9 original Command of Evidence: Textual questions, easiest first. Which quotation or finding would most strengthen — or weaken — a stated claim. Answer them all, then submit once to see every answer explained.
An entomologist proposes that a particular pesticide, even at low concentrations, impairs the navigational ability of honeybees returning to their hive.
Which finding would most directly support the entomologist's proposal?
C — In a field experiment, bees exposed to low concentrations of the pesticide took significantly longer to return to their hive than unexposed bees.. This experiment directly tests navigational impairment (return time to hive) as a function of pesticide exposure, precisely matching the claim; the other options do not test navigation or causally isolate the pesticide's effect.
A political scientist claims that candidate town halls broadcast live online, rather than only in person, are more effective at increasing engagement among younger voters specifically.
Which finding would most directly support the political scientist's claim?
B — An analysis of past town halls found that events broadcast live online drew a significantly higher proportion of engaged younger viewers than in-person-only events on comparable topics.. The claim specifically concerns comparative engagement effectiveness of online vs. in-person-only events among younger voters; a finding directly comparing engagement by format supports this. Preferences, frequency, and event length don't address engagement effectiveness.
A sleep researcher hypothesizes that avoiding caffeine after 2 p.m. improves total nightly sleep duration more than simply reducing overall daily caffeine intake does.
Which finding would most directly support the sleep researcher's hypothesis?
D — In a sleep lab study, participants who avoided caffeine after 2 p.m. slept significantly longer on average than participants who consumed the same total daily caffeine but at varying times, including the evening.. This is a direct controlled comparison between caffeine timing and total intake on sleep duration, exactly matching the researcher's hypothesis; the other options don't isolate this specific comparison.
A sleep researcher hypothesizes that keeping the bedroom completely dark improves total nightly sleep duration more than simply reducing bedroom noise alone does.
Which finding would most directly support the sleep researcher's hypothesis?
A — In a sleep lab study, participants sleeping in completely dark rooms slept significantly longer on average than participants in quiet rooms with some ambient light present.. This is a direct controlled comparison between darkness and noise reduction on sleep duration, exactly matching the researcher's hypothesis; the other options don't isolate this specific comparison.
A psychologist claims that people are more likely to remember information presented as a narrative story than the same information presented as a bulleted list of facts.
Which finding would most directly support the psychologist's claim?
A — In a controlled experiment, participants who read information as a narrative recalled significantly more details a week later than participants who read the same information as a bulleted list.. This is a direct experimental comparison of the two conditions the psychologist's claim is about (narrative vs. list), with recall results supporting the claim; the other choices don't test this specific comparison.
A nutritionist argues that placing healthier snack options at eye level in vending machines leads customers to choose fewer high-sugar snacks overall, not just to occasionally add a healthy snack to their usual purchase.
Which finding would most directly support the nutritionist's argument?
B — A study found that after healthier snacks were placed at eye level, purchases of high-sugar snacks dropped by 20% at the machines studied.. The claim is specifically about high-sugar snack purchases decreasing, not just healthy snack purchases increasing. A finding showing high-sugar purchases actually dropped directly supports this specific substitution effect; the other choices address unrelated measures.
A behavioral economist argues that automatically enrolling new employees in a company's retirement plan at a modest default contribution rate, rather than a rate of zero, significantly increases average long-term savings without requiring a mandatory minimum.
Which finding would most directly support the economist's argument?
C — Data show that average long-term retirement savings rose sharply at companies that switched from a zero default rate to a modest default rate, with no mandatory minimum introduced.. The claim is specifically about the default contribution rate mechanism driving savings, without a mandatory minimum; a finding directly comparing savings before and after such a switch, with no minimum introduced, isolates and supports this specific mechanism.
A city planner claims that converting a portion of an underused highway into a linear park would increase nearby property values without significantly worsening traffic congestion on parallel routes.
Which finding, if true, would most directly support the planner's claim?
D — A similar conversion in another city led to a 12% rise in nearby property values while traffic on parallel routes increased by less than 3%.. The planner's claim specifically concerns property value increases with minimal traffic impact; a comparable conversion directly measuring both outcomes most directly supports this specific claim. The other options are irrelevant to the proposed conversion.
An archaeologist proposes that a newly excavated highland village relied on terraced farming to grow crops on its steep surrounding slopes.
Which finding would most directly support the archaeologist's proposal?
A — Excavators find stone retaining walls forming stepped, level platforms cut into the hillside, with soil samples showing cultivated crop remains within them.. Stone retaining walls forming stepped platforms with cultivated crop remains directly supports a claim of terraced farming on the slopes. The other choices don't address the specific farming method used.
Score:
Every question above is now marked up: the correct answer is highlighted, any wrong option you picked is flagged, and each explanation is open.
No. Every question here is original, written to the College Board's published Digital SAT Reading & Writing specification for the Command of Evidence: Textual skill. No retired or copyrighted College Board material appears anywhere on this site.
Command of Evidence (Textual) describes a claim, hypothesis or argument and asks which quotation, finding or example would most directly support it, illustrate it, or weaken it. The passage sets up the claim; the choices are the candidate evidence.
Restate, in one sentence, exactly what has to be proven — including any qualifier like "in cities", "before 1900", "for adults only". Then test each choice against that sentence alone. Evidence that is true, interesting and about the right topic still fails if it does not bear on the specific claim, and "weaken" questions are lost almost entirely by candidates who answer them as "support" questions.
No, and deliberately so. This drill is 9 Command of Evidence: Textual questions back to back; a real Reading & Writing module is 27 questions in 32 minutes drawn from all eleven skills. Use a drill to fix one weakness, then take a full module to practice the real thing.
No. The SAT has no penalty for a wrong answer — a blank and a wrong guess both score zero — so answer every question, including the ones you have to guess.