SAT Cross-Text Connections

Cross-Text Connections gives you two short texts and asks how the second relates to the first — whether it agrees, disputes, qualifies or extends it. Most wrong answers read a qualification as a flat contradiction.

Practise this skill freeHow the SAT is structured
Reading and WritingCraft and Structure288 questions
The trap on this skill

Reading Text 2 as a contradiction when it actually qualifies the first claim.

How this skill behaves

What 288 questions on it look like

100% of these questions can appear in the harder second module. On a section-adaptive test that matters: this is a skill that keeps mattering after a strong first module, not one you leave behind.

50% of the bank for this skill is rated hard, so it rewards practice past the point where the basic form feels comfortable.

hard50%
medium50%

Difficulty mix across the 288 questions in this skill.

From the bank

Three real cross-text connections questions

Each one explains the credited answer and why every other option fails.

Craft and Structure · hard

How would the author of Text 2 most likely characterize Text 1's conclusion?

  1. AText 2 would say Text 1 merely names trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading without offering an explanation.
  2. BText 2 would refine Text 1's claim by identifying the specific evidence that supports a narrower version of the claim about trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading.correct
  3. CText 2 would say Text 1 and Text 2 make identical claims about trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading.
  4. DText 2 would argue that no evidence about trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading can support either author's conclusion.
Why B is correct — and why the others are not

Text 2 does not reject Text 1; it specifies the evidence, subtle shading helped hikers estimate steepness without obscuring labels when the same definition was used throughout for the north-side cases, that supports a more precise version of the claim. This matches the evidence or condition involving trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading. A final check is using the chart values named in the claim.

A. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading when the same definition was used throughout for the north-side cases.

C. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading when the same definition was used throughout for the north-side cases.

D. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about trail maps from the weekend group and elevation shading when the same definition was used throughout for the north-side cases.

Craft and Structure · medium

Based on both texts, which choice best describes a likely response by the author of Text 2?

  1. AText 2 would treat the follow-up result about after-school tutoring from the older records and session length as making any earlier explanation unnecessary.
  2. BText 2 would characterize Text 1 as unrelated to the later evidence about after-school tutoring from the older records and session length.
  3. CText 2 would say that Text 1 identifies a real factor but does not account for the later finding about after-school tutoring from the older records in the discussion of after-school tutoring from the older records and session length.correct
  4. DText 2 would treat Text 1's claim about after-school tutoring from the older records and session length as complete and unaffected by the later study.
Why C is correct — and why the others are not

Text 2 accepts that session length after the numbers were sorted by use pattern for the long-list cases matters while adding evidence that shorter sessions held twice weekly improved attendance more than one long session after the numbers were sorted by use pattern for the long-list cases. The final step answers the prompt as it applies to after-school tutoring from the older records and session length. A final check is checking whether the final sentence narrows the claim.

A. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about after-school tutoring from the older records and session length after the numbers were sorted by use pattern for the long-list cases.

B. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about after-school tutoring from the older records and session length after the numbers were sorted by use pattern for the long-list cases.

D. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about after-school tutoring from the older records and session length after the numbers were sorted by use pattern for the long-list cases.

Craft and Structure · hard

Which choice best describes the relationship between Text 1 and Text 2?

  1. AText 2 would argue that Text 1 proves a universal rule about street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil.
  2. BText 2 would claim that the later finding about street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil eliminates the need to qualify Text 1.
  3. CText 2 would replace Text 1's topic of street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil with an unrelated methodological issue.
  4. DText 2 would characterize Text 1 as partly right but too narrow in its explanation of street tree seedlings from the east-side group in the discussion of street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil.correct
Why D is correct — and why the others are not

Text 2 keeps part of Text 1's explanation but narrows it with the condition that canopy shade helped only on blocks where soil had been loosened after practical access was separated from awareness for the smaller-batch cases. The key support is the way the item treats street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil. A final check is checking whether Text 2 refines rather than contradicts Text 1.

A. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil compaction after practical access was separated from awareness for the smaller-batch cases.

B. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil compaction after practical access was separated from awareness for the smaller-batch cases.

C. This option overstates, rejects, or disconnects the relationship between the two texts; Text 2 refines the claim about street tree seedlings from the east-side group and soil compaction after practical access was separated from awareness for the smaller-batch cases.

288 questions on this skill, free to start.

Ten a day at no cost, each with the same explanation. One account covers SAT, ACT and AP.

Start free
FAQ

Cross-Text Connections questions

How do I compare two SAT texts?

Fix Text 1’s claim in one sentence, then read Text 2 asking only "what does this do to that claim?" — accept, dispute, narrow, or extend.

Why are these questions hard?

Because the relationship is usually partial. Text 2 rarely rejects Text 1 outright; it accepts part and limits part.
Last reviewed 2026-08-28. Format and scoring facts sourced to College Board. Question counts describe the PrepScore bank, not the exam.
Same domain
Words in Context360 questionsText Structure and Purpose360 questions

Practise cross-text connections until the trap stops working.

Real Digital SAT questions, the reasoning on every option, and a mistake bank that only clears when you get it right.

Start freeSAT guide