Command of Evidence: Textual
How the SAT tests this, with worked examples — plus the 6 skills it covers. Free to read, no account needed.
These give a claim and ask which statement best supports it. Almost every wrong answer is true and on-topic — truth is not the test. The test is whether the statement makes that specific claim more likely.
Two different jobs below: supporting a hypothesis, and choosing an illustrative quotation.
Worked examples
Researchers observed that quantum entanglement persisted even when particles were separated by significant distances, contradicting previous theories suggesting entanglement would degrade over distance. They propose a hypothesis: that entanglement may be governed by an as-yet-unknown physical law that transcends classical notions of space and time.
Which of the following supports the hypothesis?
- AResearchers found that none of the existing laws in physics can account for this behavior of entangled particles.
- BAlternate experiments by a different group yielded inconclusive results regarding persistence over distance.
- CThese are the best researchers in the world in the field of quantum physics.
- DOther researchers through independent experiments found the same entanglement behavior.
The hypothesis has a specific content: the governing law is as-yet-unknown. Supporting evidence must make that more likely — not merely confirm the observation.
(A) is correct: if no existing law explains the behaviour, an unknown law becomes more plausible.
(D) is the strongest distractor. Replication confirms the observation, but a repeatable effect could still be explained by known physics. It supports the finding, not the hypothesis.
(B) inconclusive results support nothing.
(C) appeals to the researchers' reputation, which is not evidence about the world.
(A) is correct: if no existing law explains the behaviour, an unknown law becomes more plausible.
(D) is the strongest distractor. Replication confirms the observation, but a repeatable effect could still be explained by known physics. It supports the finding, not the hypothesis.
(B) inconclusive results support nothing.
(C) appeals to the researchers' reputation, which is not evidence about the world.
"Les Misérables" is a novel by Victor Hugo in which Jean Valjean, an ex-convict, seeks redemption. Hugo explores themes of justice, love, and the human spirit.
Which quotation most effectively illustrates the theme of redemption?
- A"The soul of the just contemplates in sleep a mysterious heaven."
- B"To love another person is to see the face of God."
- C"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."
- D"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."
Redemption means being restored after wrongdoing. The quotation must carry that idea of transformation, not merely be beautiful or uplifting.
(C) is correct: darkness giving way to light is precisely the image of a ruined life turning toward good.
(B) illustrates love, a different one of Hugo's themes.
(D) illustrates education and justice — again a real theme of the novel, just not this one.
(A) is evocative but attaches to no particular theme.
Note the shared pattern with the first question: every wrong answer is genuinely drawn from the right source and is genuinely true. They fail only against the specific thing asked.
(C) is correct: darkness giving way to light is precisely the image of a ruined life turning toward good.
(B) illustrates love, a different one of Hugo's themes.
(D) illustrates education and justice — again a real theme of the novel, just not this one.
(A) is evocative but attaches to no particular theme.
Note the shared pattern with the first question: every wrong answer is genuinely drawn from the right source and is genuinely true. They fail only against the specific thing asked.
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