to describe the rocking chair to an audience unfamiliar with Sam Maloof. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?
 With its sleek, contoured armrests and seat, the walnut rocking chair in Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts is just one piece of furniture created by American
woodworker Sam Maloof.

Sam Maloof was born in 1916 and died in 2009, and during his life, he made a chair that you can see if you visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Furniture designer Sam Maloof was a recipient of one of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grants.”

The rocking chair is made from walnut, and it has been shaped such that its armrests and seat are sleek and contoured.

ID: 48d0bb34 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The sentence effectively describes the rocking chair to an audience unfamiliar with Sam Maloof, noting its sleek, contoured armrests
and seat and explaining that Sam Maloof (the walnut chair’s creator) was an American woodworker.

Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence explains who Sam Maloof was and mentions a chair, it doesn’t describe the chair. Choice C is incorrect. While the
sentence explains who Sam Maloof was, it doesn’t describe the rocking chair. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence describes the rocking chair, it doesn’t
explain who Sam Maloof was.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID aa7e10d0

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: aa7e10d0

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 Species belonging to the Orchidaceae (orchid) family can be found in both tropical and temperate environments.
Orchidaceae species diversity has not been well studied in temperate forests, such as those in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández led a study to determine how many different Orchidaceae species are present in the forests of Oaxaca.
Muñoz-Hernández and her team collected orchids each month for a year at a site in Oaxaca.
Seventy-four Orchidaceae species were present at the site.

The student wants to present the study and its findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A study led by Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández identified a total of 74 Orchidaceae species in the temperate forests of Oaxaca, Mexico.

There are orchids in many environments, but there are 74 Orchidaceae species in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Oaxaca, Mexico, is home to temperate forests containing 74 Orchidaceae species.

Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández and her team wanted to know how many different Orchidaceae species are present in the forests of Oaxaca, Mexico, so
they conducted a study to collect orchids.

ID: aa7e10d0 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice most effectively presents the study and its findings. It opens with the study and names its lead researcher, then tells us its
finding: that they identified 74 Orchidaceae species in the temperate forests of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t include the study’s findings, so it fails to achieve the goal. It doesn’t mention that there was a study at all. Choice C is
incorrect. This choice doesn’t present the study, so it fails to achieve the goal. It doesn’t mention that there was a study at all. Choice D is incorrect. This choice
doesn’t include the study’s findings, so it fails to achieve the goal.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID e3edc138

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: e3edc138

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Furthermore,

By contrast,

Similarly,

That is,

ID: e3edc138 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 00221c00
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 00221c00

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

additionally,

ultimately,

accordingly,

consequently,

ID: 00221c00 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:
Hard

Question ID 16631d34

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 16631d34

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

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

The student wants to explain a disadvantage of relying on audio features to predict a song’s popularity. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information
from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Many popularity-predicting algorithms are based on a song’s audio features, such as loudness and pitch intervals.

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

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

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

ID: 16631d34 Answer

Correct Answer:

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID e2693197

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: e2693197

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Oracles of the Pink Universe was a 2021 exhibition at the Denver Museum of Art in Colorado.
It featured eight artworks by South African artist Simphiwe Ndzube.
One of these works is a painting titled Assertion of Will.
Assertion of Will depicts three standing figures.
The figures wear clothing made of fabric pieces stitched to the painting’s canvas.

The student wants to describe how fabric is used in Assertion of Will. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?

In Assertion of Will, the figures’ clothing is made of fabric pieces stitched to the painting’s canvas.

The exhibition Oracles of the Pink Universe featured artworks by artist Simphiwe Ndzube.

Depicting three standing, clothed figures, Assertion of Will is a painting by Simphiwe Ndzube.

Simphiwe Ndzube’s Assertion of Will was one of eight artworks exhibited in Oracles of the Pink Universe at the Denver Museum of Art.
ID: e2693197 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice directly describes how fabric is used in Assertion of Will, by explaining that the fabric pieces are part of the painting
itself.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice provides contextual information about the exhibition, but it doesn’t mention anything about the painting or the fabric. Choice C
is incorrect. This choice mentions that the figures are clothed, but it doesn’t explain how the fabric is integrated into the painting. Choice D is incorrect. This
choice provides contextual information about the painting, but it doesn’t mention anything about the fabric or how it is used.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 84e108cf

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 84e108cf

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Platinum is a rare and expensive metal.

It is used as a catalyst for chemical reactions.
Platinum catalysts typically require a large amount of platinum to be effective.
Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum catalyst that combines platinum with liquid gallium.
Their catalyst was highly effective and required only trace amounts of platinum (0.0001% of the atoms in the mixture).

The student wants to explain an advantage of the new platinum catalyst developed by Jianbo Tang and his colleagues. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
 Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum catalyst that combines platinum, a rare and expensive metal, with liquid gallium.

Like other platinum catalysts, the new platinum catalyst requires a particular amount of the metal to be effective.

Platinum is a rare and expensive metal that is used as a catalyst for chemical reactions; however, platinum catalysts typically require a large amount of
platinum to be effective.

While still highly effective, the new platinum catalyst requires far less of the rare and expensive metal than do other platinum catalysts.

ID: 84e108cf Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence explains an advantage of Tang and his colleagues’ platinum catalyst, noting that it requires far less platinum (which is
rare and expensive) than other platinum catalysts do.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence describes the platinum catalyst that Tang and his colleagues created; it doesn’t explain an advantage of their platinum catalyst.
Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes a similarity between the new platinum catalyst and other platinum catalysts; it doesn’t explain an advantage of the
new platinum catalyst. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence connects the metal platinum to the functioning of platinum catalysts, noting that large amounts of
platinum are typically required for platinum catalysts to be effective; it doesn’t explain an advantage of Tang and his colleagues’ platinum catalyst.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 326017ce

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 326017ce
For years, biologists have experimented with using grime-eating bacteria rather than harsh chemicals to clean artworks, and results have been impressive overall.
______blank these bacterial strains—which can metabolize centuries’ worth of oil, glue, dirt, and other surface impurities without creating harmful byproducts—
have proven more effective than traditional chemical cleaning methods.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

However,

In many cases,

As a result,

Additionally,

ID: 326017ce Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The first sentence makes the claim that using grime-eating bacteria has led to “impressive results.” This sentence supports that claim
by describing the specific findings of the biologists’ experimentation. The transition “in many cases” fits the context perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence actually agrees with the previous sentence. Both claim that grime-eating
bacteria are better at cleaning artworks than chemicals. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense in context.
The fact that the results of the experimentation have been impressive overall doesn’t cause the bacteria to have proven more effective. Choice D is incorrect. This
choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of a new idea. But this sentence doesn’t introduce a new idea. Instead, it elaborates on the same idea laid out in
the previous sentence by describing the “impressive results” in more detail.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 20733eac

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 20733eac

It has long been thought that humans first crossed a land bridge into the Americas approximately 13,000 years ago. ______blank based on radiocarbon dating of
samples uncovered in Mexico, a research team recently suggested that humans may have arrived more than 30,000 years ago—much earlier than previously
thought.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

As a result,

Similarly,

However,

In conclusion,

ID: 20733eac Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. “However” logically signals that the theory discussed in this sentence—that humans may have arrived in the Americas over 30,000
years ago—contrasts with the previously discussed theory that humans arrived around 13,000 years ago.

Choice A is incorrect because “as a result” illogically signals that the theory in this sentence is the result of the theory discussed in the previous sentence. Instead,
this theory contrasts with the previous one. Choice B is incorrect because “similarly” illogically signals that the theory in this sentence is similar to the theory
discussed in the previous sentence. Instead, this theory contrasts with the previous one. Choice D is incorrect because “in conclusion” illogically signals that the
theory in this sentence concludes or summarizes the discussion of the previous theory. Instead, this theory contrasts with the previous one.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID ca4ff52d

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: ca4ff52d

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Muslins are woven cotton fabrics with a variety of uses.

Dhaka muslin is a handmade fabric produced in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
It has an extremely fine weave and is primarily used to make luxury clothing.
Sheeting muslin is a machine-made fabric produced in factories.
It has a coarse weave and is primarily used to upholster furniture and create backdrops for theater sets.

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

Dhaka muslin is a handmade fabric with an extremely fine weave, while sheeting muslin is machine made with a coarse weave.

Dhaka muslin and sheeting muslin are two different types of woven cotton fabrics.

Muslins can be used in a variety of ways, from making luxury clothing to upholstering furniture and creating backdrops for theater sets.

Sheeting muslin is machine made, has a coarse weave, and is used for furniture and theater sets.

ID: ca4ff52d Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The difference between the two different kinds of muslin is emphasized.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice lists two kinds of muslins, but does not say how they are different from one another. Choice C is incorrect. This choice does not
emphasize a difference between the two muslins. Choice D is incorrect. This choice does not emphasize a difference between the two muslins. It only describes
sheeting muslin.

Question Difficulty:
Easy

Question ID 6c9df5d1

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 6c9df5d1

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

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

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

Although both are powerful works of literature that contributed to new legislation, Equiano’s book is an autobiography, while Sinclair’s is fictional.

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

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

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

ID: 6c9df5d1 Answer

Correct Answer:

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID f07570bb

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: f07570bb

Researchers believe that pieces of hull found off Oregon’s coast are from a Spanish cargo ship that was lost in 1697. Stories passed down among the area’s
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians support this belief. ______blank Siletz stories describe how blocks of beeswax, an item the ship had been carrying, began
washing ashore after the ship was lost.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

For this reason,

For example,

However,

Likewise,

ID: f07570bb Answer

Correct Answer:

B
Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. “For example” logically signals that the Siletz beeswax stories mentioned in this sentence are examples consistent with the previous
claim that Siletz stories support the shipwreck theory.

Choice A is incorrect because “for this reason” illogically signals that the Siletz stories about the beeswax were caused by the previous claim that Siletz stories
support the shipwreck theory. Instead, the beeswax stories are examples consistent with the claim. Choice C is incorrect because “however” illogically signals that
the Siletz stories about the beeswax contrast with the previous claim that Siletz stories support the shipwreck theory. Instead, the beeswax stories are examples
consistent with the claim. Choice D is incorrect because “likewise” illogically signals that the Siletz stories about the beeswax are similar to the previous claim
that Siletz stories support the shipwreck theory. Instead, the beeswax stories are examples consistent with the claim.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 221ecf0f

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 221ecf0f

Alexander Lawrence Posey (1873–1908) varied his focus and tone depending on the genre in which he was writing. In his poetry, he used heartfelt language to
evoke the beauty and peacefulness of his natural surroundings; in his journalism, ______blank he employed humor and satire to comment on political issues
affecting his Muskogee Creek community.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

that is,

granted,

similarly,

by contrast,

ID: 221ecf0f Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. This sentence compares two examples of Posey’s tone: the “heartfelt language” he used in his poetry versus the “humor and satire”
he used in his journalism. We know from these descriptions and from the claim in the previous sentence that the two tones are very different from each other. So
the transition “by contrast” fits the context perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a restatement of the same idea in other words. But the text isn’t restating the first example here.
Instead, it’s offering a second, totally different example. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that means “admittedly.” But the text isn’t admitting
or conceding anything here. Instead, these two examples work together to support the claim made in the first sentence. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a
transition that indicates the addition of an agreeing idea. But these two examples are intentionally very different from each other, so “similarly” doesn’t make
sense here.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 296801d2

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 296801d2

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

The Azores is a group of islands about 870 miles off the coast of Portugal.
Historians have long believed that in the fifteenth century Portuguese mariners were the first humans to populate the Azores.
A 2015 study coauthored by Sofia Gabriel and Maria da Luz Mathias found that Vikings from Scandinavia may have populated the Azores as early as the
ninth century.
The researchers found a genetic connection between house mice in the Azores and house mice in Scandinavia.
House mice may have traveled from Scandinavia to the Azores on Viking ships.
The student wants to specify who may have first populated the Azores, according to the 2015 study. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from
the notes to accomplish this goal?

Historians have long believed that the first humans to populate the Azores, a group of islands about 870 miles off the coast of Portugal, arrived in the
fifteenth century.

Portuguese mariners may not have been the first humans to populate the Azores.

In their 2015 study, the researchers found a genetic connection between house mice in the Azores and those in Scandinavia.

According to a 2015 study, the first humans to populate the Azores may have been Vikings from Scandinavia, not mariners from Portugal as previously
believed.

ID: 296801d2 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. This choice effectively specifies who may have first populated the Azores, according to the 2015 study: the Vikings.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t effectively specify who may have first populated the Azores, according to the 2015 study. It only mentions the
historical belief that the Portuguese were first. The 2015 study drew a different conclusion. Choice B is incorrect. This choice casts doubt on the Portuguese claim
but doesn’t name the group of people who may have arrived before the Portuguese. Choice C is incorrect. This choice mentions the evidence that the researchers
found but not the conclusion they drew from it. It doesn’t name the possible group of people who may have arrived before the Portuguese.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 97e2e364

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty
ID: 97e2e364

Okot p’Bitek’s poem Song of Lawino (1966) explores postcolonial Ugandan life through the eyes of a woman living in a rural village. With its vibrant imagery,
bitingly satiric tone, and dexterous use of traditional Acholi song and phraseology, the poem inspired a generation of East African writers. ______blank those who
adopted its style are often referred to as Okot School poets.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Nevertheless,

Fittingly,

By comparison,

Instead,

ID: 97e2e364 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. “Fittingly” is a transition that means “appropriately” or “suitably,” and it is appropriate that writers who adopted their style from
Okot p’Bitek would be known as the Okot School poets.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence is not disagreeing with anything—rather, it’s discussing how it makes sense
for those writers who adopted Okot’s style to be known as the Okot School poets. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that compares two ideas. But
this sentence is not comparing the Okot School poets and their style to Okot’s style. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this
sentence is not disagreeing with anything—rather, it’s discussing how it makes sense for those writers who adopted Okot’s style to be known as the Okot School
poets.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 01c8c433

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 01c8c433

Before the 1847 introduction of the US postage stamp, the cost of postage was usually paid by the recipient of a letter rather than the sender, and recipients were
not always able or willing to pay promptly. ______blank collecting this fee could be slow and arduous, and heaps of unpaid-for, undeliverable mail piled up in
post offices.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Regardless,

On the contrary,

Consequently,

For example,

ID: 01c8c433 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. “Consequently” logically signals that the postal problems described in this sentence (slow fee collection, heaps of undeliverable
mail) were a consequence of the fee system described in the previous sentence.

Choice A is incorrect because “regardless” illogically signals that the postal problems described in this sentence occurred despite the fee system described in the
previous sentence. Instead, they were a consequence of that system. Choice B is incorrect because “on the contrary” illogically signals that the postal problems
described in this sentence contrast with the fee system described in the previous sentence. Instead, they were a consequence of that system. Choice D is incorrect
because “for example” illogically signals that the postal problems described in this sentence are an example of the fee system described in the previous sentence.
Instead, they were a consequence of that system.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID db8fe023
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: db8fe023

A potter choosing which type of clay to use for a piece considers two key factors: the desired look of the piece and its intended use. ______blank earthenware
clay is often used for decorative pieces because of its rustic look. This type of clay is not often used in industrial settings, though, because it is less durable than
other clays.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In other words,

Regardless,

In conclusion,

For example,

ID: db8fe023 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The previous sentence tells us that potters think about the look and use of a piece when selecting clay. This sentence provides a
specific example of a type of clay selected for its appearance, so the transition "for example" fits perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a restatement of the same idea. But this sentence does more than just restate the previous idea.
Instead, it provides a more specific example of the idea presented in the first sentence. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this
sentence actually agrees with the previous sentence. Both sentences suggest that desired look plays a role in the selection of clay types for pottery pieces. Choice
C is incorrect. This choice uses a concluding transition. But this sentence doesn’t sum up the previous sentence. Instead, it gives a specific example of the idea
presented in the previous sentence.

Question Difficulty:
Easy

Question ID 11df9b99

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 11df9b99

Because an achiral molecule is symmetrical, flipping it yields a structurally identical molecule. A flipped chiral molecule, ______blank can be compared to a
glove that has been turned inside out: it produces a structurally inverted molecule rather than an identical one.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

in other words,

by contrast,

for example,

similarly,

ID: 11df9b99 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. This sentence compares a chiral molecule to an achiral one. It discusses how when a chiral molecule is flipped, it results in
something very different than when an achiral molecule is flipped. So the transition "by contrast" fits the context perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a restatement of the same idea in different words. But this sentence doesn’t restate the same idea
as the previous sentence. Instead, it makes a new point about a different type of molecule (chiral instead of achiral). Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a
transition that introduces an example, which doesn’t make sense here. The second sentence isn’t an example of the first sentence’s claim about achiral molecules:
it actually introduces an entirely different idea that focuses on chiral molecules. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of
an agreeing idea. But this sentence shows a contrast with the first sentence—namely, that a chiral molecule acts very differently from an achiral molecule when
flipped.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 2bf05ae9

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 2bf05ae9

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In the midst of the US Civil War, Susie Taylor escaped slavery and fled to Union-army-occupied St. Simons Island off the Georgia coast.
She began working for an all-Black army regiment as a nurse and teacher.
In 1902, she published a book about the time she spent with the regiment.
Her book was the only Civil War memoir to be published by a Black woman.
It is still available to readers in print and online.

The student wants to emphasize the uniqueness of Taylor’s accomplishment. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?

Taylor fled to St. Simons Island, which was then occupied by the Union army, for whom she began working.

After escaping slavery, Taylor began working for an all-Black army regiment as a nurse and teacher.

The book Taylor wrote about the time she spent with the regiment is still available to readers in print and online.

Taylor was the only Black woman to publish a Civil War memoir.

ID: 2bf05ae9 Answer

Correct Answer:
D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. By indicating that Taylor’s book was the only Civil War memoir published by a Black woman, this sentence emphasizes the
uniqueness, or one-of-a-kind nature, of Taylor’s accomplishment.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence describes some of Taylor’s accomplishments, it doesn’t emphasize the uniqueness of them. Choice B is incorrect. While
the sentence describes some of Taylor’s accomplishments, it doesn’t emphasize that they were unique. Choice C is incorrect. While the sentence provides
information about Taylor’s book, it doesn’t emphasize what made the book unique.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 8fe4f4ab

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 8fe4f4ab

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

One of history’s greatest libraries was the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, Iraq.
It was founded in the eighth century with the goal of preserving all the world’s knowledge.
Scholars at the House of Wisdom collected ancient and contemporary texts from Greece, India, and elsewhere and translated them into Arabic.
Writings included those of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Indian mathematician Aryabhata.
The House of Wisdom used Chinese papermaking technology to create paper versions to be studied and shared.

The student wants to explain how the House of Wisdom preserved the world’s knowledge. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

The House of Wisdom was known for bringing together knowledge from around the world, including from Greece, India, and China.

Founded in Iraq in the eighth century, the House of Wisdom employed many scholars as translators.
 Writings from the Greek philosopher Aristotle and the Indian mathematician Aryabhata were preserved at the House of Wisdom.

The House of Wisdom collected writings from different countries and created paper versions in Arabic to be studied and shared.

ID: 8fe4f4ab Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence explains how the House of Wisdom preserved the world’s knowledge, noting that the library collected, translated, and
printed writings from different countries.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence indicates that the House of Wisdom was known for bringing together knowledge from around the world, it doesn’t
explain how the library preserved this knowledge. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence makes a generalization about the scholars who were employed by the
House of Wisdom; it doesn’t explain how the library preserved the world’s knowledge. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence identifies two authors whose writings
were preserved at the House of Wisdom; it doesn’t explain how the library preserved the world’s knowledge.

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 30438650

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 30438650

Jhumpa Lahiri’s story collection Interpreter of Maladies features multiple stories about romantic relationships. In “This Blessed House,” newlyweds argue over
whether to replace items left by the previous owners of their new home. ______blank in “A Temporary Matter,” a husband and wife attempt to rekindle their
relationship during a four-night blackout.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
 Granted,

For example,

Likewise,

Hence,

ID: 30438650 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. "Likewise" is a transition that indicates the addition of a new but related idea. In this sentence, the author is providing another similar
example to that discussed in the previous sentence. Therefore, "likewise" works best in this context.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that means "admittedly." But the text isn’t admitting or conceding anything here. Instead, these two examples
work together to support the claim made in the first sentence. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses an exemplification transition, which doesn’t make sense
here. The second story is not an example of the story in the previous sentence—it’s another, similar story. And while both stories exemplify the first sentence in
the text, the transition we’re looking for isn’t actually connected to that sentence. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which
doesn’t make sense here. The first story didn’t result in the events of the second story.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 6249b173

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 6249b173
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In 2018 researchers Adwait Deshpande, Shreejata Gupta, and Anindya Sinha were observing wild macaques in India’s Bandipur National Park.
They saw macaques calling out to and gesturing at humans who were eating or carrying food.
They designed a study to find out if the macaques were intentionally communicating to try to persuade the humans to share their food.
In the study trials, macaques frequently called out to and gestured at humans holding food.
In the study trials, macaques called out to and gestured at empty-handed humans less frequently.

The student wants to present the study’s results. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Macaques in the study called out to and gestured more frequently at humans holding food than at empty-handed humans.

In 2018, researchers who had observed macaques in India’s Bandipur National Park calling out to and gesturing at humans designed a study.

The researchers hoped to find out if the macaques were intentionally communicating to try to persuade humans to share their food.

The researchers studied how macaques behaved around both humans holding food and empty-handed humans.

ID: 6249b173 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice presents the study’s results from the last two bullet points.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice describes the background and motivation of the study but not the outcome or findings. Choice C is incorrect. This choice
describes the research question or hypothesis of the study but not the evidence or conclusion. Choice D is incorrect. This choice describes the method or design of
the study but not the actual results.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID a3204ab0

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: a3204ab0

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Yellowstone is a national park in the northwest United States.

In 1995, gray wolves were reintroduced into the park.
Since then, the number of gray wolves in the park has stabilized at roughly 100.
This number is believed to be the park’s carrying capacity.
Carrying capacity describes the maximum number of a species that a specific environment’s resources can sustain over time.

The student wants to specify the number of gray wolves in Yellowstone. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish
this goal?

Gray wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone, a national park in the northwest United States, in 1995.

As of 1995, there were gray wolves living in Yellowstone, a national park in the northwest United States.

The carrying capacity of an environment, such as Yellowstone, describes the maximum number of species that the environment can sustain over time.

Yellowstone is a national park that has roughly 100 gray wolves living in it.

ID: a3204ab0 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. This choice uses relevant information from the third bullet point to state the approximate number of gray wolves in Yellowstone.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice mentions the year gray wolves in Yellowstone were reintroduced but not how many there are currently. Choice B is incorrect.
This choice mentions the year gray wolves in Yellowstone were reintroduced but not how many there are currently. Choice C is incorrect. This choice defines the
term carrying capacity but doesn’t connect it to the specific number of gray wolves currently living in Yellowstone.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 00460c13
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 00460c13

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Novelist Willa Cather grew up in Nebraska and attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Some of Cather’s best-known novels are set in Nebraska.
Two such novels are O Pioneers! (1913) and My Ántonia (1918).
Cather’s novels describe the experiences of immigrants who settled in the Great Plains.

The student wants to identify the setting of Cather’s novel My Ántonia. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?

My Ántonia is set in Nebraska, where Cather grew up.

Cather, author of My Ántonia, described the experiences of immigrants in her novels.

Among Cather’s best-known novels are O Pioneers! (1913) and My Ántonia (1918).

Cather attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and set some of her novels in Nebraska.

ID: 00460c13 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice directly identifies the setting of Cather’s novel My Ántonia as Nebraska.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice mentions that Cather wrote about immigrants, but it doesn’t indicate where they lived. Choice C is incorrect. This choice
mentions that My Ántonia is one of Cather’s best-known novels but doesn’t state where it takes place. Choice D is incorrect. This choice mentions that some of
Cather’s novels are set in Nebraska, but it doesn’t specify which ones, so we can’t be certain that My Ántonia is one of them. It also includes irrelevant
information about Cather’s education.
Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID dd11e5ab

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: dd11e5ab

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Muckrakers were journalists who sought to expose corruption in US institutions during the Progressive Era (1897–1920).
Ida Tarbell was a muckraker who investigated the Standard Oil Company.
She interviewed Standard Oil Company executives, oil industry workers, and public officials.
She examined thousands of pages of the company’s internal communications, including letters and financial records.
Her book The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904) exposed the company’s unfair business practices.

The student wants to emphasize the thoroughness of Ida Tarbell’s investigation of the Standard Oil Company. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Ida Tarbell not only interviewed Standard Oil executives, oil industry workers, and public officials but also examined thousands of pages of the company’s
internal communications.

Ida Tarbell, who investigated the Standard Oil Company, was a muckraker (a journalist who sought to expose corruption in US institutions during the
Progressive Era, 1897–1920).

As part of her investigation of the Standard Oil Company, muckraker Ida Tarbell conducted interviews.

Published in 1904, muckraker Ida Tarbell’s book The History of the Standard Oil Company exposed the company’s unfair business practices.

ID: dd11e5ab Answer

Correct Answer:

A
Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. It describes Tarbell’s investigation and the lengths she went to complete it.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe how thorough Tarbell was. Instead, it gives a biographical sketch. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t
describe how thorough Tarbell was. Tarbell didn’t only conduct interviews—she also “examined thousands of pages of the company’s internal communications.”
Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe how thorough Tarbell was. It describes her book but doesn’t include anything about her investigation.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 8432a140

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 8432a140

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Marine biologist Camille Jazmin Gaynus studies coral reefs.

Coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems that provide habitats to 25% of all marine species.
Reefs can include up to 8,000 species of fish, such as toadfish, seahorses, and clown triggerfish.
The Amazon Reef is a coral reef in Brazil.
It is one of the largest known reefs in the world.

The student wants to introduce the scientist and her field of study to a new audience. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?

Located in Brazil, the Amazon Reef is one of the largest known coral reefs in the world.

Marine biologist Camille Jazmin Gaynus studies coral reefs, vital underwater ecosystems that provide homes to 25% of all marine species.

Providing homes to 25% of all marine species, including up to 8,000 species of fish, coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems and thus of great interest to
marine biologists.
 As Camille Jazmin Gaynus knows well, coral reefs are vital underwater ecosystems, providing homes to thousands of species of fish.

ID: 8432a140 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. We’re asked to select the sentence that "introduce[s] the scientist and her field of study." This choice introduces scientist Camille
Jazmin Gaynus as a marine biologist and explains what marine life she studies.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t mention Camille Jazmin Gaynus, so it fails to "introduce the scientist." Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t
mention Camille Jazmin Gaynus, so it fails to "introduce the scientist." Choice D is incorrect. This choice mentions Camille Jazmin Gaynus, but it doesn’t
identify her as a marine biologist. It says she "knows well" about coral reefs, but doesn’t identify her expertise as a "field of study."

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 6e0c60da

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 6e0c60da

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Consequently,
 Alternatively,

Ultimately,

Additionally,

ID: 6e0c60da Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 64e88c58

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 64e88c58
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In 1971, experimental musician Pauline Oliveros created Sonic Meditations.

Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based exercises called meditations.
Each meditation consists of instructions for participants to make, imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.
The instructions for Meditation V state, “walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears.”
Those for Meditation XVIII state, “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”

The student wants to provide an explanation and an example of Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

Sonic Meditations is not music but rather a series of sound-based meditations that consist of instructions; Meditation XVIII, for instance, instructs
participants to “listen to a sound until you no longer recognize it.”

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

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

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

ID: 64e88c58 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID f4b63a04

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: f4b63a04

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In 2013, paleontology professor Hesham Sallam and his students from Mansoura University in Egypt made a discovery.
The team found a partial dinosaur skeleton at a site in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis.
The skeleton belonged to a dinosaur species that lived approximately 80 million years ago.
The new species was named Mansourasaurus to recognize the team that discovered it.

The student wants to explain the origin of the species’ name. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Mansourasaurus, a new species discovered in Egypt in 2013, lived approximately 80 million years ago.

A partial dinosaur skeleton found in Egypt’s Dakhla Oasis belonged to a species named Mansourasaurus.

Mansourasaurus, a species that lived approximately 80 million years ago, was discovered in 2013 by Egyptian paleontologist Hesham Sallam and a team of
university students.

The new species was named Mansourasaurus to recognize the team that discovered it, a professor and students from Mansoura University.

ID: f4b63a04 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. It explains where the dinosaur’s name came from.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice does not explain the origin of the dinosaur’s name. Choice B is incorrect. This choice does not explain the origin of the
dinosaur’s name. Choice C is incorrect. This choice does not explain the origin of the dinosaur’s name.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID af88c47a
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: af88c47a

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

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

The student wants to begin a narrative about Wong’s award-nominated web series. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?

In 2012, director and visual effects artist Freddie Wong launched a new action-comedy web series: Video Game High School.

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

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

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

ID: af88c47a Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice introduces Wong and VGHS in an active and specific way, as if to an audience unfamiliar with the series. It also sets up
the time and genre of the web series, which are useful ways to introduce the series of events in a narrative.
Choice B is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for beginning a narrative. A narrative is a story that follows a sequence of events and creates interest and suspense
for the reader. This choice jumps to the end, explaining the success of VGHS without explaining what it is. Choice C is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for
beginning a narrative. It doesn’t actually introduce the web series by name. It just jumps to later in the story without sufficient explanation. Choice D is incorrect.
This choice is not very effective for beginning a narrative. It doesn’t explain what VGHS is, and it doesn’t mention Wong.

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 2df7b582

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 2df7b582

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

regardless,

admittedly,

in other words,

meanwhile,

ID: 2df7b582 Answer

Correct Answer:

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID f33f0892

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: f33f0892

Although novels and poems are considered distinct literary forms, many authors have created hybrid works that incorporate elements of both. Bernardine
Evaristo’s The Emperor’s Babe, ______blank is a verse novel, a book-length narrative complete with characters and a plot but conveyed in short, crisp lines of
poetry rather than prose.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

by contrast,

consequently,

secondly,

for example,

ID: f33f0892 Answer

Correct Answer:
D

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. “For example” logically signals that the information in this sentence—that The Emperor’s Babe is a novel conveyed in lines of
poetry—exemplifies the claim in the previous sentence about hybrid works that incorporate elements of both novels and poems.

Choice A is incorrect because “by contrast” illogically signals that the information in this sentence contrasts with the claim about hybrid works in the previous
sentence. Instead, the information demonstrates that Evaristo’s novel is an example of a hybrid work. Choice B is incorrect because “consequently” illogically
signals that the information in this sentence is a consequence, or result, of the claim about hybrid works in the previous sentence. Instead, the information
demonstrates that Evaristo’s novel is an example of a hybrid work. Choice C is incorrect because “secondly” illogically signals that the information in this
sentence is a second, separate claim from the previous sentence’s claim about hybrid works. Instead, the information demonstrates that Evaristo’s novel is an
example of a hybrid work.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID a6155e60

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: a6155e60

Every chemical compound has a spectroscopic fingerprint, a pattern of reflected light unique to that compound. ______blank upon analyzing the light reflected by
the bright regions on the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, Maria Cristina De Sanctis of Rome’s National Institute of Astrophysics was able to determine that the
regions contain large amounts of the compound sodium carbonate.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Regardless,

Meanwhile,

Thus,
 In comparison,

ID: a6155e60 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. “Thus” logically signals that the action described in this sentence—the researcher being able to determine the chemical makeup of
the planet’s bright regions based on how they reflect light—is a result or consequence of the previous information about spectroscopic fingerprints.

Choice A is incorrect because “regardless” illogically signals that the action described in this sentence occurs despite the previous information about
spectroscopic fingerprints. Instead, the finding in this sentence is a result or consequence of that information. Choice B is incorrect because “meanwhile”
illogically signals that the action described in this sentence either occurs at the same time as or offers an alternative to the previous information about
spectroscopic fingerprints. Instead, the finding in this sentence is a result or consequence of that information. Choice D is incorrect because “in comparison”
illogically signals that the action described in this sentence is being compared with the previous information about spectroscopic fingerprints. Instead, the finding
in this sentence is a result or consequence of that information.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID bce57278

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: bce57278

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Some US reformers sought to improve society in the 1800s by building utopias.

A utopia is a community intended to represent a perfect society based on a specific set of principles.
One such community was Brook Farm near Boston, Massachusetts.
 It was founded in 1841 by writer George Ripley.
Ripley wrote in a letter that his goal for Brook Farm was “to guarantee the highest mental freedom, by providing all with labor, adapted to their tastes and
talents, and securing to them the fruits of their industry.”

The student wants to explain the goal of Brook Farm using a quotation from George Ripley. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

In a letter, writer George Ripley explained his goal to “guarantee the highest mental freedom.”

Utopias, such as Brook Farm, founded by George Ripley in 1841, were based on a specific set of principles intended to create a perfect society.

Founded by George Ripley near Boston, Massachusetts, Brook Farm was part of a trend in the 1800s, when reformers in the United States built utopias.

Established in 1841, Brook Farm was a utopian community created to “guarantee the highest mental freedom, by providing all with labor... [and] the fruits
of their industry,” according to founder George Ripley.

ID: bce57278 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. This choice explains the goal of Brook Farm—to provide mental freedom to all by engaging individuals in labor suited to their
interests—using a quotation from George Ripley.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice only mentions part of Ripley’s goal, and it doesn’t mention Brook Farm at all. Choice B is incorrect. This choice defines what a
utopia is but doesn’t use Ripley’s words to describe his vision for Brook Farm. Choice C is incorrect. This choice provides some background information about
Brook Farm, but it doesn’t explain its goals or include Ripley’s words.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 5fa51c86

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 5fa51c86

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?

Mongolia’s capital is Ulaanbaatar, which has 907,802 people, and Vietnam’s capital is Hanoi, which has 7,781,631 people.

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.

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

The populations of the capitals of Mongolia and Vietnam are 907,802 (Ulaanbaatar) and 7,781,631 (Hanoi), respectively.

ID: 5fa51c86 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes the relative sizes of the capital cities’ populations, noting that even though Hanoi has more people overall,
Ulaanbaatar accounts for a larger percentage of the people in its country.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence indicates the population size of each capital, it fails to emphasize their sizes relative to each other or to their countries’
overall population sizes. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the population sizes of the two countries; it fails to mention the capitals. Choice D is
incorrect. While the sentence indicates the population size of each capital, it fails to emphasize their sizes relative to each other or to their countries’ overall
population sizes.

Question Difficulty:

Hard
Question ID 5d3177aa

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 5d3177aa

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In the early 1960s, the US had a strict national-origins quota system for immigrants.
The number of new immigrants allowed from a country each year was based on how many people from that country lived in the US in 1890.
This system favored immigrants from northern Europe.
Almost 70% of slots were reserved for immigrants from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany.
The 1965 Hart-Celler Act abolished the national-origins quota system.

The student wants to present the significance of the Hart-Celler Act to an audience unfamiliar with the history of US immigration. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Almost 70% of slots were reserved for immigrants from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany at the time the Hart-Celler Act was proposed.

Prior to the Hart-Celler Act, new immigration quotas were based on how many people from each country lived in the US in 1890.

The quota system in place in the early 1960s was abolished by the 1965 Hart-Celler Act.

The 1965 Hart-Celler Act abolished the national-origins quota system, which favored immigrants from northern Europe.

ID: 5d3177aa Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence presents the significance of the Hart-Celler Act to an audience unfamiliar with the history of US immigration, noting
that the 1965 act abolished the national-origins quota system and explaining why that mattered, historically: because the old quota system had favored immigrants
from northern Europe.
Choice A is incorrect. The sentence describes an aspect of immigration policy at the time the Hart-Celler Act was proposed; it doesn’t present the significance of
the Hart-Celler Act to an audience unfamiliar with the history of US immigration. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence describes an aspect of immigration policy
before the Hart-Celler Act; it doesn’t describe or present the significance of the act to an audience unfamiliar with the history of US immigration. Choice C is
incorrect. While the sentence indicates that the Hart-Celler Act abolished the old quota system, it doesn’t explain the act or the quota system to an audience
unfamiliar with the history of US immigration.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID ff3865b3

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: ff3865b3

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

A wok is a cooking pan that originated in China during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).
The wok’s round, wide base helps to cook food evenly.
The wok’s high, angled sides help to contain oil splatters.
Grace Young is a cook and culinary historian.
Her book The Breath of a Wok (2004) traces the history of the wok.

The student wants to describe the wok’s shape. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Grace Young’s 2004 book, The Breath of a Wok, traces the history of the cooking pan.

Able to cook food evenly and contain oil splatters, the wok is the subject of Grace Young’s 2004 book.

A wok is a cooking pan with a round, wide base and high, angled sides.

The design of a wok, a type of cooking pan that originated in China during the Han dynasty, helps the pan cook food evenly and contain oil splatters.

ID: ff3865b3 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. It summarizes the information that describes the wok’s shape from the second and third bullet points.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe the shape of a wok. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe the shape of a wok, just some of its
features. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe the shape of a wok, only some of its benefits or functions.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID fdd9a360

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: fdd9a360

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

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

The student wants to use a quotation to emphasize a potential problem with the wood-wide web theory. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information
from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Describing trees as “super-cooperators,” Simard first suggested that trees can exchange resources with one another in 1997.
 In “The Decay of the Wood-Wide Web?,” Karst and colleagues note that common mycorrhizal networks “have captured the interest of broad audiences.”

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

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

ID: fdd9a360 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 1b94a80a

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 1b94a80a

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 Wool is a natural—and economically important—fiber that is obtained from animals like sheep.
Australia is a leading producer of wool.
The thickness of wool fibers varies across sheep breeds.
Merino sheep produce fine wool that is used for apparel.
Rambouillet sheep produce fine wool that is used for apparel.
Romney sheep produce thick wool that is used for rugs and blankets.

The student wants to emphasize how Romney wool differs from Merino and Rambouillet wool. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

Romney wool is just one of the many kinds of wools, each originating from a different breed of sheep.

Sheep wool varies from breed to breed, so Romney wool will be different than other kinds of wool.

The fine wool produced by Merino and Rambouillet sheep is used for apparel, whereas the thicker wool of Romney sheep is used in rugs and blankets.

Wool is an economically important fiber—especially in Australia—that can be used to make apparel or even rugs and blankets.

ID: 1b94a80a Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. This choice most effectively emphasizes how Romney wool differs from Merino and Rambouillet wool. It describes the difference in
thickness and the difference in what they’re used for.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize how Romney wool differs from Merino and Rambouillet wool. It doesn’t mention Merino or Rambouillet
wool at all. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize how Romney wool differs from Merino and Rambouillet wool. It doesn’t mention Merino or
Rambouillet wool at all. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize how Romney wool differs from Merino and Rambouillet wool. It doesn’t mention
Romney, Merino or Rambouillet wool at all.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 00e0170f

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 00e0170f

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In fact,

To that end,

Nevertheless,

That said,

ID: 00e0170f Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID c071eca2
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: c071eca2

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

therefore,

in fact,

moreover,

though,

ID: c071eca2 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 176edca6

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 176edca6

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In fact,

In other words,

Granted,

As a result,

ID: 176edca6 Answer

Correct Answer:

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 10cd0327

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 10cd0327

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?

Heat-absorbing metals may reside in a planet’s upper atmosphere.

The team studied thermal inversions in twenty-five gas giants, which are largely composed of helium and hydrogen.
 Researchers found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were likely to contain heat-absorbing metals, which may reside in the planets’ upper
atmospheres.

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

ID: 10cd0327 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 388b45aa

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 388b45aa

Establishing Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is no easy task. Each month, readings of a single second from atomic clocks around the world are taken and sent
to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in France. ______blank BIPM metrologists perform the meticulous work of assembling these
minutely disparate readings into a globally shared time standard.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
 There,

In particular,

For example,

Conversely,

ID: 388b45aa Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. "There" indicates that the work of calculating Coordinated Universal Time takes place at the International Bureau of Weights and
Measures in France. Because "there" indicates a location, it fits the context perfectly.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses an exemplification transition, which doesn’t make sense here. This sentence is describing where the work of coordinating
Coordinated Universal Time takes place, not giving an example of the work described in the previous sentence. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses an
exemplification transition, which doesn’t make sense here. This sentence is describing where the work of coordinating Coordinated Universal Time takes place,
not giving an example of the work described in the previous sentence. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t
disagree with the previous sentence. They both describe the work involved in calculating Coordinated Universal Time.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 81315093

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 81315093
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

A marathon is a long-distance running race that is 26.2 miles long.

An ultramarathon is a long-distance running race of more than 26.2 miles.
The Kepler Challenge is a one-day, 37.3-mile ultramarathon in New Zealand.
The Spreelauf is a six-day, 261-mile ultramarathon in Germany.

The student wants to make a generalization about ultramarathons. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?

Examples of ultramarathons include the 37.3-mile Kepler Challenge in New Zealand and the 261-mile Spreelauf in Germany.

A marathon is 26.2 miles long, but the Spreelauf ultramarathon, at 261 miles, is far longer.

Ultramarathons range widely in length, from a few dozen miles to a few hundred.

While the Kepler Challenge is a one-day ultramarathon, the Spreelauf is a six-day ultramarathon.

ID: 81315093 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. This is the only choice that makes a generalization about ultramarathons.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice gives specific examples of ultramarathons but doesn’t say anything about them as a category. Choice B is incorrect. This choice
compares marathons in general to one specific ultramarathon but doesn’t say anything about ultramarathons as a category. Choice D is incorrect. This choice
contrasts two specific ultramarathons but doesn’t say anything about them as a category.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 5b8b69a2

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 5b8b69a2

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Archaeologist Jon Erlandson and colleagues argue that humans first arrived in the Americas by sea.
They propose that humans traveled between Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines from northeast Asia to the Americas.
Many of these islands and coastal zones were later submerged as glaciers melted and sea levels rose.
The researchers think that “a coastal route, including kelp forests and estuaries, would have provided a rich mix of marine, estuarine, riverine, and
terrestrial resources” such as seaweeds, fish, and birds.
This proposed scenario is known as the kelp highway hypothesis.

The student wants to summarize the kelp highway hypothesis. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines likely contained “a rich mix of marine, estuarine, riverine, and terrestrial resources” such as seaweeds, fish, and birds,
according to researchers.

One argument about how humans first arrived in the Americas is the kelp highway hypothesis proposed by Jon Erlandson and colleagues.

Humans may have first arrived in the Americas by sea, traveling between Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines and subsisting on a variety of resources.

As glaciers melted and sea levels rose, many Pacific Ocean islands and coastal zones were submerged.

ID: 5b8b69a2 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. This choice summarizes the main idea of the kelp highway hypothesis, providing a high-level overview of how the hypothesis
explains human migration to the Americas.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice describes one aspect of the proposed scenario but doesn’t discuss human migration, which is the main focus of the kelp
highway hypothesis. Choice B is incorrect. This choice introduces the kelp highway hypothesis but doesn’t explain what it entails. Choice D is incorrect. This
choice describes one element of the proposed scenario but doesn’t discuss human migration, which is the main focus of the kelp highway hypothesis.

Question Difficulty:

Hard
Question ID 164a32e7

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 164a32e7

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Claude McKay (1889–1948) was a Jamaican American writer.

Songs of Jamaica (1912) and Constab Ballads (1912) are two acclaimed poetry collections that McKay published while living in Jamaica.
McKay moved to Harlem in New York City in 1914.
He is best known as a poet and novelist of the Harlem Renaissance, a literary and cultural movement of the 1920s and 1930s.
His most famous works include the poetry collection Harlem Shadows (1922) and the novel Home to Harlem (1928).

The student wants to emphasize Claude McKay’s accomplishments before moving to Harlem. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

Jamaican American writer Claude McKay is the author of works such as Songs of Jamaica (1912), Constab Ballads (1912), Harlem Shadows (1922), and
Home to Harlem (1928).

Although he is best known as a Harlem Renaissance writer, Claude McKay had published two acclaimed poetry collections in 1912 while living in Jamaica:
Songs of Jamaica and Constab Ballads.

In 1914, Claude McKay moved to Harlem, where he would become known as a poet and novelist of the Harlem Renaissance (a literary and cultural
movement of the 1920s and 1930s).

Before moving to Harlem, Claude McKay—author of the poetry collection Harlem Shadows (1922) and the novel Home to Harlem (1928)—lived in
Jamaica.

ID: 164a32e7 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. This choice contrasts McKay’s fame as a Harlem Renaissance writer with his earlier achievements as a Jamaican poet, and it names
the two collections he published before moving to Harlem.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize McKay’s accomplishments before moving to Harlem. It lists some of his works but doesn’t distinguish
between those he wrote in Jamaica and those he wrote in Harlem. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize McKay’s accomplishments before moving
to Harlem. It only mentions the year he moved and what he would become known for afterwards. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize McKay’s
accomplishments before moving to Harlem. It mentions that he lived in Jamaica, but it doesn’t name any of the works he published there.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID fbffb352

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: fbffb352

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Archaeologist Dr. Sada Mire founded the Horn Heritage Foundation to preserve the cultural history of regions in the Horn of Africa.
Horn Heritage has overseen a preservation project to create 3D digital scans of ancient rock art in Somaliland.
Paintings found at the Laas Geel caves are included in the scans.
The Laas Geel paintings feature human figures and animals.
Paintings found at the Dhagah Nabi Galay caves are included in the scans.
The Dhagah Nabi Galay caves feature what are thought to be the earliest examples of writing in East Africa.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the Laas Geel paintings and the Dhagah Nabi Galay paintings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

The earliest examples of writing in East Africa are thought to be featured in the paintings at the Dhagah Nabi Galay caves in Somaliland.

The paintings at the Dhagah Nabi Galay caves feature examples of writing, while those at the Laas Geel caves feature humans and animals.

In Somaliland, the paintings in the Laas Geel caves feature human figures and animals.
 The Laas Geel paintings and the Dhagah Nabi Galay paintings are both examples of ancient rock art found in Somaliland.

ID: fbffb352 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. This choice compares the Laas Geel paintings and the Dhagah Nabi Galay paintings to one another and emphasizes what they have
in common: they are both ancient rock art found in the same region.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice only mentions the Dhagah Nabi Galay paintings. It doesn’t compare them to the Laas Geel paintings. Choice B is incorrect.
This choice doesn’t emphasize a similarity between the two paintings. Instead, it emphasizes a difference: the type of content they depict. Choice C is incorrect.
This choice only mentions the Laas Geel paintings. It doesn’t compare them to the Dhagah Nabi Galay paintings.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 9f1a0d91

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 9f1a0d91

“Tulip mania”—the rapid rise and sudden fall of the price of tulip bulbs in seventeenth-century Amsterdam—is often cited as an example of the perils of rampant
market speculation. However, recent research has demonstrated that the episode was neither as frenzied nor as disastrous as has been thought. The popular myth
surrounding it, ______blank should be regarded with some skepticism.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

for example,
 by contrast,

nevertheless,

therefore,

ID: 9f1a0d91 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. This sentence is arguing that new evidence contradicting popular beliefs about “tulip mania” should cast doubt on those beliefs.
“Therefore” is a cause-and-effect transition, which fits perfectly in this context.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses an exemplification transition, which doesn’t make sense here. Skepticism about the popular beliefs is not an example of
recent evidence contradicting those beliefs—rather, skepticism is an effect of that recent evidence. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement
transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the previous sentence. Instead, it connects a cause from the previous sentence (new evidence that tulip mania
was not as disastrous as thought) to an effect (that we should look with skepticism upon the myth about its disastrousness). Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses
a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the previous sentence. Instead, it connects a cause from the previous sentence (new evidence
that tulip mania was not as disastrous as thought) to an effect (that we should look with skepticism upon the myth about its disastrousness).

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 17e49403

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 17e49403
When, in the 1800s, geologists first realized that much of Earth had once been covered by great sheets of ice, some theorized that the phenomenon was cyclical,
occurring at regular intervals. Each Ice Age is so destructive, though, that it largely erases the geological evidence of its predecessor. ______blank geologists were
unable to confirm the theory of cyclical Ice Ages until the 1960s.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Hence,

Moreover,

Nevertheless,

Next,

ID: 17e49403 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. “Hence” logically signals that the information in this sentence—that geologists couldn’t confirm the theory of cyclical Ice Ages until
the 1960s—is a consequence of the previous information about the destructiveness of each Ice Age and the erasure of necessary geological evidence.

Choice B is incorrect because “moreover” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is merely additional to the previous information about the
destructiveness of each Ice Age. Instead, the sentence identifies a specific consequence of that information. Choice C is incorrect because “nevertheless”
illogically signals that the information in this sentence is true despite the previous information about the destructiveness of each Ice Age. Instead, the sentence
identifies a specific consequence of that information. Choice D is incorrect because “next” illogically signals that the information in this sentence is the next step
in a process. Instead, the sentence identifies a specific consequence of the previous information.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 5222ffab

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 5222ffab

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

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

The student wants to summarize the study’s findings. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

To arrive at these findings, which describe dual methods of processing smells in the piriform cortex, Padmanabhan and Chen devised a study using
mathematical models.

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

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

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

ID: 5222ffab Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard
Question ID 3dcc7140

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 3dcc7140

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Nissologists are scientists who study islands.

Some nissologists define an island as any piece of land surrounded by water.
Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 221,000 islands.
Other nissologists define an island as being 1 kilometer square, a certain distance from the mainland, and having at least 50 permanent residents.
Using that definition, they determined that Sweden has 24 islands.

The student wants to make and support a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from
the notes to accomplish these goals?

The definition of an island as any piece of land surrounded by water is supported by some nissologists, scientists who study islands.

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

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

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

ID: 3dcc7140 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence makes a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island—specifically, that the use of one definition rather than
another can result in huge disparities in the number of islands counted—and supports that generalization by citing Sweden as an example.
Choice A is incorrect. The sentence introduces one definition of an island to an audience unfamiliar with nissologists; it doesn’t make a generalization about
nissologists’ definition of an island. Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence synthesizes information from the notes about counts of Sweden’s islands, it doesn’t
make and support a generalization about nissologists’ definition of an island. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence makes an inference about islands in Sweden; it
doesn’t mention nissologists’ definition of an island or make a generalization about it.

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID b7571c0a

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: b7571c0a

Practical movie effects, such as the use of actual locations in a film, provide a more realistic visual experience than computer-generated imagery (CGI) does, but
giving audiences the “real thing” can be prohibitively expensive. ______blank many filmmakers use a blended approach, employing practical effects whenever
possible and CGI elements as necessary to control costs.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Similarly,

For this reason,

Furthermore,

In other words,

ID: b7571c0a Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale
Choice B is the best answer. The first sentence tells us that practical effects are more realistic but also more expensive than CGI. The second sentence tells us that
many filmmakers use both kinds of effects, balancing realism with cost. To connect these ideas, we need a cause-and-effect transition, like “therefore.” “For this
reason” has the same meaning as “therefore.” .

Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t a logical transition. The first sentence tells us that practical effects are more realistic but also more expensive than CGI. The
second sentence tells us that many filmmakers use both kinds of effects, balancing realism with cost. To connect these ideas, we need a cause-and-effect
transition, like “therefore.” “Similarly” doesn’t show cause and effect: it shows the addition of another agreeing idea. Choice C is incorrect. This isn’t a logical
transition. The first sentence tells us that practical effects are more realistic but also more expensive than CGI. The second sentence tells us that many filmmakers
use both kinds of effects, balancing realism with cost. To connect these ideas, we need a cause-and-effect transition, like “therefore.” “Furthermore” doesn’t show
cause and effect: it shows the addition of another agreeing idea. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t a logical transition. The first sentence tells us that practical
effects are more realistic but also more expensive than CGI. The second sentence tells us that many filmmakers use both kinds of effects, balancing realism with
cost. To connect these ideas, we need a cause-and-effect transition, like “therefore.” “In other words” doesn’t show cause and effect: it shows a restatement of the
same idea in different words.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 47e238be

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 47e238be

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

indeed,

nevertheless,

in addition,
 consequently,

ID: 47e238be Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 622a351d

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 622a351d

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?

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.

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

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

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

ID: 622a351d Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 0c13dea9

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty
ID: 0c13dea9

The chemical trimethylamine N-oxide not only gives fish their fishy smell but also protects them from crushing hydrostatic pressure in deep waters.
Trimethylamine N-oxide strengthens the bonds between water molecules in a fish’s body. ______blank these water molecules maintain their linked structure at
extreme depths, thus preventing pressure-related damage.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Nevertheless,

As a result,

However,

For instance,

ID: 0c13dea9 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. “As a result” indicates that water molecules maintaining their linked structure at high pressures is caused by the strengthening of
these water molecules by trimethylamine N-oxide. So the transition “as a result” fits the context perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the previous one—rather, it’s describing an effect of the
phenomenon described in the previous sentence. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the
previous one; it actually expands on the previous sentence by describing an effect of the strengthened molecules. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses an
exemplification transition, which doesn’t make sense here. The second sentence doesn’t provide an example or instance of the idea in the previous sentence.
Instead, it explores the effects of the previous idea in more depth.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 34e1124f

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 34e1124f

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In geology, an Aeolian landform is one that has been created by the wind.
In Greek mythology, Aeolus is the keeper of the winds.
Aeolian landforms are created when the wind erodes, transports, or deposits material.
A mushroom rock is a rock formation in which the top is wider than the base.
A mushroom rock can be formed when the wind erodes the base and the top at different rates.

The student wants to provide an explanation and an example of Aeolian landforms. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?

Aeolian landforms are created by different wind-based processes; for example, some are created by wind erosion.

Aeolian landforms—landforms created by the wind—include the mushroom rock, a rock formation in which the wind erodes the base of the rock faster
than the top.

Erosion, transportation, and deposition are three examples of how the wind can create Aeolian landforms and mushroom rocks.

A mushroom rock is a rock formation that owes its shape to the wind, a natural force associated with Aeolus in Greek mythology.

ID: 34e1124f Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. The sentence provides an explanation and an example of Aeolian landforms, explaining that they are landforms created by wind and
offering the mushroom rock as an example.

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence explains that Aeolian landforms are created by wind but does not provide an example of any specific Aeolian landforms.
Rather, the example it provides is of a wind-based process. Choice C is incorrect. While the sentence provides a partial explanation of Aeolian landforms, noting
that they are created by the wind, it does not effectively provide an example. The sentence seems to indicate that mushroom rocks, rather than being an example
of Aeolian landforms, are distinct from them. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence provides an explanation of a mushroom rock, which is a specific example
of an Aeolian landform, it doesn’t provide an explanation of Aeolian landforms in general.
Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID db3ad406

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: db3ad406

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Stars form in a galaxy when gravity causes a massive cloud of dust and gas to collapse.
A galaxy in a phase of rapid star formation is called a starburst galaxy.
Quenching is a process in which a galaxy loses star-forming gas.
A galaxy that no longer forms stars is called a quenched galaxy.
A quenched galaxy has entered the poststarburst phase.

The student wants to explain what a quenched galaxy is. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Before quenching, a starburst galaxy will form stars at a rapid rate.

When it becomes quenched, a starburst galaxy enters the poststarburst phase.

Having entered the poststarburst phase, a quenched galaxy is one that no longer forms stars.

A starburst galaxy will lose star-forming gas and eventually become quenched.

ID: db3ad406 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale
Choice C is the best answer. This choice defines a quenched galaxy as “one that no longer forms stars.”

Choice A is incorrect. This choice only describes what happens before quenching. Choice B is incorrect. This choice only describes what happens after
quenching. Choice D is incorrect. This choice only describes what causes quenching.

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID ad729337

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: ad729337

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. ______blank 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?

Likewise,

Nonetheless,

In turn,

That is,

ID: ad729337 Answer

Correct Answer:

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID 0ee64efc

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 0ee64efc

In the 1850s, William Still was instrumental in helping nearly 1,000 people escape from slavery, earning him the moniker “the Father of the Underground
Railroad.” ______blank despite the fame of his contributions during his lifetime, Still is discussed far less today than other prominent Black abolitionists from his
era, such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

For example,

However,

Specifically,

Similarly,

ID: 0ee64efc Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. "However" is used to indicate a contrast between two ideas. The first sentence describes how Still used to be famous. This sentence
describes how Still is not very famous today, so the transition "however" fits perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that introduces an example. But the second sentence doesn’t provide a specific example of Still’s famous
contributions to the Underground Railroad. Instead, it changes the subject to how his fame has faded over time. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a
transition that introduces an example or continuation of a previous idea. But the second sentence doesn’t provide a specific example of Still’s famous
contributions to the Underground Railroad. Instead, it changes the subject to how his fame has faded over time. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a
transition that indicates the agreement between two ideas. But this sentence shows a contrast with the first sentence—namely, that Still used to be very famous but
now isn’t very famous.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 63c73b50

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 63c73b50

In 2018, Kurt Luther and Vikram Mohanty created the web-based tool Civil War Photo Sleuth (CWPS). A user uploading an unknown Civil War soldier’s
photograph to CWPS first tags the photo with all known information. ______blank CWPS’s facial-recognition software analyzes twenty-seven different physical
features and looks for matches to tagged images already in the database.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Then,

In fact,
 Likewise,

For example,

ID: 63c73b50 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. “Then” indicates that the events in this sentence took place after the events in the previous sentence. Only after users upload images
of unknown soldiers can those images be analyzed.

Choice B is incorrect. This transition is used to emphasize the truth of a statement that modifies the previous statement. But this sentence doesn’t modify the step
described in the previous statement: instead, it introduces an entirely new step in the process. So “in fact” wouldn’t make sense here. Choice C is incorrect. This
choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of a new but related idea, which doesn’t make sense here. Analyzing the physical features in the uploaded
photographs isn’t a similar idea, but rather the next step in the process. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses an exemplification transition, which doesn’t make
sense here. Analyzing physical features is not an example of uploading and tagging an image.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 3831f2d7

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 3831f2d7

Arkansas aviator Louise Thaden was already a record breaker when she won the inaugural National Women’s Air Derby, a race from California to Ohio, in
August of 1929. ______blank in December of 1928, Thaden had set an aviation record when she reached an altitude of 20,269 feet in a Travel Air biplane.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
 Earlier,

However,

Next,

As a result,

ID: 3831f2d7 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. This choice uses a transition that indicates a shift back in time. Since the first sentence talks about Thaden’s race win in 1929 and the
second shifts back to talking about her record in 1928, this makes the most sense here.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence actually agrees with and expands on the previous sentence by describing the
earlier record that Thaden had "already" held. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a shift forward in time, which doesn’t make sense
here. A record in 1928 didn’t come after Thaden’s race win in 1929. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-and-effect transition, which doesn’t make
sense in this context—an event in 1929 can’t cause something in 1928.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 1469d23a

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 1469d23a

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

 Etel Adnan was a Lebanese American poet and artist known for making many leporellos.
A leporello is an artist’s book that is folded accordion style.
When the book is expanded, the artist’s work is revealed, and its zigzag shape allows it to stand on its own.
Her leporello December from My Window (1993) features a panoramic landscape.
It is painted using ink and watercolor.

The student wants to describe Adnan’s December from My Window to an audience already familiar with leporellos. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Featuring a panoramic landscape, the 1993 work is one of Adnan’s many leporellos, which are accordion-style folded books that when expanded reveal the
artist’s work.

When expanded, Adnan’s 1993 leporello December from My Window reveals a panoramic landscape painted in ink and watercolor.

Known for making many other accordion-style folded books called leporellos, Adnan created December from My Window in 1993.

A leporello, such as Adnan’s December from My Window, is folded accordion style, and due to its zigzag shape it is able to stand on its own when fully
expanded.

ID: 1469d23a Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. This choice describes Adnan’s December from My Window in a way that assumes the audience is already familiar with leporellos and
focuses on the specific features of the work—its content and medium.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for an audience already familiar with leporellos. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term defined or
explained. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t describe Adnan’s December from My Window. It mentions the year and the type of work but not the content
or the medium. In addition, it provides a simple definition of leporellos, making this an inappropriate choice for an audience already familiar with leporellos.
Choice D is incorrect. This choice isn’t suited for an audience already familiar with leporellos. A familiar audience wouldn’t need to have the term defined.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 2b5e0731

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 2b5e0731

With darkness falling, a mother elephant loses sight of her calf and wants to make sure it is safe. ______blank she releases an infrasonic call for the calf to hear.
Infrasonic sound is below the range of human hearing, but many animals can hear these sounds from several miles away.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

For example,

For this reason,

Nowadays,

Similarly,

ID: 2b5e0731 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. "For this reason" is a cause-and-effect transition. The cause in this case is that the mother elephant wants to know that her calf is safe,
so the effect is that she lets out an infrasonic call for the calf to hear. Therefore, "for this reason" fits perfectly in this context.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that introduces an example of a previous idea. But the second sentence doesn’t provide an example of the
events described in the first sentence. Instead, it describes what happens next: the mother elephant calls for her calf. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a
transition that indicates a shift from the past to the current time, which doesn’t make sense here. Both sentences use the present tense, as they’re describing the
same time period. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates commonality or agreement between two ideas. But this sentence isn’t similar
to the events in the first sentence. Instead, it describes the events that happen next.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 1c36e3e1
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 1c36e3e1

The number of dark spots that appear on the Sun, known as sunspots, can vary greatly. For example, there were about 180 sunspots in November 2001.
______blank there were only about 2 sunspots in December 2008.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In other words,

Similarly,

Therefore,

By comparison,

ID: 1c36e3e1 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The first sentence claims that the number of sunspots can vary greatly. To support this claim, the next two sentences compare two
examples: one time when there were 180 sunspots and one time when there were only 2 sunspots. So the transition “by comparison” fits perfectly.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a restatement of the same idea, which doesn’t make sense here. This sentence doesn’t restate the
first example—it describes a totally different example. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates the addition of a similar idea, which
doesn’t make sense here. This sentence describes a second example that is very different from the first example. Choice C is incorrect. This choice uses a cause-
and-effect transition, which doesn’t make sense here. The first example didn’t result in the second example.

Question Difficulty:
Easy

Question ID ba263620

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: ba263620

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

In 1897, African American inventor Andrew Beard invented an automatic coupler.

It improved on the existing design of train car couplers.
It made the job of connecting train cars safer.
In 1938, African American inventor Frederick Jones invented a mobile refrigeration system.
It improved on the existing design of food transport trucks.
It enabled trucks to carry perishable foods farther.

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between Beard’s invention and Jones’s invention. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the
notes to accomplish this goal?

Beard’s automatic coupler and Jones’s mobile refrigeration system both improved on existing designs.

In 1897, Beard invented an automatic coupler, which made the job of connecting train cars safer.

Beard’s invention made the job of connecting train cars safer, whereas Jones’s invention enabled food transport trucks to carry perishables farther.

Jones’s mobile refrigeration system, which he invented in 1938, made it possible for food transport trucks to carry perishable foods farther.

ID: ba263620 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale
Choice A is the best answer. It compares Beard’s and Jones’s inventions to one another, and emphasizes what they have in common.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize a similarity. It only mentions Beard’s invention. It doesn’t compare it to Jones’s invention. Choice C is
incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize a similarity between the two inventions. Instead, it emphasizes a difference. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t
emphasize a similarity. It only mentions Jones’s invention. It doesn’t compare it to Beard’s invention.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID c34d6bff

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: c34d6bff

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?

Hedgeman and Bates contributed to the march in different ways; Bates, for example, delivered a brief but memorable address.

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

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

Many African American women, including Bates and Hedgeman, fought for civil rights, but only one spoke at the march.

ID: c34d6bff Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence compares the two women’s contributions to the march: Hedgeman worked behind the scenes to make sure a woman
speaker was included, whereas Bates actually spoke at the event.

Choice A is incorrect. While it acknowledges that the two women both contributed to the march, it doesn’t indicate what Hedgeman did, so no comparison is
made. Choice B is incorrect. While the sentence provides information about the two women, it doesn’t mention anything about Bates’s contribution to the
march. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence indicates that the two women both fought for civil rights, it doesn’t compare their individual contributions to the
march.

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID ac8eb085

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: ac8eb085

“O2 Arena,” an award-winning science fiction story by Nigerian author Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, takes place in an alternate version of Nigeria where
breathable air is a rare commodity that is owned and sold by companies. ______blank people must purchase it with currency called O2 credits.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

As a result,

In any case,

Nevertheless,

Earlier,
ID: ac8eb085 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The second sentence describes a consequence of the system laid out in the first sentence: because air is owned and sold by companies
in this world, people have to buy it.

Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that means “no matter what happens” or “whatever the situation is,” which doesn’t make sense here. There’s
only one situation described in the text: a fictional world in which companies own all the breathable air, forcing people to buy it. Choice C is incorrect. This
choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the previous sentence. They both describe the same fictional situation. Choice D is
incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates a shift back in time, which doesn’t make sense here. Both sentences use the present tense, as they’re
describing the same fictional time period.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID ed80971c

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: ed80971c

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

The Pueblo of Zuni is located about 150 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It is the traditional home of the A:shiwi (Zuni) people.
The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center was established by tribal members in 1992.
Its mission is stated on its website: “As a tribal museum and heritage center for the Zuni people and by the Zuni people we work to provide learning
experiences that emphasize A:shiwi ways of knowing, as well as exploring modern concepts of knowledge and the transfer of knowledge.”
The student wants to emphasize how long the museum has existed. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?

The Pueblo of Zuni is home to the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, which was founded by tribal members.

The A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center has served the Pueblo of Zuni since 1992.

According to its website, the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center (founded in the 1990s) works to “emphasize A:shiwi ways of knowing.”

Knowledge has been one of the central themes of the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center from its founding.

ID: ed80971c Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice B is the best answer. This choice effectively uses information from the notes to emphasize how long the museum has existed. It says that the museum has
existed since 1992.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize how long the museum has existed. It doesn’t say when the museum was founded. Choice C is incorrect. This
choice doesn’t emphasize how long the museum has existed. It doesn’t say the exact date of the museum’s founding. Rather, it emphasizes the museum’s
mission. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize how long the museum has existed. It doesn’t say when the museum was founded.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID eaded344

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: eaded344
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

The painter Frida Kahlo is one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century.
She was born in Coyoacán, Mexico, in 1907.
She is best known for her vivid and richly symbolic self-portraits.
The Two Fridas (1939) features two versions of Kahlo sitting together.
One version wears a European-style dress and the other a traditional Tehuana dress.

The student wants to introduce Kahlo to an audience unfamiliar with the artist. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to
accomplish this goal?

Known for being vivid and richly symbolic, Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits include The Two Fridas (1939).

The 1939 painting The Two Fridas is one example of a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo.

One painting by Frida Kahlo features two versions of herself, with one version wearing a European-style dress and the other a traditional Tehuana dress.

One of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo is best known for her self-portraits, which are vivid and richly
symbolic.

ID: eaded344 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. By identifying Kahlo as an influential artist from Mexico, and by describing the work she’s best known for, this choice provides the
background information necessary to introduce Kahlo to an unfamiliar audience.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t effectively introduce Kahlo. It doesn’t include any background information about who Kahlo is or where she’s from. It
simply identifies one of her paintings. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t effectively introduce Kahlo. It doesn’t include any background information about
who Kahlo is or where she’s from. It simply identifies one of her paintings. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t effectively introduce Kahlo. It doesn’t
include any background information about who Kahlo is or where she’s from. Instead, it describes one of her paintings in detail.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID e3484c07

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: e3484c07

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Bioluminescence is the emission of light by living organisms.

This light is produced by chemical reactions in organisms’ cells.
Jellyfish emit flashes of blue light.
This behavior serves to startle predators.
Black dragonfish emit a steady red light.
This behavior helps them locate prey in deep waters.

The student wants to emphasize a difference between the behavior of jellyfish and that of black dragonfish. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Both jellyfish and black dragonfish are organisms that emit light, which is produced by chemical reactions in these organisms’ cells.

Black dragonfish emit a steady red light, which helps them locate prey in deep waters.

Bioluminescence, the emission of light by living organisms, results from chemical reactions in organisms’ cells.

Jellyfish emit light to startle predators, whereas black dragonfish do so to locate prey.

ID: e3484c07 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence emphasizes a difference between the behavior of jellyfish and that of black dragonfish, noting that jellyfish and black
dragonfish emit light as part of different behaviors (protection and predation, respectively).

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes a similarity between jellyfish and black dragonfish; it doesn’t emphasize a difference between the behavior of the
two animals. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the type of bioluminescence exhibited by black dragonfish, noting that it’s used in predation; it
doesn’t emphasize a difference between the behavior of the two animals. Choice C is incorrect. The sentence defines bioluminescence and explains how it works;
the sentence doesn’t mention either animal or emphasize a difference between them.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 5a5e22b5

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 5a5e22b5

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Gravitational waves are powerful ripples that originate in deep space and eventually pass through Earth.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a physics study that began in 2002.
LIGO’s goal is to detect and analyze gravitational waves.
LIGO uses a pair of massive gravitational wave detectors called interferometers that are thousands of miles apart.
In 2015, for the first time in history, LIGO researchers detected a gravitational wave passing through Earth.

The student wants to present LIGO’s aim and methodology. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

In 2015, LIGO’s massive interferometers detected a powerful ripple that originated in deep space and eventually passed through Earth.

Though the physics study LIGO began in 2002, its massive interferometers didn’t detect a gravitational wave until 2015.

To achieve its aims, LIGO uses a pair of massive interferometers that are thousands of miles apart.

A physics study designed to detect and analyze gravitational waves, LIGO uses a pair of massive interferometers that are thousands of miles apart.

ID: 5a5e22b5 Answer

Correct Answer:

D
Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. The sentence effectively presents the LIGO study’s aim, noting that it is designed to detect and analyze gravitational waves, and its
methodology (it uses two interferometers to detect the waves).

Choice A is incorrect. The sentence describes a finding from the LIGO study; it doesn’t effectively present the study’s aim or its methodology. Choice B is
incorrect. The sentence provides background information about the LIGO study’s timeline; it doesn’t effectively present the study’s aim or its methodology.
Choice C is incorrect. The sentence touches on LIGO’s methodology, noting that it uses two interferometers, but doesn’t indicate what the study’s aims are.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID d7f31e68

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: d7f31e68

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Annie Wu is a prominent American flutist who graduated from the New England Conservatory.
She has won multiple national flute competitions.
She is best known for a 2011 YouTube video that has been viewed over two million times.
The video shows her performing Three Beats for Beatbox Flute, an original work by composer Greg Pattillo.
Wu combines flute playing and beatboxing in the video.

The student wants to emphasize Wu’s most well-known achievement. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this
goal?

Annie Wu, who has won multiple national flute competitions, has also combined flute playing and beatboxing.

Among her many achievements, prominent American flutist Annie Wu graduated from the New England Conservatory and has won multiple national flute
competitions.

Annie Wu is best known for a 2011 YouTube video performance of Three Beats for Beatbox Flute that has been viewed over two million times.
 Composer Greg Pattillo’s original work Three Beats for Beatbox Flute combines flute playing and beatboxing.

ID: d7f31e68 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. This describes the achievement for which Wu is best known.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize Wu’s most well-known achievement. It mentions some of her general achievements, but not the one for
which she is “best known.” Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize Wu’s most well-known achievement—it describes several of her achievements
equally. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t emphasize Wu’s most well-known achievement. It describes a piece of music featured in her most well-known
achievement.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID 4154a7a3

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 4154a7a3

In 1891, dancer and choreographer Loie Fuller first performed her celebrated Serpentine Dance, artfully twirling her long, flowing skirt to create striking visual
effects. ______blank in 1896, cinema pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière made a groundbreaking short film of Fuller’s dance.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

However,

In conclusion,
 Later,

In other words,

ID: 4154a7a3 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. “Later” logically signals that the event discussed in this sentence—the creation of the short film featuring Fuller’s dance—is a related
event that occurred after the event discussed in the previous sentence (the 1891 debut of the dance).

Choice A is incorrect because “however” illogically signals that the information in this sentence contrasts with the information in the previous sentence. Instead,
the creation of the short film is a related event that followed the event discussed in the previous sentence. Choice B is incorrect because “in conclusion”
illogically signals that the information in this sentence concludes or summarizes the information in the previous sentence. Instead, the creation of the short film is
a related event that followed the event discussed in the previous sentence. Choice D is incorrect because “in other words” illogically signals that the information
in this sentence is a paraphrase or restatement of the information in the previous sentence. Instead, the creation of the short film is a related event that followed
the event discussed in the previous sentence.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID d3898d32

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: d3898d32

Riley Black—the author of critically acclaimed books such as My Beloved Brontosaurus (2013)—is best known for writing about dinosaurs, but she has also
conducted hands-on fieldwork. ______blank her fieldwork has included paleontological digs in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming, and her dinosaur fossil discoveries
can be seen at places such as the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Regardless,

Subsequently,

Specifically,

Conversely,

ID: d3898d32 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The second sentence provides more specific information about the fieldwork mentioned in the first sentence—that the
paleontological digs took place in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. Therefore, “specifically” fits perfectly in this context.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the previous sentence. Rather, this sentence agrees with
and elaborates on the last sentence by providing more specifics about the fieldwork Black does. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that indicates
that an event took place after another event. But the two sentences are not describing different events—instead, this sentence gives more details about the
fieldwork discussed in the first sentence. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this sentence doesn’t disagree with the previous
sentence. Rather, this sentence agrees with and elaborates on the last sentence by providing more specifics about the fieldwork Black does.

Question Difficulty:

Easy

Question ID ecb31049

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty
ID: ecb31049

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

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

For this reason,

Moreover,

Specifically,

That said,

ID: ecb31049 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty:

Hard

Question ID eea351c4

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: eea351c4

“Wishcycling”—putting nonrecyclable items into recycling bins under the mistaken belief that those items can be recycled—ultimately does more harm than
good. Nonrecyclable items, such as greasy pizza boxes, can contaminate recyclable materials, rendering entire batches unusable. ______blank nonrecyclable
products can damage recycling plants’ machinery.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Fittingly,

On the contrary,

Moreover,

Nevertheless,

ID: eea351c4 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The first sentence tells us that “wishcycling” is harmful, the previous sentence gives us an example, and this sentence gives us
another example. So “moreover”—a transition that indicates the addition of another supporting point—fits perfectly here.

Choice A is incorrect. This choice uses a transition that means “appropriately” or “suitably,” which doesn’t make sense in context. This sentence adds another
example of how “wishcycling” is harmful, so we’re looking for an addition transition. Choice B is incorrect. This choice uses a disagreement transition. But this
sentence actually agrees with the previous sentence. Both provide examples of how “wishcycling” is harmful. Choice D is incorrect. This choice uses a
disagreement transition. But this sentence actually agrees with the previous sentence. Both provide examples of how “wishcycling” is harmful.

Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 39d1a519
Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Transitions
Difficulty

ID: 39d1a519

To discover which fruit varieties were grown in Italy’s Umbria region before the introduction of industrial farming, botanist Isabella Dalla Ragione often turns to
centuries-old lists of cooking ingredients. ______blank she analyzes Renaissance paintings of Umbria, as they can provide accurate representations of fruits that
were grown there long ago.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

In sum,

Instead,

Thus,

Additionally,

ID: 39d1a519 Answer

Correct Answer:

Rationale

Choice D is the best answer. “Additionally” logically signals that the painting analysis discussed in this sentence is an additional part of the botany research
discussed in the previous sentence. That is, to research which fruits Umbrians grew in the past, the botanist analyzes old paintings in addition to looking at old
lists of ingredients.

Choice A is incorrect because “in sum” illogically signals that the painting analysis discussed in this sentence is a concluding summary of the botany research
discussed in the previous sentence. Instead, the painting analysis is an additional part of that research. Choice B is incorrect because “instead” illogically signals
that the painting analysis discussed in this sentence is an alternative to the botany research discussed in the previous sentence. Rather, the painting analysis is an
additional part of that research. Choice C is incorrect because “thus” illogically signals that the painting analysis discussed in this sentence is a result of the
botany research discussed in the previous sentence. Instead, the painting analysis is an additional part of that research.
Question Difficulty:

Medium

Question ID 92dec236

Assessment
SAT
Test
Reading and Writing
Domain
Expression of Ideas
Skill
Rhetorical Synthesis
Difficulty

ID: 92dec236

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

Maika’i Tubbs is a Native Hawaiian sculptor and installation artist.

His work has been shown in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Germany, among other places.
Many of his sculptures feature discarded objects.
His work Erasure (2008) includes discarded audiocassette tapes and magnets.
His work Home Grown (2009) includes discarded pushpins, plastic plates and forks, and wood.

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

Erasure (2008) uses discarded objects such as audiocassette tapes and magnets; Home Grown (2009), however, includes pushpins, plastic plates and forks,
and wood.

Tubbs’s work, which often features discarded objects, has been shown both within the United States and abroad.

Like many of Tubbs’s sculptures, both Erasure and Home Grown include discarded objects: Erasure uses audiocassette tapes, and Home Grown uses plastic
forks.

Tubbs completed Erasure in 2008 and Home Grown in 2009.

ID: 92dec236 Answer

Correct Answer:

C
Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. This choice most effectively emphasizes "a similarity" by identifying a trait the works share: "both Erasure and Home Grown include
discarded objects."

Choice A is incorrect. This choice doesn’t "emphasize a similarity." Instead, this choice shows how the materials used in the two works are different. Notice the
use of the contrast word "however." Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t "emphasize a similarity between the two works." While it says that Tubbs’s work
"often features discarded objects," it doesn’t provide details about the two works in question. Choice D is incorrect. This choice doesn’t "emphasize a similarity."
Instead, this choice shows how the works were produced at different times.

Question Difficulty:

Medium