Question ID afec1a70

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. properties.

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

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

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

ID: afec1a70 Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID e3edc138
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

ID: e3edc138
In a heated debate in biogeography, the field is divided between dispersalists and vicariancists. ______ there are those who
argue that dispersal is the most crucial determining factor in a species’ distribution, and those who insist that vicariance
(separation due to geographic barriers) is. Biogeographer Isabel Sanmartín counts herself among neither.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Furthermore,

B. By contrast,

C. Similarly,

D. That is,

ID: e3edc138 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 00221c00
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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; ______ though, Bolívar’s goal was to persuade political
leaders from England and Europe to support his cause.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. additionally,

B. ultimately,

C. accordingly,

D. consequently,

ID: 00221c00 Answer

Correct Answer: B

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6c9df5d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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,
A. while Sinclair’s is fictional.

B. 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
C. 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
D. new legislation (concerning the slave trade and food safety, respectively).

ID: 6c9df5d1 Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 16631d34
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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?

A. 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
B. 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
C. describe fixed traits such as genre, which are reliable predictors of popularity.

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

ID: 16631d34 Answer

Correct Answer: B

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 6e0c60da
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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. ______ it’s the series’ title, Flying Frying Pan, that brings one back to Earth, reminding the
viewer that each photo is actually a close-up view of a familiar household object: a frying pan.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Consequently,

B. Alternatively,

C. Ultimately,

D. Additionally,

ID: 6e0c60da Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 64e88c58
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. 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,
B. 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
C. Meditations.

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

ID: 64e88c58 Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID af88c47a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. School.

Video Game High School was celebrated for its inventive video game–centric world and high-quality special effects, and it
B. 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
C. Guild Award.

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

ID: af88c47a Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 2df7b582
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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; ______ sensory experience of the material is the ultimate source of knowledge.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. regardless,

B. admittedly,

C. in other words,

D. meanwhile,

ID: 2df7b582 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fdd9a360
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. 1997.

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

After evaluating dozens of CMN studies, Karst and colleagues expressed concern that recent claims about common
C. 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
D. remains popular.

ID: fdd9a360 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 622a351d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. would disrupt local fishing and reindeer herding.

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

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

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

ID: 622a351d Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 47e238be
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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; ______ many of Earth’s volcanoes are fed by shallow pockets of magma found less than 15 km below the
surface.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. indeed,

B. nevertheless,

C. in addition,

D. consequently,

ID: 47e238be Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 3dcc7140
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. study islands.

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

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

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

ID: 3dcc7140 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5222ffab
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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
A. Chen devised a study using mathematical models.

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

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

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

ID: 5222ffab Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 9f1a0d91
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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, ______ should be regarded with
some skepticism.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. for example,

B. by contrast,

C. nevertheless,

D. therefore,

ID: 9f1a0d91 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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 5b8b69a2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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”
A. 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
B. and colleagues.

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

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

ID: 5b8b69a2 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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 10cd0327
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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?

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

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

Researchers found that gas giants featuring a thermal inversion were likely to contain heat-absorbing metals, which may
C. 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
D. beneath it, researchers found; this phenomenon is known as a thermal inversion.

ID: 10cd0327 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 176edca6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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.
______ the correlation between acquisition and iconicity was lower than that between acquisition and another factor studied:
sign frequency.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. In fact,

B. In other words,

C. Granted,

D. As a result,

ID: 176edca6 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 00e0170f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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. ______ of the handful of maglev trains currently in operation, all are in Asia.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. In fact,

B. To that end,

C. Nevertheless,

D. That said,

ID: 00e0170f Answer

Correct Answer: A

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID c071eca2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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, ______ Al-Malaika was breaking new ground by memorializing an anonymous woman rather
than a famous man.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. therefore,

B. in fact,

C. moreover,

D. though,

ID: c071eca2 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ecb31049
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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. ______
prior to December 2022, no fusion reaction in a laboratory setting had ever generated a net energy gain.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. For this reason,

B. Moreover,

C. Specifically,

D. That said,

ID: ecb31049 Answer

Correct Answer: D

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID ad729337
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Transitions

Writing

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. ______ cultural critic Lauren Berlant finds fertile ground in just its first two
stanzas, devoting most of a book chapter to deciphering the “weight of the default space” Ashbery creates in this poem.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

A. Likewise,

B. Nonetheless,

C. In turn,

D. That is,

ID: ad729337 Answer

Correct Answer: B

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID db3ad406
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Writing Synthesis

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?

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

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

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

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

ID: db3ad406 Answer

Correct Answer: C

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