betterMateusz/SAT_Writting_Reading_Assessment_Question_Bank huggingface dataset:
“How lifelike are they?” Many computer animators prioritize this question as they strive to create ever more realistic
environments and lighting. Generally, while characters in computer-animated ﬁlms appear highly exaggerated, environments
and lighting are carefully engineered to mimic reality. But some animators, such as Pixar’s Sanjay Patel, are focused on a
different question. Rather than asking ﬁrst whether the environments and lighting they’re creating are convincingly lifelike,
Patel and others are asking whether these elements reﬂect their ﬁlms’ unique stories.

Question: Which choice best describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a whole?
A) It reﬂects a primary goal that many computer animators have for certain components of the animations they produce.
B) It represents a concern of computer animators who are more interested in creating unique backgrounds and lighting
effects than realistic ones.
C) It conveys the uncertainty among many computer animators about how to create realistic animations using current
technology.
D) It illustrates a reaction that audiences typically have to the appearance of characters created by computer animators.

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined question in the text as a
whole. The text begins with the underlined question, “How lifelike are they?” The text then explains that many computer
animators pose this question about the environments and lighting that they create for animated ﬁlms, striving for realistic
animation of those components even if the characters themselves aren’t portrayed in realistic terms. The focus of the text
then shifts to describe how some animators strive to create environments and lighting that reﬂect the ﬁlm’s unique stories
rather than making them appear realistic. Therefore, the function of the underlined question is to reﬂect a primary goal that
many computer animators have for certain components of the animations they produce.
Choice B is incorrect because, as the text makes clear, the underlined question is one posed by computer animators who
wish to create realistic backgrounds and lighting effects, not by those who, instead, wish to create effects that reﬂect ﬁlms’
unique stories and aren’t necessarily realistic; this latter group of animators is discussed later in the text. Choice C is
incorrect. As the text explains, many computer animators strive for realistic environments and lighting, while others do not;
this difference of approach relates to whether these components should be realistic, not to how realism can be achieved
using current technology, and the text never suggests that animators are uncertain how to achieve it. Choice D is incorrect
because the underlined question pertains to the perspective of computer animators, not the audience, and the text never
considers audience’s reactions to characters in animated ﬁlms.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
Known for her massive photorealistic paintings of African American ﬁgures ﬂoating or swimming in pools, Calida Garcia
______ was the logical choice to design the book cover for Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Water Dancer, a novel about an African
American man who can travel great distances through water.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) Rawles—
B) Rawles:
C) Rawles,
D) Rawles

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a subject and a verb. When, as in this case,
a subject (“Calida Garcia Rawles”) is immediately followed by a verb (“was”), no punctuation is needed.
Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice B is incorrect because no
punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice C is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between
the subject and the verb.

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
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.

Question: 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

Answer: C

Rationale: Choice C is the best answer. A comma is the appropriate way to link the dependent clause “While...not” and the independent
clause that follows.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. “While...not” is a dependent clause, which must be
separated from the independent clause that follows with some sort of punctuation. Choice B is incorrect. This choice
creates a sentence fragment. “While one requires oxygen and one does not” isn’t an independent clause, so it can’t stand
alone as a complete sentence. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a punctuation error. “While one requires oxygen and
one does not” isn’t an independent clause, so it can’t be linked to the clause that follows with a semicolon.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
Physicist Joseph Weber performed ______ work in gravitational wave research in the 1960s and 1970s, conducting key
experiments that scientists later used as the basis for their own investigations that led to the ﬁrst veriﬁed detection of a
gravitational wave in 2015.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) foundational
B) supplementary
C) repetitive
D) ineffective

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of physicist Joseph Webster’s
research on gravitational waves. In this context “foundational” means the basis on which something else develops. The text
indicates that Webster’s experiments in the 1960s and 1970s were earlier than, and “key” to, the work of later scientists in
the ﬁeld; thus, Webster’s work was foundational to the later scientists’ experiments and the eventual detection of a
gravitational wave in 2015.  
Choice B is incorrect because the text does not suggest that Webster’s work was supplementary, or an additional element of
an existing, larger project, but rather it was “the basis for” later experiments. Choice C is incorrect because the text does not
assert that Webster’s work was repetitive, or involved doing something the same way many times. Rather, the text indicates
that Webster’s work formed the basis for later investigations in the ﬁeld of gravitational wave research.  Choice D is incorrect
because the text does not state that Webster’s work was ineffective, or failed to produce the desired outcome. Rather, the
text strongly implies that Webster’s work was productive and extremely important to later work in the ﬁeld of gravitational
wave research.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
Business researcher Melanie Brucks and colleagues found that remote video conference meetings may be less conducive to
brainstorming than in-person meetings are. The researchers suspect that video meeting participants are focused on staring
at the speaker on the screen and don’t allow their eyes or mind to wander as much, which may ultimately ______ creativity.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) recommend
B) criticize
C) impede
D) construct

Answer: C

Rationale: Choice C is the best answer. The ﬁrst sentence tells us that video meetings are “less conducive to” (meaning less good for)
brainstorming. This suggests that the video meeting participants’ focus is bad for their creativity. “Impede” means “delay” or
“prevent,” which works perfectly in this context.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice is too positive to ﬁt the context. The ﬁrst sentence tells us that video meetings are “less
conducive to” (meaning less good for) brainstorming. This suggests that the video meeting participants’ focus is bad for
their creativity. Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t make sense. The participants’ intense focus on the screen is the
subject of the missing verb. It wouldn’t make sense to say that their over-focusing “criticizes” their creativity. Choice D is
incorrect. “Construct” means “build” or “make,” which is too positive to ﬁt the context. The ﬁrst sentence tells us that video
meetings are “less conducive to” (meaning less good for) brainstorming. This suggests that the video meeting participants’
focus is bad for their creativity.

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
Industrial activity is often assumed to be a threat to wildlife, but that isn’t always so. Consider the silver-studded blue
butterﬂy (Plebejus argus): as forest growth has reduced grasslands in northern Germany, many of these butterﬂies have left
meadow habitats and are now thriving in active limestone quarries. In a survey of multiple active quarries and patches of
maintained grassland, an ecologist found silver-studded blue butterﬂies in 100% of the quarries but only 57% of the
grassland patches. Moreover, butterﬂy populations in the quarries were four times larger than those in the meadows.

Question: Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
A) It challenges a common assumption about the species under investigation in the research referred to in the text.
B) It introduces discussion of a speciﬁc example that supports the general claim made in the previous sentence.
C) It suggests that a certain species should be included in additional studies like the one mentioned later in the text.
D) It provides a deﬁnition for an unfamiliar term that is central to the main argument in the text.

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes how the underlined portion functions in the text as a
whole. The ﬁrst sentence presents the general claim that industrial activity is not always a threat to wildlife. The underlined
portion of the sentence that follows suggests that the silver-studded blue butterﬂy is an example of wildlife thriving in areas
of industrial activity: active limestone quarries. Thus, the function of the underlined portion is to introduce a speciﬁc example
in support of the general claim in the previous sentence.
Choice A is incorrect. Although the ﬁrst sentence indicates that “industrial activity is often assumed” to harm wildlife, in the
case of the silver-studded blue butterﬂy the text mentions neither an assumption about this species nor any challenge to
such an assumption. Choice C is incorrect because the text mentions only one study: the “survey.” Additional studies are not
mentioned in the text. Choice D is incorrect because neither the underlined portion nor any other portion of the text provides
a deﬁnition for any of the terms used in the text’s argument.

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
A model created by biologist Luis Valente predicts that the rate of speciation—the rate at which new species form—on an
isolated island located approximately 5,000 kilometers from the nearest mainland ______ triple the rate of speciation on an
island only 500 kilometers from the mainland.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) being
B) to be
C) to have been
D) will be

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is ﬁnite and nonﬁnite verb forms within a sentence. Relative
clauses, such as the one beginning with “that,” require a ﬁnite verb, a verb that can function as the main verb of a clause. This
choice correctly supplies the clause with the ﬁnite future tense verb “will be.” 
Choice A is incorrect because the nonﬁnite participle “being” doesn’t supply the clause with a ﬁnite verb. Choice B is
incorrect because the nonﬁnite to-inﬁnitive “to be” doesn’t supply the clause with a ﬁnite verb. Choice C is incorrect because
the nonﬁnite to-inﬁnitive “to have been” doesn’t supply the clause with a ﬁnite verb.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
In 2008 a complete set of ancient pessoi (glass game pieces) was uncovered from beneath a paving stone in modern-day
Israel. Due to their small size, pessoi were easily misplaced, making a whole set a rare ﬁnd. This has led some experts to
suggest that the set may have been buried intentionally; however, without clear evidence, archaeologists are left to ______
what happened.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) speculate about
B) dismiss
C) expand on
D) catalog

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer. "Speculate" means "to form a theory or guess without any clear evidence." This makes sense
because, due to the lack of "clear evidence," the archaeologists can only guess how the pessoi set might have come to be
there.
Choice B is incorrect. "Dismiss" can mean "send away" or "treat as unworthy of consideration." The text implies that the
archaeologists are trying to ﬁgure out the truth—they wouldn’t "dismiss" what really happened. Choice C is incorrect. "Expand
on" means "give more details about," but there aren’t any details to give. Without any "clear evidence," the archaeologists can’t
give any more details. Choice D is incorrect. "Catalog" means "carefully record" or "make a list of." However, there’s no "clear
evidence," so there’s no real information to "catalog."

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
According to statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the best way to predict the amount of time a nonperishable entity (such as
a building or a technology) will continue to exist is to examine how long it has survived so far. In this view, an item’s age is
the strongest ______ how much longer it will last.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) uncertainty about
B) indicator of
C) motivation for
D) criticism of

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer. “Indicator” means “something that shows or suggests,” which matches Taleb’s argument that an
item’s age can suggest how much longer it will last.
Choice A is incorrect. The passage tells us that examining an item’s age is the best way to predict how much longer it will
last. Therefore, according to Taleb’s theory, an item’s age should add more certainty about how much longer it will last.
Choice C is incorrect. A “motivation” is “a reason for doing.” Items don’t have feelings and motivations, so it wouldn’t make
sense to say that their age is a motivation for how much longer they will last. Choice D is incorrect. “Criticism” can mean
“describing faults or problems” or “an analysis of an artistic work.” Neither of these deﬁnitions makes sense here. An item’s
age can’t criticize how much longer it will last.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
With its towering, six-spired exterior of granitelike quartz monzonite, the Salt Lake Temple is one of the most instantly
recognizable structures in the state of Utah. However, many people do not know that ______ built over the course of forty
years, with construction beginning in 1853 and ending in 1893.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) it was
B) one was
C) they were
D) both were

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is pronoun-antecedent agreement. The singular pronoun "it" agrees
in number with the singular antecedent "the Salt Lake Temple."
Choice B is incorrect because the singular pronoun "one" is ambiguous in this context; the resulting sentence leaves unclear
whether there is only one Salt Lake temple or multiple. Choice C is incorrect because the plural pronoun "they" doesn’t agree
in number with the singular antecedent "the Salt Lake Temple." Choice D is incorrect because the plural pronoun "both"
doesn’t agree in number with the singular antecedent "the Salt Lake Temple."

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
Streams and rivers carry soil and rocks from one location to another. But there is another way for these geological materials
to move. Scientists call this process “aeolian transport.” In aeolian transport, winds move small particles of soil or rock over
potentially great distances. Geologist Melisa Diaz and her team studied dust in Antarctica to ﬁnd out if it was moved by
aeolian transport. They discovered that the dust matched geological material in Australia. Aeolian transport had carried it
from one continent to another, across thousands of miles of open ocean.

Question: Which choice best describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
A) It presents Melisa Diaz’s remarks about diﬃculties that her team encountered.
B) It introduces a scientiﬁc term that is used in the discussion that follows.
C) It emphasizes the surprising nature of the ﬁndings that are presented.
D) It explains the difference between two kinds of geological material.

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the underlined portion in the text as a
whole. The ﬁrst two sentences introduce the idea that soil and rocks can be moved from one location to another by
something other than rivers and streams. The underlined sentence then states that the term used by scientists to refer to
this process is “aeolian transport.” The discussion that follows explains what aeolian transport is (the movement of small
geological materials over potentially great distances by the wind) and describes an example of a study that found that dust
particles had been moved by aeolian transport from Australia to Antarctica. Thus, the underlined portion introduces a
scientiﬁc term that is used in the discussion that follows.
Choice A is incorrect because the underlined portion of the text doesn’t present any remarks from Melisa Diaz, nor does it
suggest that Diaz and her team encountered diﬃculties in their study. Instead, the phrase in quotation marks in the
underlined portion simply presents a term that is used by scientists to refer to a speciﬁc process discussed in the
text. Choice C is incorrect because nothing in either the underlined portion or the text as a whole suggests that the ﬁndings
of the study presented in the text were surprising or unexpected. In fact, the text suggests that Diaz and her team wanted to
see if aeolian transport could explain the appearance of certain geological materials in Antarctica, and their ﬁndings did
indeed conﬁrm the involvement of aeolian transport. Choice D is incorrect. Although the ﬁrst sentence of the text mentions
soil and rocks, which are two different kinds of geological material, the underlined portion doesn’t refer to these materials,
nor does it explain the difference between them. Rather, the underlined portion introduces the scientiﬁc term “aeolian
transport,” which is used in the discussion that follows.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
Midway through her 1968 jazz album A Monastic Trio, Alice Coltrane switches instruments, swapping the piano for the harp.
With the same ﬂuid style that Coltrane was famous for on piano, she ______ her ﬁngers across the harp strings and creates a
radiant sound.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) sweep
B) are sweeping
C) were sweeping
D) sweeps

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "sweeps" agrees in
number with the singular subject "she," which refers to Alice Coltrane.
Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "sweep" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she." Choice B is
incorrect because the plural verb "are sweeping" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she." Choice C is
incorrect because the plural verb "were sweeping" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "she."

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
The province of Xoconochco was situated on the Paciﬁc coast, hundreds of kilometers southeast of Tenochtitlan, the capital
of the Aztec Empire. Because Xoconochco’s location within the empire was so ______, cacao and other trade goods
produced there could reach the capital only after a long overland journey.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) unobtrusive
B) concealed
C) approximate
D) peripheral

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the location of the province of
Xoconochco within the Aztec Empire. As used in this context, “peripheral” means situated toward the outer bounds rather
than the center. The text indicates that Xoconochco was located on a coast, hundreds of kilometers away from the capital of
the Aztec Empire. The text also states that trade between the province and the capital required “a long overland journey.”
This context suggests that Xoconochco was situated toward an edge of the empire’s territory rather than near its center.
Choice A is incorrect because it wouldn’t make sense in context to refer to Xoconochco’s location within the Aztec Empire as
“unobtrusive,” or not blatant or undesirably prominent; it’s not clear how a province’s physical location would or wouldn’t be
blatant. Instead of focusing on how noticeable Xoconochco’s location was, the text emphasizes the province’s distance from
the capital of the empire, pointing out that because of this distance trade between the two required “a long overland journey.”
Choice B is incorrect because the text indicates that the province of Xoconochco was located on a coast far from the capital
of the Aztec Empire, not that it was “concealed,” or kept out of sight or hidden from view. Nothing in the text suggests that
Xoconochco was actually hidden such that people couldn’t see it, and being hidden wouldn’t necessarily result in trade
between the province and the capital requiring “a long overland journey.” Choice C is incorrect because to say that
Xoconochco’s location within the Aztec Empire was “approximate” would mean that the location either wasn’t precisely
correct or was close to some other location. Neither of these meanings would make sense in context because the text
indicates that Xoconochco’s location is known and that it was far from the empire’s capital, so there’s no reason to
characterize the location as either not precisely correct or close to another location.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
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.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) of:
B) of
C) of—
D) of,

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer. “Themes of childhood” is one noun phrase, with “themes of” implicitly carrying over to the other
items on the list (“themes of childhood, [themes of] womanhood, and [themes of] Chinese American identity”).  
Choice A is incorrect. This choice inappropriately breaks up the introduction of a list. Also, “In her book…themes of” is not an
independent clause, thanks to the dangling “of” at the end, so it can’t precede a colon. Choice C is incorrect. This choice
inappropriately breaks up the introduction of a list. Also, “In her book…themes of” is not an independent clause, thanks to the
dangling “of” at the end, so it can’t precede a single dash. Choice D is incorrect. This choice inappropriately breaks up the
introduction of a list. “Themes of” implicitly carries over to each item on the list (“themes of childhood, [themes of]
womanhood, and [themes of] Chinese American identity”), so we don’t want to use a comma to separate it.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
The following text is adapted from Susan Glaspell’s 1912 short story “‘Out There.’” An elderly shop owner is looking at a
picture that he recently acquired and hopes to sell.
It did seem that the picture failed to ﬁt in with the rest of the shop. A persuasive young fellow who claimed he was closing
out his stock let the old man have it for what he called a song. It was only a little out-of-the-way store which subsisted
chieﬂy on the framing of pictures. The old man looked around at his views of the city, his pictures of cats and dogs, his
ﬂaming bits of landscape. “Don’t belong in here,” he fumed.
And yet the old man was secretly proud of his acquisition. There was a hidden dignity in his scowling as he shuﬄed about
pondering the least ridiculous place for the picture.

Question: Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
A) To reveal the shop owner’s conﬂicted feelings about the new picture
B) To convey the shop owner’s resentment of the person he got the new picture from
C) To describe the items that the shop owner most highly prizes
D) To explain differences between the new picture and other pictures in the shop

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text. The text begins by stating
that the new picture “failed to ﬁt in” with the other items that the shop owner has. The text goes on to illustrate that point by
describing the other pictures the shop owner has, indicating that the shop owner is fuming because he doesn’t think the new
picture belongs in the store. In the second paragraph, however, the text indicates that the shop owner is “secretly proud of
his acquisition.” The main purpose of the text is thus to reveal the shop owner’s conﬂicted feelings about the new picture.
Choice B is incorrect because the text doesn’t suggest that the shop owner resents the young man who sold him the new
picture; in fact, the text gives no indication of the owner’s feelings about the young man at all. Choice C is incorrect. Although
the text indicates that the new picture is different from the other items in the shop, there’s no suggestion that the shop owner
prizes either the new picture or the pictures of the city, pets, and landscapes more than he prizes any other items. Choice D
is incorrect because the text doesn’t describe what the new picture looks like; rather, the text identiﬁes some of the other
kinds of images that the shop owner has and states that they’re different from the new picture without explaining how
they’re different.

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
The following text is adapted from Zora Neale Hurston’s 1921 short story “John Redding Goes to Sea.” John is a child who
lives in a town in the woods.
Perhaps ten-year-old John was puzzling to the folk there in the Florida woods for he was an imaginative child and fond of
day-dreams. The St. John River ﬂowed a scarce three hundred feet from his back door. On its banks at this point grow
numerous palms, luxuriant magnolias and bay trees. On the bosom of the stream ﬂoat millions of delicately colored
hyacinths. [John Redding] loved to wander down to the water’s edge, and, casting in dry twigs, watch them sail away down
stream to Jacksonville, the sea, the wide world and [he] wanted to follow them.

Question: Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A) It provides an extended description of a location that John likes to visit.
B) It reveals that some residents of John’s town are confused by his behavior.
C) It illustrates the uniqueness of John’s imagination compared to the imaginations of other children.
D) It suggests that John longs to experience a larger life outside the Florida woods.

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer because it accurately describes how the underlined sentence functions in the text as a whole.
The text establishes that John has a strong imagination and then goes on to describe the St. John River near John’s home in
the Florida woods. The underlined sentence depicts John sending twigs sailing down the river while he imagines them
reaching “Jacksonville, the sea, the wide world,” where he wishes he could follow. This suggests that John longs to expand
his life experiences beyond the Florida woods.
Choice A is incorrect because the second and third sentences of the text provide an extended description of the riverbank
where John likes to go, whereas the underlined sentence describes what John does at that location. Choice B is incorrect
because the ﬁrst sentence of the text suggests that John’s behavior “was puzzling” to others around him, whereas the
underlined sentence concerns the content of John’s imaginings. Choice C is incorrect because the underlined sentence
elaborates on John’s imagination but doesn’t mention any other children to whom John could be compared.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
The author’s claim about the relationship between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens is ______, as it fails to account for several
recent archaeological discoveries. To be convincing, his argument would need to address recent ﬁnds of additional hominid
fossils, such as the latest Denisovan specimens and Homo longi.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) disorienting
B) tenuous
C) nuanced
D) unoriginal

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the author’s claim about the
relationship between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. As used in this context, “tenuous” means lacking substance. The end
of the ﬁrst sentence states that the author’s claim didn’t consider certain key pieces of evidence—“recent archaeological
discoveries”—and is therefore weak.  
Choice A is incorrect because it wouldn’t make sense in context to refer to the author’s claim as “disorienting,” or confusing.
The text suggests that the author’s claim is insubstantial, not that it’s diﬃcult to grasp. Choice C is incorrect because
referring to the claim as “nuanced,” or subtle, wouldn’t make sense in context. According to the text, the claim is incomplete
because it didn’t consider certain key information about recent archaeological ﬁnds; it doesn’t suggest that what’s in the
claim lacks precision. Choice D is incorrect because saying that the claim is “unoriginal,” or imitative, wouldn’t make sense in
context. The text faults the claim because it doesn’t consider certain key information about recent archaeological ﬁnds; it
doesn’t suggest that the author’s claim lacks originality.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
In order to prevent nonnative ﬁsh species from moving freely between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, marine biologist
Bella Galil has proposed that a saline lock system be installed along the Suez Canal in Egypt’s Great Bitter Lakes. The lock
would increase the salinity of the lakes and ______ a natural barrier of water most marine creatures would be unable to cross.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) creates
B) create
C) creating
D) created

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of non-ﬁnite (untensed) verb forms in a sentence. The
modal “would,” which indicates the future from a perspective in the past, should be accompanied by a non-ﬁnite plain form
verb. In this choice, the non-ﬁnite plain form verb “create” is used correctly in conjunction with the non-ﬁnite plain form verb
“increase” to describe what the lock would do.  
Choice A is incorrect because the ﬁnite present tense verb “creates” can’t be used in this way with the modal “would” to
describe what the lock would do. Choice C is incorrect because the present participle “creating” can’t be used in this way
with the modal “would” to describe what the lock would do. Choice D is incorrect because the ﬁnite past tense verb “created”
can’t be used in this way with the modal “would” to describe what the lock would do.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
Like other tribal nations, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is self-governing; its National Council generates laws regulating
aspects of community life such as land use and healthcare, while the principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials ______ those laws
by devising policies and administering services in accordance with them.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) implement
B) presume
C) improvise
D) mimic

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of self-government among the
Muscogee (Creek) Nation. In this context, “implement” means to carry out or put into effect. The text states that the National
Council generates laws, while the principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials are responsible for “devising policies and administering
services in accordance with” those laws. This context suggests that the principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials implement the
laws: they put the laws into effect by creating policies and administering services that accord with those laws.
Choice B is incorrect because “presume” in this context would mean to assume based on incomplete information, and the
text does not suggest that the principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials either made assumptions about the content of the laws or
had incomplete information about them. Choice C is incorrect because in this context “improvise” would mean to create
something without preparation, and the text does not suggest that the principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials create policies
and administer services without advance preparation. Choice D is incorrect because nothing in the text suggests that the
principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials “mimic,” or imitate, the laws generated by the National Council. To mimic laws would
mean to generate new laws that are imitations of existing laws, but the text indicates that the National Council, not the
principal chief and cabinet oﬃcials, is responsible for generating laws. Instead of generating laws, the principal chief and
cabinet oﬃcials put laws into effect by “devising policies and administering services in accordance with” the laws.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
In Jane Austen’s novel Mansﬁeld Park, an almost imperceptible smile from potential suitor Henry Crawford causes the
protagonist Fanny Price to blush; her embarrassment grows when she suspects that he is aware of it. This moment—in
which Fanny not only infers Henry’s mental state through his gestures, but also infers that he is drawing inferences about her
mental state—illustrates what literary scholar George Butte calls “deep intersubjectivity,” a technique for representing
interactions between consciousnesses through which Austen’s novels derive much of their social and psychological drama.

Question: Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
A) It states a claim about Austen’s skill at representing psychological complexity that is reinforced by an example presented
in the following sentence.
B) It advances an interpretation of an Austen protagonist who is contrasted with protagonists from other Austen novels
cited in the following sentence.
C) It describes a recurring theme in Austen’s novels that is the focus of a literary scholar’s analysis summarized in the
following sentence.
D) It provides a synopsis of an interaction in an Austen novel that illustrates a literary concept discussed in the following

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer. The underlined sentence provides a concrete example to ground readers’ understanding of the
“deep intersubjectivity” described in the next sentence as central to Austen’s work.
Choice A is incorrect. There is no evaluation made of Austen’s skill in this sentence, and no examples are given in the
following sentence. This choice essentially ﬂips the paragraph: it’s this ﬁrst sentence that provides an example. Choice B is
incorrect. There are no other Austen protagonists mentioned in this passage, so this couldn’t be the answer. Choice C is
incorrect. The underlined sentence doesn’t identify any “recurring theme,” but instead simply describes one interaction from
one book. This interaction exempliﬁes the literary technique of “deep intersubjectivity” that is introduced in the next
sentence.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
During a 2014 archaeological dig in Spain, Vicente Lull and his team uncovered the skeleton of a woman from El Algar, an
Early Bronze Age society, buried with valuable objects signaling a high position of power. This ﬁnding may persuade
researchers who have argued that Bronze Age societies were ruled by men to ______ that women may have also held
leadership roles.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) waive
B) concede
C) refute
D) require

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the signiﬁcance of the 2014
archaeological ﬁnding at El Algar. In this context, “concede” means to admit something is true after ﬁrst resisting that
admission. The text indicates that some researchers believe “Bronze Age societies were ruled by men.” But the Bronze Age
burial of a woman at El Algar included “valuable objects signaling a high position of power,” which would raise the possibility
that “women may have also held leadership roles.” Thus, the text is calling into question the notion that only men were
leaders in these societies and speculating that people holding this view may reconsider their opinion.
Choice A is incorrect because “waive” means to refrain from insisting that something, such as a right or a requirement, be
observed; the word isn’t used, however, in contexts where someone acknowledges that an opinion they hold may be invalid,
as is the case in the text. Choice C is incorrect. According to the text, the ﬁnding from the El Algar burial site undermines the
view that Bronze Age societies were exclusively ruled by men. However, “refute” means to demonstrate that something is
false and would not make sense in context. Lull and team’s ﬁnding supports the view that women may have also held
leadership roles, not that they did not participate in such roles. Choice D is incorrect because in this context, “require” means
to demand or specify as mandatory. However, it would not make sense for contemporary researchers to demand that Bronze
Age “women may have also held leadership roles.”

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Craft_and_Structure
Generations of mystery and horror ______ have been inﬂuenced by the dark, gothic stories of celebrated American author
Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849).

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) writers
B) writers,
C) writers—
D) writers;

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation between a subject and a verb. When, as in this case,
a subject (“Generations of mystery and horror writers”) is immediately followed by a verb (“have been inﬂuenced”), no
punctuation is needed.
Choice B is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice C is incorrect because no
punctuation is needed between the subject and the verb. Choice D is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between
the subject and the verb.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
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.

Question: 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

Answer: C

Rationale: Choice C is the best answer. The singular possessive pronoun "its" agrees with the singular antecedent "the animal" and
indicates that the "young" belong to it.
Choice A is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "They’re" is a contraction of "they are," a
plural pronoun and verb, but the antecedent "the animal" is singular. Also, we don’t need the extra verb "are" — we already
have a main verb in this clause, so adding "are" would be confusing and ungrammatical. Choice B is incorrect. This choice
creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "Their" is a plural pronoun, but the subject of the sentence is "the animal," a
singular noun. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a confusing and ungrammatical sentence. "It’s" is a contraction for
"it is." We already have the verb "nurses" in this clause, so we shouldn’t add the verb "is."

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
Far from being modern inventions, ______ more than 5,000 years ago.

Question: 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

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer. Modiﬁers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modiﬁer “far from being modern
inventions” must be describing “drinking straws,” because those are the only possible inventions in this sentence.
Choice A is incorrect. Modiﬁers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modiﬁer “far from being modern
inventions” can’t be describing “Sumerians,” because they are a group of people, not an invention. Choice C is incorrect.
Modiﬁers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modiﬁer “far from being modern inventions” can’t be describing
“the use of drinking straws,” because it is not “the use” of drinking straws that is an invention—it is the drinking straws
themselves. Choice D is incorrect. Modiﬁers and their subjects must go next to each other. The modiﬁer “far from being
modern inventions” can’t be describing “Ancient Mesopotamia,” because that is a place, not an invention.

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
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.

Question: 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

Answer: A

Rationale: Choice A is the best answer. The noun that goes with "expand and contract" is "rivers," a plural noun. "They" is a third-person
plural pronoun, so it can correctly stand in for "rivers."
Choice B is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. "One" is a singular pronoun, but the noun
that goes with "expand and contract" is "rivers," a plural noun. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-
antecedent agreement error. "It" is a singular pronoun, but the noun that goes with "expand and contract" is "rivers," a plural
noun. Choice D is incorrect. This choice creates a pronoun-antecedent agreement error. The noun that goes with "expand
and contract" is the plural noun "rivers." Rivers are not people, so "we" can’t be used to stand in for it.

Difficulty: Medium | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
With some 16,000 in attendance, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and ______ or FESTAC ‘77, as the event
was more commonly known—became the largest pan-African event on record. FESTAC drew people from around the world
to Lagos, Nigeria, for a monthlong celebration of Black and African art, scholarship, and activism.

Question: Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A) Culture:
B) Culture—
C) Culture,
D) Culture

Answer: B

Rationale: Choice B is the best answer. The text uses a dash to introduce a nonessential element that explains the acronym FESTAC.
The dash matches the dash that comes after “known,” ending the descriptive aside.
Choice A is incorrect. A colon can only come after an independent clause, which isn’t the case here. Choice C is incorrect.
While punctuation is required to set off “or FESTAC…known” from the rest of the sentence, nonessential elements must be
separated from the sentence with matching punctuation. Since a dash appears on the other side of the element, we can’t use
a comma here. Choice D is incorrect. The descriptive aside “or FESTAC…known” is a nonessential element that must be
separated with punctuation from the rest of the sentence. This choice fails to add the necessary punctuation before the
nonessential element.

Difficulty: Hard | Domain: Standard_English_Conventions
In the 1960s, Sam Gilliam, a Black painter from the southern United States, became the ﬁrst artist to drape painted canvases
into ﬂowing shapes. He later explored a different style, ______ quilt-like paintings inspired by the patchwork quilting tradition
of Black communities in the South.

Question: Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
A) predicting
B) refusing
C) hiding
D) creating

Answer: D

Rationale: Choice D is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of Sam Gilliam’s artworks. As used in
this context, “creating” means producing or bringing something into existence. The text indicates that Gilliam is an artist who
made draped canvases and, later, quilt-like paintings. This context supports the idea that Gilliam explored different styles in
his art by creating special types of paintings.
Choice A is incorrect because the text indicates that Gilliam actually explored and pursued the creation of quilt-like paintings;
he wasn’t just “predicting,” or declaring in advance, the existence of these paintings. Choice B is incorrect because in this
context “refusing” would mean rejecting, and there is nothing in the text to suggest that Gilliam rejected his quilt-like
paintings. Instead, the text indicates that he was exploring and pursuing a new art style in these paintings. Choice C is
incorrect because in this context “hiding” would mean concealing from view, and there is nothing in the text to suggest that
Gilliam attempted to conceal his quilt-like paintings. Instead, the text indicates that he was exploring and pursuing a new art
style in these paintings.

Difficulty: Easy | Domain: Craft_and_Structure