Question ID 333b2b65

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 333b2b65 1.1

While one requires oxygen and one does ______ and anaerobic respiration are both forms of cellular respiration—
that is, they are processes by which cells break down glucose to use as energy.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. not aerobic
B. not. Aerobic
C. not, aerobic
D. not; aerobic
Question ID 148be4da
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 148be4da 1.2

Human-made (synthetic) fibers used in clothes and many other consumer products are more durable than most
natural plant ______ the manufacture of synthetic fibers requires toxic chemical solvents that can pollute air and
water.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. fibers,
B. fibers but
C. fibers
D. fibers, but
Question ID 6fece68e
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 6fece68e 1.3

Emperor Ashoka ruled the Maurya Empire in South Asia from roughly 270 to 232 BCE. He is known for enforcing a
moral code called the Law of Piety, which established the sanctity of animal ______ the just treatment of the
elderly, and the abolition of the slave trade.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. life
B. life;
C. life:
D. life,
Question ID 1724dac2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 1724dac2 1.4

A subseasonal weather forecast attempts to predict weather conditions three to four weeks in ______ its
predictions are therefore more short-term than those of the seasonal forecast, which attempts to predict the
weather more than a month in advance.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. advance,
B. advance
C. advance;
D. advance and
Question ID a1e0c981
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: a1e0c981 1.5

In her book The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, author Maxine Hong Kingston examines
themes ______ childhood, womanhood, and Chinese American identity by intertwining autobiography and
mythology.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. of:
B. of
C. of—
D. of,
Question ID 7f48b098
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 7f48b098 2.1

Photosynthesis, the mechanism by which plants use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into ______ is
fueled in part by an enzyme called Photosystem II that harvests energy-giving electrons from water molecules.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. nutrients
B. nutrients and
C. nutrients,
D. nutrients—
Question ID 083a35dc
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 083a35dc 2.2

Po’Pay was a Tewa leader from Ohkay Owingeh, a pueblo located about twenty-five miles north of present-day
Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was instrumental in organizing the Pueblo Revolt of ______ as a result of his leadership,
the Spanish colonizers were expelled from the region for a time.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. 1680
B. 1680 and
C. 1680,
D. 1680, and
Question ID be34a3df
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: be34a3df 2.3

In 2008, two years after the death of science fiction writer Octavia Butler, the Huntington Library in ______
received a collection of more than 8,000 items, including Butler’s private notes, research materials, manuscripts,
photos, and drawings. Today, the Octavia E. Butler Collection is one of the most researched archives at the library.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. California,
B. California:
C. California—
D. California
Question ID 8f6d6ae6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 8f6d6ae6 2.4

Archaeologists have estimated that the pre-Columbian Native American city of Cahokia, located across the
Mississippi River from modern-day St. Louis, Missouri, had as many as 20,000 inhabitants in the year 1150 ______
it one of the largest cities in North America at the time.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. CE making
B. CE. Making
C. CE, making
D. CE; making
Question ID 870ae7ec
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 870ae7ec 2.5

Detroit natives Timothy Paule and Nicole Lindsey have combined their two passions, Detroit and beekeeping, to
improve the health of their city’s flowers and other vegetation. In 2017, the couple converted a vacant lot in the
city into an ______ in the years that followed they acquired nine additional lots and established more than 35
hives.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. apiary,
B. apiary, and
C. apiary and
D. apiary
Question ID 960dec02
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 960dec02 3.1

A recent study tracked the number of bee species present in twenty-seven New York apple orchards over a ten-
year period. ______ found that when wild growth near an orchard was cleared, the number of different bee
species visiting the orchard decreased.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Entomologist Heather Grab:
B. Entomologist, Heather Grab,
C. Entomologist Heather Grab
D. Entomologist Heather Grab,
Question ID fba5d8d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: fba5d8d1 3.2

In a 2016 study, Eastern Washington University psychologist Amani El-Alayli found that, among the study
participants who experienced frisson (a physiological response akin to goosebumps or getting the chills) while
listening to music, there was one personality trait that they scored particularly ______ openness to experience.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. high. On
B. high on;
C. high on
D. high on:
Question ID 6ea8c23f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: 6ea8c23f 3.3

In 2018, a team of researchers led by Dr. Caitlin Whalen compiled every available measurement of ocean mixing
rates from the past two decades. With this novel data set, the team was able to determine how current-driven
mixing varies across ______ and what impact it has on the distribution of heat and nutrients in the ocean.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. regions,
B. regions:
C. regions;
D. regions
Question ID aab74a3b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: aab74a3b 3.4

Researcher Lin Zhi developed a process for increasing the tensile strength—measured in gigapascals, or GPa—of
silkworm ______ dissolving and reweaving the silk in a solution of iron metal ions, zinc, and sugar, Zhi increased
the amount of force required to stretch it from approximately 0.5 GPa to 2 GPa.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. silk, by
B. silk by
C. silk and by
D. silk. By
Question ID a9e5b788
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Boundaries

Conventions

ID: a9e5b788 3.5

In discussing Mary Shelley’s 1818 epistolary novel Frankenstein, literary theorist Gayatri Spivak directs the
reader’s attention to the character of Margaret Saville. As Spivak points out, Saville is not the protagonist of
Shelley’s ______ as the recipient of the letters that frame the book’s narrative, she’s the “occasion” of it.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. novel
B. novel,
C. novel; rather,
D. novel, rather,
Question ID 3580533b
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 3580533b 1.1

In recent years, economists around the world have created new tools that quantify the overall well-being of a
country’s citizens. Economists in India, for example, use an Ease of Living Index. This tool ______ economic
potential, sustainability, and citizens’ quality of life.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. measures
B. had measured
C. would have measured
D. will have been measuring
Question ID b7363ba2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: b7363ba2 1.2

Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz used the metaphor of the “butterfly effect” to explain how
seemingly minor events can have major impacts on future weather. According to Lorenz’s metaphor, the wind
from a butterfly flapping ______ in Brazil might eventually grow into a storm elsewhere across the globe.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. its wings
B. its wings’
C. it’s wing’s
D. it’s wings’
Question ID dbd78791
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: dbd78791 1.3

Led by Syrian American astronomer Shadia Habbal, the Solar Wind Sherpas are an intrepid team of scientists who
travel the globe to study solar winds, the streams of particles emanating from the Sun that are only visible from
certain locations during a total solar eclipse. When such an eclipse is imminent, the Sherpas pack up their
telescopes and ______ ready.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. get
B. had gotten
C. got
D. were getting
Question ID 77bf77cd
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 77bf77cd 1.4

Farouk El-Baz, a geologist and space scientist, ______ part of the team that selected the lunar landing sites for
the Apollo program during the 1960s and 1970s.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. are
B. was
C. have been
D. were
Question ID 57998dd3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 57998dd3 1.5

Obsidian is a kind of volcanic glass formed when lava cools so quickly that the atoms inside it cannot arrange
themselves in a crystalline structure. You ______ more about obsidian’s structure, which is classified as
amorphous, in a later chapter.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. had learned
B. had been learning
C. will learn
D. have learned
Question ID b74f676f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: b74f676f 2.1

Classical composer Florence Price’s 1927 move to Chicago marked a turning point in her career. It was there that
Price premiered her First Symphony—a piece that was praised for blending traditional Romantic motifs with
aspects of Black folk music—and ______ supportive relationships with other Black artists.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. developing
B. developed
C. to develop
D. having developed
Question ID 684b8bd2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 684b8bd2 2.2

Far from being modern inventions, ______ more than 5,000 years ago.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia used drinking straws
B. drinking straws were used by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia
C. the use of drinking straws by Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia happened
D. ancient Mesopotamia was home to Sumerians who used drinking straws
Question ID c52652c9
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: c52652c9 2.3

The human brain is primed to recognize faces—so much so that, due to a perceptual tendency called pareidolia,
______ will even find faces in clouds, wooden doors, pieces of fruit, and other faceless inanimate objects.
Researcher Susan Magsamen has focused her work on better understanding this everyday phenomenon.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. she
B. they
C. it
D. those
Question ID 36944347
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 36944347 2.4

Official measurements of the Mississippi River’s length vary: according to the US Geologic Survey, the river is
2,300 miles long, whereas the Environmental Protection Agency records its length as 2,320 miles. This disparity
can be explained in part by the fact that rivers such as the Mississippi expand and contract as ______ sediment.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. they accumulate
B. one accumulates
C. it accumulates
D. we accumulate
Question ID 8d53e7a0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 8d53e7a0 2.5

Slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel The Poet X, winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Young
People’s Literature, is composed of ______ protagonist, fifteen-year-old Xiomara Batista.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. poems putatively written by the novel’s
B. poem’s putatively written by the novel’s
C. poem’s putatively written by the novels’
D. poems putatively written by the novels’
Question ID f0864217
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: f0864217 3.1

Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama performed annually in Rabinal, a town in the Guatemalan
highlands. Based on events that occurred when Rabinal was a city-state ruled by a king, ______ had once been an
ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. Rabinal Achí tells the story of K’iche’ Achí, a military leader who
B. K’iche’ Achí, the military leader in the story of Rabinal Achí,
C. the military leader whose story is told in Rabinal Achí, K’iche’ Achí,
D. there was a military leader, K’iche’ Achí, who in Rabinal Achí
Question ID ea0aa676
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: ea0aa676 3.2

In the 1970s, Janaki Ammal, a prominent botanist, emerged as a powerful voice in India’s environmental
conservation movement. Her exhaustive chromosomal survey of plants in Silent Valley, a pristine tropical forest in
Kerala, India, that is home to nearly 1,000 species of native flora (many of which are endangered), ______
instrumental in the government’s decision to preserve the forest.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. are
B. were
C. have been
D. was
Question ID dc645172
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: dc645172 3.3

The artistic talents of Barbara Chase-Riboud, most known for her 1979 historical novel Sally Hemings and the
conversation it inspired, ______ limited to the realm of prose: she first excelled in sculpture, where her affinity for
bronze—a material she described as “timeless” due to its use across eras and cultures—became part of her
artistic identity.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. hasn’t been
B. wasn’t
C. isn’t
D. aren’t
Question ID 3bceeb93
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: 3bceeb93 3.4

When they were first discovered in Australia in 1798, duck-billed, beaver-tailed platypuses so defied
categorization that one scientist assigned them the name Ornithorhynchus paradoxus: “paradoxical bird-snout.”
The animal, which lays eggs but also nurses ______ young with milk, has since been classified as belonging to the
monotremes group.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. they’re
B. their
C. its
D. it’s
Question ID dab8b8ee
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Standard English Form, Structure,

Conventions and Sense

ID: dab8b8ee 3.5

Known as Earth’s “living skin,” biocrusts are thin layers of soil held together by surface-dwelling microorganisms
such as fungi, lichens, and cyanobacteria. Fortifying soil in arid ecosystems against erosion, ______
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. a recent study’s estimate is that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.
B. an estimated 60 percent reduction in global dust emissions each year is due to these crusts, according to a
recent study.
C. these crusts reduce global dust emissions by an estimated 60 percent each year, according to a recent study.
D. a recent study has estimated that these crusts reduce global dust emissions by 60 percent each year.
Question ID 20733eac
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 20733eac 1.1

It has long been thought that humans first crossed a land bridge into the Americas approximately 13,000 years
ago. ______ 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?
A. As a result,
B. Similarly,
C. However,
D. In conclusion,
Question ID f07570bb
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: f07570bb 1.2

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. ______
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?
A. For this reason,
B. For example,
C. However,
D. Likewise,
Question ID 01c8c433
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 01c8c433 1.3

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. ______ 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?
A. Regardless,
B. On the contrary,
C. Consequently,
D. For example,
Question ID db8fe023
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: db8fe023 1.4

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. ______ 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?
A. In other words,
B. Regardless,
C. In conclusion,
D. For example,
Question ID 04ad68ca
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 04ad68ca 1.5

In Gothic architecture, flying buttresses are large arches that help support a building’s exterior walls. Before the
Gothic era, cathedrals’ heavy ceilings had to be supported by thick, short walls, but the invention of flying
buttresses eliminated this need. ______ Gothic cathedrals could be built with thinner, higher walls.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Similarly,
B. For instance,
C. Nevertheless,
D. As a result,
Question ID a40c7aa3
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: a40c7aa3 2.1

Most of the planets that have been discovered outside our solar system orbit G-type stars, like our Sun. In 2014,
______ researchers identified a planet orbiting KELT-9, a B-type star more than twice as massive and nearly twice
as hot as the Sun. Called KELT-9b, it is one of the hottest planets ever discovered.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. likewise,
B. however,
C. therefore,
D. for example,
Question ID a819d8b6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: a819d8b6 2.2

In 1873, Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal observed that brain fibers have distinct boundaries with clear
end points, a finding that went against earlier assumptions about the brain. ______ scientists had assumed that
the brain was a continuous web of fused fibers, not a vast network of distinct, individual cells.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. However,
B. Previously,
C. As a result,
D. Likewise,
Question ID 326017ce
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 326017ce 2.3

For years, biologists have experimented with using grime-eating bacteria rather than harsh chemicals to clean
artworks, and results have been impressive overall. ______ 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?
A. However,
B. In many cases,
C. As a result,
D. Additionally,
Question ID 221ecf0f
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 221ecf0f 2.4

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, ______ 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?
A. that is,
B. granted,
C. similarly,
D. by contrast,
Question ID 97e2e364
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 97e2e364 2.5

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. ______ those who adopted its style are often
referred to as Okot School poets.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. Nevertheless,
B. Fittingly,
C. By comparison,
D. Instead,
Question ID e3edc138
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: e3edc138 3.1

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,
Question ID 00221c00
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 00221c00 3.2

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,
Question ID 8e9677e6
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 8e9677e6 3.3

In 2009, the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles hosted a special exhibition, Sueños/Yume, showcasing the
works of local sculptor Dora de Larios. As suggested by the show’s title (sueños and yume mean “dreams” in
Spanish and Japanese, respectively), de Larios’s art reflects a mix of cultural influences. ______ her work is
grounded in the artistic traditions of both Mexico and Japan.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
A. In addition,
B. In contrast,
C. Specifically,
D. Therefore,
Question ID 6e0c60da
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 6e0c60da 3.4

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,
Question ID 2df7b582
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Transitions

ID: 2df7b582 3.5

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,
Question ID e2693197
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: e2693197 1.1

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?
A. In Assertion of Will, the figures’ clothing is made of fabric pieces stitched to the painting’s canvas.
B. The exhibition Oracles of the Pink Universe featured artworks by artist Simphiwe Ndzube.
C. Depicting three standing, clothed figures, Assertion of Will is a painting by Simphiwe Ndzube.
D. Simphiwe Ndzube’s Assertion of Will was one of eight artworks exhibited in Oracles of the Pink Universe at the
Denver Museum of Art.
Question ID ca4ff52d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: ca4ff52d 1.2

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?
A. Dhaka muslin is a handmade fabric with an extremely fine weave, while sheeting muslin is machine made with
a coarse weave.
B. Dhaka muslin and sheeting muslin are two different types of woven cotton fabrics.
C. Muslins can be used in a variety of ways, from making luxury clothing to upholstering furniture and creating
backdrops for theater sets.
D. Sheeting muslin is machine made, has a coarse weave, and is used for furniture and theater sets.
Question ID 296801d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 296801d2 1.3

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?
A. 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.
B. Portuguese mariners may not have been the first humans to populate the Azores.
C. In their 2015 study, the researchers found a genetic connection between house mice in the Azores and those
in Scandinavia.
D. 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.
Question ID a3204ab0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: a3204ab0 1.4

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?
A. Gray wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone, a national park in the northwest United States, in 1995.
B. As of 1995, there were gray wolves living in Yellowstone, a national park in the northwest United States.
C. The carrying capacity of an environment, such as Yellowstone, describes the maximum number of species that
the environment can sustain over time.
D. Yellowstone is a national park that has roughly 100 gray wolves living in it.
Question ID 00460c13
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 00460c13 1.5

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?
A. My Ántonia is set in Nebraska, where Cather grew up.
B. Cather, author of My Ántonia, described the experiences of immigrants in her novels.
C. Among Cather’s best-known novels are O Pioneers! (1913) and My Ántonia (1918).
D. Cather attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and set some of her novels in Nebraska.
Question ID b46e0c8a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: b46e0c8a 2.1

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?
A. 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.
B. An analysis of eDNA can detect the presence of invasive species that are difficult to observe, such as
constrictor snakes.
C. Researchers found Burmese python eDNA, or environmental DNA, in water samples; eDNA is the DNA in
released cellular materials, such as shed skin cells.
D. 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.
Question ID aa7e10d0
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: aa7e10d0 2.2

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. A study led by Arelee Estefanía Muñoz-Hernández identified a total of 74 Orchidaceae species in the
temperate forests of Oaxaca, Mexico.
B. There are orchids in many environments, but there are 74 Orchidaceae species in Oaxaca, Mexico.
C. Oaxaca, Mexico, is home to temperate forests containing 74 Orchidaceae species.
D. 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.
Question ID 84e108cf
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 84e108cf 2.3

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?
A. Researcher Jianbo Tang and his colleagues created a platinum catalyst that combines platinum, a rare and
expensive metal, with liquid gallium.
B. Like other platinum catalysts, the new platinum catalyst requires a particular amount of the metal to be
effective.
C. 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.
D. While still highly effective, the new platinum catalyst requires far less of the rare and expensive metal than do
other platinum catalysts.
Question ID 883493d5
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 883493d5 2.4

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Allan Houser was a Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache sculptor, illustrator, and painter.
Many of his sculptures featured Native American figures.
He depicted this subject matter using abstract, modernist forms, developing a distinctive style that
influenced many other artists.
His well-known sculpture Sacred Rain Arrow was pictured on the State of Oklahoma license plate.
The student wants to describe the distinctive style of Houser’s sculptures. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
A. A sculptor, illustrator, and painter, Houser developed a distinctive style for portraying Native American figures.
B. Houser’s sculptures employ abstract, modernist forms to depict Native American figures.
C. Many other artists have been influenced by the style of Houser’s sculptures.
D. The sculpture Sacred Rain Arrow is a well-known example of Houser’s style.
Question ID 6249b173
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 6249b173 2.5

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?
A. Macaques in the study called out to and gestured more frequently at humans holding food than at empty-
handed humans.
B. In 2018, researchers who had observed macaques in India’s Bandipur National Park calling out to and
gesturing at humans designed a study.
C. The researchers hoped to find out if the macaques were intentionally communicating to try to persuade
humans to share their food.
D. The researchers studied how macaques behaved around both humans holding food and empty-handed
humans.
Question ID afec1a70
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: afec1a70 3.1

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?
A. Bhosale’s team wanted to better understand the mechanics behind bird nests’ uniquely flexible yet cohesive
structural properties.
B. The researchers used laboratory models that simulated the arrangement of flexible sticks and analyzed the
points where sticks touched one another.
C. After analyzing the points where sticks touched, the researchers found that the structures became stiffer
when pressure was applied.
D. As analyzed by Bhosale’s team, bird nests are uniquely flexible yet cohesive engineered structures.
Question ID 16631d34
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 16631d34 3.2

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.
B. 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.
C. 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.
D. The MSD’s descriptive tags are reliable predictors of a song’s popularity, as the traits they describe are fixed.
Question ID 6c9df5d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 6c9df5d1 3.3

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?
A. Although both are powerful works of literature that contributed to new legislation, Equiano’s book is an
autobiography, while Sinclair’s is fictional.
B. They may have written about different topics, but Equiano and Sinclair both influenced readers.
C. 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.
D. 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).
Question ID 64e88c58
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: 64e88c58 3.4

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?
A. 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.”
B. In 1971, Oliveros created Sonic Meditations, a series of meditations that consist of instructions for participants
to make, imagine, listen to, or remember sounds.
C. “Walk so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears” is one example of the instructions found in
Oliveros’s Sonic Meditations.
D. While both meditations consist of instructions, Meditation XVIII instructs participants to “listen,” whereas
Meditation V instructs participants to “walk.”
Question ID af88c47a
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical

Synthesis

ID: af88c47a 3.5

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?
A. In 2012, director and visual effects artist Freddie Wong launched a new action-comedy web series: Video
Game High School.
B. 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.
C. Wong, cocreator of the YouTube channel RocketJump, would go on to see his web series be nominated for a
Producers Guild Award.
D. In 2012, Video Game High School premiered on RocketJump; it would later be nominated for an award.