Question ID c34d6bff

Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: c34d6bff
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
African American women played prominent roles in the Civil Rights Movement, including at the famous 1963 March
on Washington.
Civil rights activist Anna Hedgeman, one of the march’s organizers, was a political adviser who had worked for
President Truman.
Civil rights activist Daisy Bates was a well-known journalist and advocate for school desegregation.
Hedgeman worked behind the scenes to make sure a woman was included in the lineup of speakers at the march.
Bates was the sole woman to speak, delivering a brief but memorable address to the cheering crowd.

The student wants to compare the two women’s contributions to the March on Washington. Which choice most effectively
uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

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

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

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

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

ID: c34d6bff Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID db3ad406
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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

Question ID 973632d2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 973632d2
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
In North America, woodlands have expanded into areas that were once grasslands.
Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell of Wichita State University investigated whether woodland expansion is related
to changes in climate.
Rogers and Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a site that was not wooded in the past and indexed the
age of the trees with historical climate data to see if tree populations and climate were correlated.
Tree population growth was associated with dry intervals.
Droughts may have played a role in woodland expansion.

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

A. Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell, researchers at Wichita State University, wanted to know if woodland expansion is
related to changes in climate.

B. Thanks to the work done by Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell, we now know that droughts may have played a role in
woodland expansion.

C. Wichita State University researchers have determined that tree population growth was associated with dry intervals.

D. Thomas Rogers and F. Leland Russell analyzed core samples from oak trees on a site that was not wooded in the past,
indexing the age of the trees with historical climate data.

ID: 973632d2 Answer

Correct Answer: A

Rationale

Choice A is the best answer. The sentence effectively emphasizes the aim, or goal, of the research study (in other words,
what the researchers hoped to learn from the study): Rogers and Russell wanted to know if woodland expansion is related to
changes in climate.

Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the researchers’ findings; it doesn’t emphasize the aim of the study. Choice
C is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the results of the study; it doesn’t emphasize the aim. Choice D is incorrect. The
sentence emphasizes the methodology of the study; it doesn’t emphasize the aim.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID afec1a70
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

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.

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 16631d34
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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.

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.

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 6c9df5d1
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

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).

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 64e88c58
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

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.”

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 Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

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.

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 5fa51c86
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 5fa51c86
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia.
The city’s population is 907,802.
Ulaanbaatar contains 31.98 percent of Mongolia’s population.
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam.
The city’s population is 7,781,631.
Hanoi contains 8.14 percent of Vietnam’s population.

The student wants to emphasize the relative sizes of the two capitals’ populations. Which choice most effectively uses
information from the given sentences to emphasize the relative sizes of the two capitals’ populations?

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

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

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

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

ID: 5fa51c86 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

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

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

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID fdd9a360
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

A. Describing trees as “super-cooperators,” Simard first suggested that trees can exchange resources with one another in
1997.

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

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

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

ID: fdd9a360 Answer

Correct Answer: 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 10cd0327
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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.

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

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

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 1773fa73
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 1773fa73
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
A commodity chain is the series of links connecting the production and purchase of a commodity on the world
market.
Chinese American anthropologist Anna Tsing studies the contemporary commodity chain of matsutake mushrooms.
At one end of the matsutake chain are mushroom pickers in Oregon.
At the other end are wealthy consumers who buy the costly matsutake in Japan.
According to Tsing, “Japanese traders began importing matsutake in the 1980s, when the scarcity of matsutake in
Japan first became clear.”

The student wants to provide an overview of the matsutake commodity chain. Which choice most effectively uses relevant
information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. The contemporary matsutake commodity chain has its origins in the 1980s when, according to Tsing, “the scarcity of
matsutake in Japan first became clear.”

B. Commodity chains include the linked production and purchase of commodities, such as the matsutake mushroom, on
the world market.

C. Decades after the Japanese import of matsutake began, a commodity chain now links matsutake pickers in Oregon with
wealthy consumers of the costly mushrooms in Japan.

D. Wealthy consumers who buy the costly mushrooms in Japan are at one end of the matsutake commodity chain.

ID: 1773fa73 Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence provides an overview of the matsutake commodity chain, connecting the Oregon
mushroom pickers at one end to the Japanese consumers at the other.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence mentions the matsutake commodity chain, it focuses only on its origins; it does not
provide an overview. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence provides a general definition of commodity chains, not an overview
of the matsutake chain. Choice D is incorrect. While the sentence mentions the matsutake commodity chain, it focuses only
on one end of the chain (the consumers); it does not provide an overview.

Question Difficulty: Hard

Question ID 5b8b69a2
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

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

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

C. Humans may have first arrived in the Americas by sea, traveling between Pacific Ocean islands and coastlines and
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 5222ffab
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

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

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

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

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

ID: 5222ffab Answer

Correct Answer: 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 3dcc7140
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

A. The definition of an island as any piece of land surrounded by water is supported by some nissologists, scientists who
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 622a351d
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical 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?

A. During the Alta conflict, Sámi activists staged protests to block the construction of a dam on the Alta River in Norway
that would disrupt local fishing and reindeer herding.

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

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

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

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 96a86bce
Assessment Test Domain Skill Difficulty

SAT Reading and Writing Expression of Ideas Rhetorical Synthesis

ID: 96a86bce
While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
Cambodia’s Angkor Wat was built in the 1100s to honor the Hindu god Vishnu.
It has been a Buddhist temple since the sixteenth century.
Decorrelation stretch analysis is a novel digital imaging technique that enhances the contrast between colors in a
photograph.
Archaeologist Noel Hidalgo Tan applied decorrelation stretch analysis to photographs he had taken of Angkor Wat’s
plaster walls.
Tan’s analysis revealed hundreds of images unknown to researchers.

The student wants to present Tan’s research to an audience unfamiliar with Angkor Wat. Which choice most effectively uses
relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A. Tan photographed Angkor Wat’s plaster walls and then applied decorrelation stretch analysis to the photographs.

B. Decorrelation stretch analysis is a novel digital imaging technique that Tan used to enhance the contrast between colors
in a photograph.

C. Using a novel digital imaging technique, Tan revealed hundreds of images hidden on the walls of Angkor Wat, a
Cambodian temple.

D. Built to honor a Hindu god before becoming a Buddhist temple, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat concealed hundreds of images
on its plaster walls.

ID: 96a86bce Answer

Correct Answer: C

Rationale

Choice C is the best answer. The sentence effectively presents Tan’s research to an audience unfamiliar with Angkor Wat,
explaining the results of the research and identifying Angkor Wat as a temple in Cambodia.

Choice A is incorrect. While the sentence presents Tan’s research, it fails to explain what Angkor Wat is for an audience
unfamiliar with the temple. Choice B is incorrect. The sentence emphasizes the role that decorrelation stretch analysis
played in Tan’s research; it doesn’t present the research, which would require specifying where it was conducted. Choice D is
incorrect. While the sentence explains what Angkor Wat is, it fails to present Tan’s research.

Question Difficulty: Hard