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SAT Reading & Writing: Cross-Text Connections (Drill 3)

Drill 3 · Reading & Writing · Cross-Text Connections

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About This Drill

SAT Reading & Writing: Cross-Text Connections (Drill 3) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Cross-Text Connections. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.

SAT Cross-Text Connections questions require you to evaluate how one author's evidence or argument relates to another's, considering points of agreement, tension, and where one passage limits or qualifies the claims made in the other.

Questions & Explanations

Text 1
Studies of bilingual individuals have consistently shown that managing two languages strengthens executive function, the set of cognitive skills that includes attention control, task-switching, and working memory. This so-called bilingual advantage has been observed across age groups, from young children to older adults, leading many researchers to conclude that bilingualism confers broad, lasting cognitive benefits that extend well beyond language processing.
Text 2
While acknowledging that some studies have found enhanced executive function among bilingual individuals, psychologist Angela de Bruin and colleagues have argued that the evidence is less clear-cut than commonly presented. Their analysis of published research revealed a significant publication bias: studies finding a bilingual advantage were far more likely to be published than studies finding no difference. When unpublished studies were included, the advantage either shrank considerably or was no longer statistically significant.

Question 1. Based on the texts, how would de Bruin and colleagues (Text 2) most likely respond to the conclusion presented in Text 1?

  • A) By suggesting that the evidence for a broad bilingual cognitive advantage may be inflated by selective publication of favorable results ✓
  • B) By conceding that the bilingual advantage in executive function is well established and unlikely to be overturned
  • C) By arguing that bilingualism actually harms cognitive development in young children
  • D) By asserting that executive function cannot be accurately measured in laboratory settings

Explanation: De Bruin's key finding is publication bias: positive results were published more often than null results, which inflates the apparent size of the bilingual advantage. This doesn't completely reject the possibility of an advantage but suggests the conclusion in Text 1 may be overstated. Choice B contradicts Text 2's argument. Choice C goes far beyond what Text 2 claims. Choice D is incorrect because Text 2 doesn't question the measurement methods.

Text 1
In an effort to reduce single-use plastic waste, many cities have implemented bans on plastic bags, straws, and food containers. Early reports from cities like San Francisco and Seattle have shown significant reductions in plastic litter following these bans. Environmental advocates have pointed to these results as evidence that single-use plastic bans are among the most effective tools available for reducing ocean pollution.
Text 2
The reductions in visible plastic litter following single-use bans are encouraging but may paint an incomplete picture of their environmental impact. Researchers at the University of Georgia have found that in cities with plastic bag bans, sales of small garbage bags, which are thicker and require more plastic to manufacture, increased by 30 percent, partially offsetting the reduction in plastic waste. Many consumers switched to reusable bags but replaced them so frequently that the overall material consumption was higher than before the ban.

Question 2. Which choice best describes how Text 1 and Text 2 relate to each other?

  • A) Text 1 presents evidence supporting a policy, whereas Text 2 introduces findings that complicate the assessment of that policy's effectiveness. ✓
  • B) Text 1 and Text 2 both argue that single-use plastic bans should be repealed, but for different reasons.
  • C) Text 1 describes a problem, whereas Text 2 proposes a solution to that problem.
  • D) Text 1 focuses on the economic effects of plastic bans, whereas Text 2 focuses on their environmental effects.

Explanation: Text 1 presents plastic bans as effective tools against ocean pollution, citing litter reductions. Text 2 then complicates this assessment with evidence that substitute products may offset the benefits. Neither text calls for repeal; Text 2 simply adds nuance. Choice B is incorrect because neither text advocates repeal. Choice C is incorrect because both texts discuss the same policy. Choice D reverses the focus; Text 1 is about environmental effects, not economics.

Text 1
The alignment of stone structures at Nabta Playa in southern Egypt with the summer solstice has led archaeoastronomer Thomas Brophy to argue that the site functioned as an advanced astronomical observatory around 7,000 years ago. Brophy contends that the stone placements encode precise information about the positions of stars in the constellation Orion, suggesting that the site's builders possessed advanced knowledge of celestial mechanics.
Text 2
While the stones at Nabta Playa are certainly arranged in deliberate patterns, attributing detailed star-mapping knowledge to their builders requires caution. The stones are large and irregularly shaped, making precise alignment measurements difficult, and small adjustments in where one assumes the center of each stone to be can produce dramatically different astronomical interpretations. Without additional evidence, such as inscriptions or artifacts related to astronomical observation, the claim that the arrangements encode specific stellar information remains speculative.

Question 3. Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to Brophy's argument in Text 1?

  • A) By asserting that the argument relies on alignment interpretations that are inherently imprecise and lack corroborating evidence ✓
  • B) By suggesting that the structures at Nabta Playa were built much more recently than 7,000 years ago
  • C) By arguing that the builders of Nabta Playa had no knowledge of astronomy whatsoever
  • D) By disputing the idea that the stone structures are deliberately arranged rather than naturally occurring formations, according to Text 2's reasoning

Explanation: Text 2 raises two specific concerns: (1) the irregular stones make precise alignment measurements unreliable, and (2) there is no corroborating evidence like inscriptions or artifacts. This challenges Brophy's claim without denying that the stones are deliberate. Choice B is incorrect because Text 2 doesn't question the dating. Choice C overstates Text 2's position; it argues for caution, not total dismissal. Choice D is incorrect because Text 2 acknowledges the arrangements are deliberate.

Text 1
Science fiction author Octavia Butler is frequently praised for the way her novels address issues of race, power, and social hierarchy. Critics often emphasize the political dimensions of her work, reading novels like Kindred and Parable of the Sower primarily as allegories for racial oppression and systemic inequality. This political interpretation has become so dominant that it shapes how Butler's work is taught in most university courses.
Text 2
While the political themes in Octavia Butler's novels are undeniable, focusing exclusively on these elements risks overlooking her remarkable contributions to the craft of science fiction itself. Butler's intricate world-building, her innovative handling of nonlinear timelines, and her complex approach to biological and ecological systems place her among the genre's most technically accomplished writers. Reducing her work to political allegory diminishes its literary scope.

Question 4. Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the dominant critical approach described in Text 1?

  • A) By arguing that the political interpretation, while valid, is too narrow and neglects Butler's achievements as a science fiction writer ✓
  • B) By rejecting the idea that Butler's novels contain any significant political themes
  • C) By suggesting that university courses should stop teaching Butler's novels altogether
  • D) By asserting that Butler's world-building is less innovative than critics in Text 1 have claimed

Explanation: Text 2 explicitly states that the political themes are "undeniable" but argues that exclusive focus on them overlooks Butler's technical craft. The response acknowledges validity but calls for a broader critical lens. Choice B is incorrect because Text 2 agrees the political themes exist. Choice C is incorrect because Text 2 wants broader engagement with the work, not its removal. Choice D is incorrect because critics in Text 1 focus on politics, not world-building.

Text 1
As coral reefs around the world succumb to rising ocean temperatures, marine ecologists have grown increasingly pessimistic about the future of reef-dependent species. A comprehensive review of reef health data published in 2023 concluded that if current warming trends continue, most tropical coral reefs will experience severe bleaching annually by 2040, leading to widespread ecosystem collapse and the extinction of species that depend on reefs for habitat and food.
Text 2
Research by marine biologist Madeleine van Oppen and colleagues suggests that some corals may be more resilient than previously thought. Van Oppen's team has identified coral populations in naturally warm, highly variable environments, such as shallow tidal pools and volcanic seeps, that have evolved heat-tolerant traits. By crossbreeding heat-tolerant corals with vulnerable reef species, the researchers have produced offspring that survive temperatures several degrees higher than their parents could withstand, raising the possibility that assisted evolution could help some reefs persist.

Question 5. Based on the texts, how would van Oppen and colleagues (Text 2) most likely respond to the conclusion presented in Text 1?

  • A) By noting that the conclusion may underestimate the capacity of some coral species to adapt, either naturally or through human-assisted breeding programs ✓
  • B) By disputing the evidence that ocean temperatures are rising at the rates described
  • C) By suggesting that reef-dependent species can easily migrate to cooler waters as reefs decline
  • D) By arguing that coral bleaching does not actually harm the long-term health of reef ecosystems

Explanation: Van Oppen's research on heat-tolerant corals and assisted evolution suggests that some reefs may persist despite warming, a possibility the pessimistic conclusion in Text 1 doesn't account for. Like the Svalbard polar bears in the training material, this is a case where Text 2 provides evidence of adaptation that complicates Text 1's dire prediction. Choice B is incorrect because Text 2 doesn't question warming data. Choice C is incorrect because Text 2 doesn't discuss species migration. Choice D is incorrect because Text 2 doesn't downplay bleaching; it offers a potential countermeasure.