🎓SAT English
READING 6
SAT Cross-Text Connections for ESL Students
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SAT Cross-Text Connections are questions that relate two texts. Does the second text agree, disagree, extend or justify the first text? This is the connection.
Why Learn Cross-Text Connections?
It is good for ESL students to learn SAT cross-text connections because:
- Reading Comprehension: Understanding how to express similar or opposing ideas improves understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure.
- Critical Thinking: Learn to compare and contrast ideas.
- Academic English: Learning these skills is essential for academic work.
Basic Types of Cross-Text connections
- agree – the second text largely agrees with the point of view of the author of the first text
- disagree – the second text largely disagrees with the point of view of the author of the first text
- elaborate / justify – text 2 agrees with text 1 and gives more detail or evidence to support the same point of view
Exercise 1 Cross-Text Connections for ESL Students
Read both passage 1 and 2 and decide the correct connection in the four choices. These questions have 2 versions:
version 1 simple
version 2: beginner
Student Advice
- Look for positives (+) and negatives (–)
- Transition words and phrases help
- text 1 explain some claim
- text 2 supports that claim/idea, or
- elaborates on it to (justify it)
- or tries to negate it
SAT Exam Prep
- get comfortable with the types of questions they ask
- and what they are looking to test you on.
- Practices on BlueBook will help a lot to give you that test day experiences.
Exercise 3 SAT Cross-Text Connections for ESL Students
Vocab
- boom – fast growth
- charging station – place to charge an EV
- claim – a statement that may be true
- consultant – gives expert advice
- demand – how much people want something
- electric vehicle (EV) – runs on battery, not gas
- exporter – sells to other countries
- flexible schedule – choosing your own work hours
- income – money you earn
- livestream – live video online
- middlemen – people between seller and buyer
- optimistic – hopeful, positive
- profits – money a business earns
- unpredictable – changes a lot, hard to know
- upfront cost – money paid at the start
Group exercise: complete the 4 questions to determine the cross-text connections
SAT Cross-Text Connections Exercise 2 for ESL Students (pdf download)
More Help on SAT Cross-Text Connections
SAT questions
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Original SAT Questions
SEEN IN EXERCISE 1
Question 1
Text 1
Most scientists agree that the moon was likely formed after a collision between Earth and a large planet named Theia. This collision likely created a huge debris field, made up of material from both Earth and Theia. Based on models of this event, scientists believe that the moon was formed from this debris over the course of thousands of years.
Text 2
Researchers from NASA’s Ames Research Center used a computer to model how the moon could have formed. Although simulations of the moon’s formation have been done in the past, the team from NASA ran simulations that were much more detailed. They found that the formation of the moon was likely not a slow process that took many years. Instead, it’s probable that the moon’s formation happened immediately after impact, taking just a few hours.
Which choice best describes a difference in how the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 view the evidence for the formation of the moon?
Choose 1 answer:
- The author of Text 1 believes that the moon formed more slowly than the author of Text 2 believes.
- The author of Text 1 suggests there is more evidence confirming the existence of Theia than the author of Text 2 suggests.
- The author of Text 1 claims that the moon’s surface is more similar to Earth’s surface than the author of Text 2 claims.
- The author of Text 1 argues that the formation of the moon occurred much earlier than the author of Text 2 argues.
Question 2
Text 1
On April 26th, 1777, Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles by horse through Putnam County, New York, to gather up local militia. British forces were burning nearby Danbury, Connecticut, and Ludington wanted to rally rebel troops to meet them. Although she was only 16 years old at the time, her brave feat made Ludington one of the heroes of the American Revolution. Since then, Ludington has been widely celebrated, inspiring postage stamps, statues, and even children’s TV series.
Text 2
Historian Paula D. Hunt researched the life and legacy of Sybil Ludington but found no evidence for her famous ride. Although many articles and books have been written about Ludington, Hunt believes writers may have been inventing details about Ludington as they retold her story. Ludington is revered by Americans today, but there simply isn’t a strong historical record of her heroic ride.
Based on the texts, both authors would most likely agree with which statement?
Choose 1 answer:
- Sybil Ludington was likely not a real person.
- Sybil Ludington was crucial to the outcome of the Revolutionary War.
- Historians have confirmed which route Sybil Ludington took.
- Many people have come to admire the story of Sybil Ludington’s ride.
Question 3
Text 1
American sculptor Edmonia Lewis is best known for her sculptures that represent figures from history and mythology, such as The Death of Cleopatra and Hagar. Although Lewis sculpted other subjects, her career as a sculptor is best represented by the works in which she depicted these historical and mythical themes.
Text 2
Art historians have typically ignored the many portrait busts Edmonia Lewis created. Lewis likely carved these busts (sculptures of a person’s head) frequently throughout her long career. She is known for her sculptures that represent historical figures, but Lewis likely supported herself financially by carving portrait busts for acquaintances who paid her to represent their features. Thus, Lewis’s portrait busts are a central aspect of her career as a sculptor.
Based on the texts, both authors would most likely agree with which statement?
Choose 1 answer:
- Sculpting representations of historical figures was a short-lived trend.
- Lewis’s works are varied in the subjects they depict.
- The Death of Cleopatra is Lewis’s most famous piece.
- Lewis’s portrait busts have overshadowed her other work.
Question 4
Text 1
Historians studying pre-Inca Peru have looked to ceramic vessels to understand daily life among the Moche people. These mold-made sculptures present plants, animals, and human faces in precise ways—vessels representing human faces are so detailed that scholars have interpreted facial markings to represent scars and other skin irregularities. Some historians have even used these objects to identify potential skin diseases that may have afflicted people at the time.
Text 2
Art historian and archaeologist Lisa Trever has argued that the interpretation of Moche “portrait” vessels as hyper-realistic portrayals of identifiable people may inadvertently disregard the creativity of the objects’ creators. Moche ceramic vessels, Trever argues, are artworks in which sculptors could free their imagination, using realistic objects and people around them as inspiration to explore more abstract concepts.
Based on the texts, what would Lisa Trever (Text 2) most likely say about the interpretation presented in the underlined portion of Text 1?
Choose 1 answer:
- Markings on depictions of human faces are not necessarily intended to portray particular details about the physical appearance of individuals.
- Some vessels may have been damaged during their excavation and thus provide little insight into Moche culture.
- Depictions of human faces are significantly more realistic than depictions of plants and other animals are.
- It is likely that some depictions of human faces with extensive markings are intended to portray the same historical individual.