SAT Cross-Text Connections
Compare two short texts on the same topic and predict how one author would respond to the other.
Also known as: paired texts, Text 1 and Text 2 questions.
Key ideas
- Find each text's main claim first.
- Most responses are partial agreement, disagreement, or a qualification ("true, but only under these conditions").
- The correct answer is supported by something actually said in Text 2.
Two texts, one relationship
Write a one-line summary of each text. Then decide the relationship: does Text 2 support, challenge, qualify (agree with limits) or explain something in Text 1?
Answering
Questions usually ask how one author would respond to a specific claim in the other text. Find that claim, then look for the sentence in the other text that speaks to it. Avoid answers that are more extreme than the text.
Worked examples
Example 1 · A qualification
Text 1: Electric scooters are a low-emission way to travel short distances. Text 2: Shared scooters often wear out within months, and the energy used to make and collect them can offset much of their benefit.
- Step 1.Text 2 doesn't deny scooters are clean to ride; it adds hidden emissions.
Answer: Text 2's author would say Text 1 overlooks emissions from making and maintaining scooters.
Example 2 · Weak evidence
Text 1: Eating breakfast improves concentration. Text 2: A review found the effect small and inconsistent.
- Step 1.Text 2 questions the strength of the evidence.
Answer: The evidence for Text 1's claim is weaker than suggested.
Common mistakes
- Choosing an answer about Text 1 alone.
- Picking total disagreement when Text 2 only adds a limitation.
- Inventing a position neither text states.
Try it yourself
Original practice questions. Your answer is checked instantly.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the nutritionists' recommendation in Text 1?
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the claim in Text 1 that scooters are low-emission?