Bluebook SAT Test Command of Evidence Textual 3

Question 1

A student claims: 'The author believes that standardized testing fails to measure true student potential.' Which evidence from a passage would best support this claim?

Accepted Answer

'Research shows that test scores correlate more strongly with family income than with students' actual cognitive abilities, suggesting the tests measure socioeconomic advantage more than innate potential.'

Answer

The correlation between scores and family income rather than cognitive ability directly supports the claim that tests fail to measure true potential.

Question 2

Read this passage: 'In 1854, physician John Snow mapped cholera cases in London and found they clustered around a specific water pump. Removing the pump handle ended the outbreak. His work established that cholera spread through contaminated water, overturning the prevailing miasma theory that disease spread through bad air.' A student argues: 'Snow's work fundamentally changed the scientific understanding of how disease spreads.' Which evidence from the passage best supports this?

Accepted Answer

'overturning the prevailing miasma theory that disease spread through bad air'

Answer

Overturning the prevailing theory is the most direct evidence of fundamentally changing scientific understanding — it shows an existing paradigm was replaced.

Question 3

A student reads a story where a character named Dara always gives her lunch to classmates who forgot theirs, volunteers at a local shelter, and anonymously donates her allowance to her school's supply fund. The student claims: 'Dara is motivated by compassion rather than recognition.' Which detail from the story provides the strongest evidence?

Accepted Answer

Anonymously donating her allowance to the school fund

Answer

The anonymous donation is the strongest evidence of compassion without desire for recognition — anonymity specifically removes the possibility of social reward.

Question 4

A passage about ocean acidification states: 'The ocean absorbs approximately 30% of human CO2 emissions. When CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid, lowering the ocean's pH. Since industrialization began, ocean pH has fallen from 8.2 to 8.1 — a 26% increase in acidity. This threatens shellfish and coral by dissolving the calcium carbonate structures of their shells and skeletons.' A student claims: 'Ocean acidification poses a specific, measurable threat to marine organisms.' Which evidence best supports this?

Accepted Answer

'This threatens shellfish and coral by dissolving the calcium carbonate structures of their shells and skeletons.'

Answer

The sentence identifying the specific organisms threatened (shellfish, coral) and the specific mechanism of harm (dissolving calcium carbonate structures) directly supports a 'specific, measurable threat to marine organisms.'

Question 5

A student wants to find textual evidence that an author is using irony. The passage reads: 'The self-proclaimed champion of the working class arrived at the fundraiser in a $12,000 suit, stepped out of a rented limousine, and greeted the $500-per-plate dinner guests warmly.' What makes this passage function as evidence of irony?

Accepted Answer

The contrast between the 'champion of the working class' identity and the luxurious details creates ironic distance

Answer

Irony is created by the gap between the 'working class champion' identity claim and the lavish, wealthy lifestyle details — the two are in direct contradiction.

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Bluebook SAT Test Command of Evidence Textual 3