Digital SAT Practice Quiz- Reading and Writing
32 MINUTES, 27 QUESTIONS
You will be tested on a variety of important reading and writing skills. Each question has a passage, possibly including a graph or table. Carefully read each passage and question and choose the best answer to the question based on the passage(s).

Every question in this section is multiple-choice with four possible answers. Each question has only one best answer. 

Your final grade will be out of 800 points. 
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1. Words-in-Context (Craft and Structure):

The work of molecular biophysicist Enrique M. De La Cruz is known for ______ traditional boundaries between academic disciplines. The university laboratory that De La Cruz runs includes engineers, biologists, chemists, and physicists, and the research the lab produces makes use of insights and techniques from all those fields. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?  
29 points
Clear selection
2. Words-in-Context (Craft and Structure):
 
In recommending Bao Phi’s collection Sông I Sing, a librarian noted that pieces by the spoken-word poet don’t lose their ______ nature when printed: the language has the same pleasant musical quality on the page as it does when performed by Phi. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?  
29 points
Clear selection
3. Words-in-Context (Craft and Structure):

The following text is from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. [Jay Gatsby] was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly American—that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting work in youth and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games. This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness. 

As used in the text, what does the word “quality” most nearly mean?  
29 points
Clear selection
4. Words-in-Context (Craft and Structure):
Emily had ____ about being invited to Kayla's house. The last time they hung out it hadn't gone very well. In fact, Emily had stormed out angrily after Kayla made some rude comments. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
29 points
Clear selection
5. Text Structure and Purpose (Craft and Structure): 

The following text is from Herman Melville’s 1854 short story “The Lightning-Rod Man.” The stranger still stood in the exact middle of the cottage, where he had first planted himself. His singularity impelled a closer scrutiny. A lean, gloomy figure. Hair dark and lank, mattedly streaked over his brow. His sunken pitfalls of eyes were ringed by indigo halos, and played with an innocuous sort of lightning: the gleam without the bolt. The whole man was dripping. He stood in a puddle on the bare oak floor: his strange walking-stick vertically resting at his side. 

Which choice best states the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?  
29 points
Clear selection
6. Text Structure and Purpose (Craft and Structure):

Some studies have suggested that posture can influence cognition, but we should not overstate this phenomenon. A case in point: In a 2014 study, Megan O’Brien and Alaa Ahmed had subjects stand or sit while making risky simulated economic decisions. Standing is more physically unstable and cognitively demanding than sitting; accordingly, O’Brien and Ahmed hypothesized that standing subjects would display more risk aversion during the decision-making tasks than sitting subjects did, since they would want to avoid further feelings of discomfort and complicated risk evaluations. But O’Brien and Ahmed actually found no difference in the groups’ performance. 

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?  
29 points
Clear selection
7. Cross-Text Connections (Craft and Structure):

Text 1: 
What factors influence the abundance of species in a given ecological community? Some theorists have argued that historical diversity is a major driver of how diverse an ecological community eventually becomes: differences in community diversity across otherwise similar habitats, in this view, are strongly affected by the number of species living in those habitats at earlier times. 
Text 2: 
In 2010, a group of researchers including biologist Carla Cáceres created artificial pools in a New York forest. They stocked some pools with a diverse mix of zooplankton species and others with a single zooplankton species and allowed the pool communities to develop naturally thereafter. Over the course of four years, Cáceres and colleagues periodically measured the species diversity of the pools, finding—contrary to their expectations—that by the end of the study there was little to no difference in the pools’ species diversity. 

Based on the texts, how would Cáceres and colleagues (Text 2) most likely describe the view of the theorists presented in Text 1?  
29 points
Clear selection
8. Central Idea (Information and Ideas):

The following text is from Walt Whitman's 1891 poem "A Promise to California." The poem was written in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War when the country was trying to heal its emotional wounds.

A promise to California,
Also to the great Pastoral Plains, and for Oregon:
Sojourning east a while longer, soon I travel
     toward you, to remain, to teach robust
     American love;
For I know very well that I and robust love
     belong among you, inland, and along the
     Western Sea;
For These States tend inland, and toward the 
Western Sea- and I will also.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
29 points
Clear selection
9. Central Idea (Information and Ideas):

To dye wool, Navajo (Diné) weaver Lillie Taylor uses plants and vegetables from Arizona, where she lives. For example, she achieved the deep reds and browns featured in her 2003 rug In the Path of the Four Seasons by using Arizona dock roots, drying and grinding them before mixing the powder with water to create a dye bath. To intensify the appearance of certain colors, Taylor also sometimes mixes in clay obtained from nearby soil. 

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?  
29 points
Clear selection
10. Inferences (Information and Ideas):

Many animals, including humans, must sleep, and sleep is known to have a role in everything from healing injuries to encoding information in long-term memory. But some scientists claim that, from an evolutionary standpoint, deep sleep for hours at a time leaves an animal so vulnerable that the known benefits of sleeping seem insufficient to explain why it became so widespread in the animal kingdom. These scientists therefore imply that ______ 

Which choice most logically completes the text?  
29 points
Clear selection
11. Command of Evidence- Quantitative (Information and Ideas):

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the sentence?
29 points
Captionless Image
Clear selection
12. Command of Evidence- Textual (Information and Ideas):

Jan Gimsa, Robert Sleigh, and Ulrike Gimsa have hypothesized that the sail-like structure running down the back of the dinosaur Spinosaurus aegyptiacus improved the animal’s success in underwater pursuits of prey species capable of making quick, evasive movements. To evaluate their hypothesis, a second team of researchers constructed two battery-powered mechanical models of S. aegyptiacus, one with a sail and one without, and subjected the models to a series of identical tests in a water-filled tank. 

Which finding from the model tests, if true, would most strongly support Gimsa and colleagues’ hypothesis?  
29 points
Clear selection
13. Command of Evidence- Textual (Information and Ideas):
 “Ghosts of the Old Year” is an early 1900s poem by James Weldon Johnson. In the poem, the speaker describes experiencing an ongoing cycle of anticipation followed by regretful reflection: ______ 

Which quotation from “Ghosts of the Old Year” most effectively illustrates the claim?  
29 points
Clear selection
14. Command of Evidence- Quantitative (Information and Ideas):
Which choice below most effectively uses data from the table to complete the example?
29 points
Captionless Image
Clear selection
15. Grammar (Standard English Conventions):

According to Naomi Nakayama of the University of Edinburgh, the reason seeds from a dying dandelion appear to float in the air while ______ is that their porous plumes enhance drag, allowing the seeds to stay airborne long enough for the wind to disperse them throughout the surrounding area. 

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?  
29 points
Clear selection
16. Grammar (Standard English Conventions):
Rabinal Achí is a precolonial Maya dance drama performed annually in Rabinal, a town in the Guatemalan highlands. Based on events that occurred when Rabinal was a city-state ruled by a king, ______ had once been an ally of the king but was later captured while leading an invading force against him. 

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?  
29 points
Clear selection
17. Grammar (Standard English Conventions):

Originating in 13th-century Japan, haikus were originally used as openings for longer poems called renga poems. But it wasn't until Matsuo Basho redefined haiku poetry that it _____ what it is today. 

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
29 points
Clear selection
18. Grammar (Standard English Conventions):

When taking out a loan, the fine print is key. It is important to understand the differences between fixed ____ throughout the term of the loan, and adjustable interest rates, which can change over time.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
29 points
Clear selection
19. Grammar (Standard English Conventions):

After the varnish is removed, repair can finally begin. New varnish can be applied and, before it dries, new paint can be mixed into the varnish on damaged areas to replace damaged paint.  This method ____ for the old paint to be preserved under the varnish, but for the painting to have a "face lift" and look like new on the surface.

Which choice completes t he text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
29 points
Clear selection
20. Grammar (Standard English Conventions):

For most students, social media is just a part of life. _____ inundated with pictures and videos from "influencers" who appear to live lavish lifestyles and pay for it through sponsorships and ad revenues that come from having a large social media following.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
29 points
Clear selection
21. Grammar- Transitions (Expression of Ideas):

Iraqi artist Nazik Al-Malaika, celebrated as the first Arabic poet to write in free verse, didn’t reject traditional forms entirely; her poem “Elegy for a Woman of No Importance” consists of two ten-line stanzas and a standard number of syllables. Even in this superficially traditional work, ______ Al-Malaika was breaking new ground by memorializing an anonymous woman rather than a famous man. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?  
29 points
Clear selection
22. Grammar- Transitions (Expression of Ideas):

Sweden's aggressive new policies during the Great Depression came with a price tag, particularly from its massive investment in public works projects.  _____ creating a large federal deficit, in 1934 Sweden became the first country to fully emerge from the Depression, and foreign creditors were quickly recompensed. 

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
29 points
Clear selection
23. Grammar- Transitions (Expression of Ideas):

Humorism held medical discovery back for centuries at a time when the pure sciences were preparing for a renaissance; it established a systemic insularity in the field that cut medicine off from discoveries in biology, chemistry, and physics, and generated a remarkably long-lived illusion of comprehensiveness that categorically rejected revision and innovation. _______ humorism was a far more persistent enemy of medical science than was superstition because it wore the guise of naturalism.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?
29 points
Clear selection
24. Rhetorical Synthesis (Expression of Ideas):

While conducting research, a student took these notes:
• In addition to the well-known IQ (Intelligence Quotient), people also have varying levels of EQ (Emotional Quotient), SQ (Social Quotient) and AQ (Adversity Quotient).
• People who develop IQ but not any emotional or social skills may struggle to succeed even if they are incredibly intelligent.
• AQ is a measure of how well people bounce back from adversarial events.
• A person without a degree of AQ may quickly give up in the face of adversity and may see failures as permanent situations instead of learning opportunities.
•  Parents should work to ensure that a variety of skills, not just academic prowess, are developed in early childhood. 

The student wants to introduce the concept of IQ. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?  
29 points
Clear selection
25. Rhetorical Synthesis (Expression of Ideas):

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
•  There are many high- and low-tech ways to implement sustainable agriculture. 
•  Stover mulching uses leftover plant material to regenerate the soil and reduce water run-off.
•  Genome editing of plants like rice can increase the efficiency with which the plant uses nutrients in the soil.
• Silt traps prevent agricultural run-off from reaching vulnerable waterways.
• Companion planting involves planting mutually beneficial crops closely to increase their success.

The student wants to suggest a low-tech way of implementing a sustainable agricultural practice. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
34 points
Clear selection
26. Rhetorical Synthesis (Expression of Ideas):

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:
• There are different ethical theories about how to determine the morality of different actions.
• Utilitarianism considers if the benefits of an action outweigh its costs- if they do, then the action is considered ethical.
• Some summarize the idea behind utilitarianism as "the ends justify the means."
• Deontology is a competing ethical theory that considers actions to be ethical if they follow universal moral laws.
• Deontologists argue that people should follow ethical rules like "do not kill" or "do not steal" even if the costs to humanity outweigh the benefits; they believe following duty is more important than a cost-benefit analysis. 

The student wants to give an example of an action that would be approved by a utilitarian but disapproved by a deontologist. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?
35 points
Clear selection
27. Rhetorical Synthesis (Expression of Ideas):

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: 
• Maika’i Tubbs is a Native Hawaiian sculptor and installation artist. 
• His work has been shown in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Germany, among other places. 
• Many of his sculptures feature discarded objects. • His work Erasure (2008) includes discarded audiocassette tapes and magnets. 
• His work Home Grown (2009) includes discarded pushpins, plastic plates and forks, and wood. 

The student wants to emphasize a similarity between the two works. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?  
35 points
Clear selection
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