SAT Reading & Writing: Command of Evidence (Drill 2)

Question 1. Which quotation from My Ántonia most effectively illustrates the claim?

• A) "The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains."
• B) "I felt erased, blotted out. I did not say my prayers that night: here, I felt, what would be would be." ✓
• C) "Ántonia had opinions about everything, and she was soon able to make them known."
• D) "On some upland farm, a plough had been left standing in the field."

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer because the quotation directly captures both elements of the claim. 'I felt erased, blotted out' conveys being overwhelmed by the emptiness of the landscape, while 'what would be would be' suggests a surrender to something larger than oneself, a sense of liberation through acceptance. Together these express the duality of freedom and overwhelm the claim describes. Choice A is incorrect because it offers a visual description of the prairie's color without addressing Jim's emotional response. Choice C is incorrect because it describes Ántonia's personality, not Jim's reaction to the landscape. Choice D is incorrect because it is a simple observation about a farm scene with no emotional content.

Question 2. Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the statement?

• A) increased steadily from 130 minutes for first-year students to 210 minutes for fourth-year students.
• B) decreased steadily from 210 minutes for first-year students to 130 minutes for fourth-year students. ✓
• C) remained roughly constant across all four years at approximately 170 minutes per day.
• D) was lowest for second-year students at 185 minutes and highest for third-year students at 160 minutes.

Explanation: Choice B is the best answer because the table shows class time declining from 210 (first-year) to 185 (second-year) to 160 (third-year) to 130 (fourth-year), a steady decrease that this choice accurately describes. Choice A is incorrect because it reverses the direction: class time decreased, not increased. Choice C is incorrect because the data shows a clear downward trend, not a constant value. Choice D is incorrect because it misidentifies which values are highest and lowest and confuses the direction of the figures.

Question 3. Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken Mensah's claim?

• A) Young people who attended griot performances also tended to spend more time with elderly family members who shared historical narratives at home. ✓
• B) Griots in some neighboring countries perform primarily as musicians and rarely include historical narratives in their performances, according to the passage.
• C) The villages Mensah studied had fewer schools than villages in urban areas of Senegal.
• D) Young people in these communities reported finding griot performances more entertaining than educational.

Explanation: Choice A is the best answer because Mensah claims griot performances are the primary means of acquiring historical knowledge. If the young people who attended performances also spent more time with elderly relatives who shared history at home, there is a plausible alternative explanation: their higher scores could result from family storytelling rather than (or in addition to) griot performances. This directly challenges the claim that griot performances are the primary source. Choice B is incorrect because practices in other countries don't address what happens in the Senegalese villages Mensah studied. Choice C is incorrect because the number of schools doesn't provide an alternative explanation for the specific correlation Mensah observed. Choice D is incorrect because how young people perceive the performances doesn't address whether griot performances are the primary source of their historical knowledge.

Question 4. Which choice best describes data from the table that support Dasgupta's assertion?

• A) The compost plus fungi treatment produced the tallest plants at week 4 at 17.9 cm and the highest fruit yield at 390 grams.
• B) The synthetic fertilizer treatment produced taller plants at week 4 than all other treatments, at 24.1 cm, and a fruit yield of 345 grams.
• C) The compost plus fungi treatment produced the greatest height at week 8 (48.6 cm), the highest fruit yield (390 grams), and the largest root mass (12.3 grams) of any treatment. ✓
• D) The control group had the lowest values across all categories, with a height of 28.4 cm at week 8 and a root mass of 5.8 grams.

Explanation: Choice C is the best answer because Dasgupta's assertion is that the compost plus fungi treatment produced the healthiest plants overall, and she defines overall health as including height, fruit production, and root development. Choice C cites data across all three relevant metrics, height at week 8 (48.6 cm, highest), fruit yield (390 g, highest), and root mass (12.3 g, highest), providing comprehensive support for the assertion. Choice A is incorrect because the compost plus fungi treatment did not produce the tallest plants at week 4 (synthetic fertilizer was taller at 24.1 cm), and it only addresses two metrics. Choice B is incorrect because it describes the synthetic fertilizer treatment, not the compost plus fungi treatment. Choice D is incorrect because data about the control group doesn't directly support Dasgupta's specific claim about the compost plus fungi treatment.

Question 5. Which finding, if true, would most directly support Osei's claim?

• A) The English-origin loanwords most frequently used by younger Twi speakers were predominantly terms related to technology and entertainment that had no traditional Twi equivalents.
• B) Older Twi speakers reported using more French-origin loanwords than younger speakers did.
• C) Younger Twi speakers who reported high daily engagement with English-language social media and streaming used nearly three times as many English loanwords as younger speakers with little media exposure. ✓
• D) Ghana's education system has taught English as a subject in public schools for over five decades.

Explanation: Choice C is the best answer because Osei's claim specifically attributes the generational difference to English-language media (social media and streaming). Finding that younger speakers with high media engagement use far more loanwords than younger speakers with low engagement directly links media consumption to loanword usage, supporting Osei's proposed mechanism. Choice A is incorrect because while it shows the loanwords relate to technology and entertainment, it doesn't establish that media exposure is the cause. Choice B is incorrect because French-origin loanword usage among older speakers has no bearing on whether English-language media drives loanword adoption in younger speakers. Choice D is incorrect because English-language education has existed for decades and would affect both age groups, so it can't explain the generational difference Osei observed.