Reading & Writing · Craft and Structure

    Cross-Text Connections

    Compare how two passages treat the same topic or claim.

    What the SAT Tests

    Cross-Text Connections questions pair two short passages and ask how one author would respond to the other, or where the two agree or disagree. The answer is always anchored in text, not opinion.

    Key Tips for Cross-Text Connections

    • Summarize each author's core claim in one sentence before reading choices.
    • Watch for tone and modal verbs (would, might, must) — they signal stance.
    • Eliminate choices that require agreement or disagreement the texts don't state.

    Sample Cross-Text Connections Questions

    These are real practice questions pulled from our Digital SAT bank. Try each one before reading the highlighted correct answer.

    1. Question 1 · Easy
      The author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 both discuss which topic?
      Text 1
      Scientists can learn a lot about the Hispaniolan ground sloth and other prehistoric sloths from their fossils. But it can be hard to study sloths alive today. In the wild, the Linnaeus's two-toed sloth and other sloths spend most of their time in trees. They're difficult to observe because of their excellent camouflage and slow movements.
      Text 2
      Rebecca Cliffe and other scientists can now record the previously hidden activities of tree-dwelling sloths by using a backpack monitor. Such monitors can provide information to correct misconceptions. It was long believed that sloths are slow because of laziness. But, in fact, sloths' slow movements are useful. Being slow protects them from predators with keen eyesight.
      • A. The scientific study of sloths.Correct
      • B. How climate change affects sloths.
      • C. The techniques scientists use to care for sloths.
      • D. The differences between prehistoric and living sloths.
    2. Question 2 · Medium
      Which choice best describes a notable difference in how the speaker of Text 1 and the speaker of Text 2 portray the moon?
      Text 1 is T.L. Hulme's 1912 poem "Above the Dock." Text 2 is from Amy Lowell's 1912 poem "The Crescent Moon."
      Text 1
      Above the quiet dock in midnight,
      Tangled in the tall mast's corded height,
      Hangs the moon. What seemed so far away
      Is but a child's balloon, forgotten after play.
      Text 2
      Slipping softly through the sky
      Little horned, happy moon,
      Can you hear me up so high?
      Will you come down soon?
      • A. While both speakers characterize the moon as an entrapped figure, only the speaker of Text 2 describes the moon as being content with this fate.
      • B. While both speakers present the moon as a tangible object, only the speaker of Text 1 addresses the moon's beauty.
      • C. While the speaker of Text 1 presents the moon as an object of play, the speaker of Text 2 presents the moon as an object of serious study.
      • D. While the speaker of Text 1 presents the moon as seeming to be very close, the speaker of Text 2 emphasizes the moon's distance from the speaker.Correct
    3. Question 3 · Medium
      The author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 both discuss which topic? Text 1
      From the extinct giant ground sloth to the living pygmy three-toed sloth, sloths are among the most appealing animals native to the Americas. But scientists still have a lot to learn about them. Unlike their ancient ground-dwelling relations, today's sloths spend most of their time high up in trees. The sloths' inaccessibility has made it hard for scientists to study them. Text 2
      By using a backpack monitor, biologist Rebecca Cliffe and colleagues can at last discover the previously hidden activities of sloths. Such monitors can provide information to correct misconceptions. It was long believed that sloths are slow because of laziness. But, in fact, sloths have low metabolism, which makes them slow.
      • A. Scientists' efforts to understand slothsCorrect
      • B. Changes in sloths' habitats
      • C. How extinct sloths compare with living sloths
      • D. The benefits of putting monitoring devices on sloths

    Practice Cross-Text Connections Questions

    Drill cross-text connections questions in the Digital SAT Reading & Writing question bank, or take a full-length practice module to see how this skill appears under test conditions.

    FAQs

    What is Cross-Text Connections on the Digital SAT?

    Cross-Text Connections questions pair two short passages and ask how one author would respond to the other, or where the two agree or disagree. The answer is always anchored in text, not opinion.

    How hard are cross-text connections questions?

    Cross-Text Connections questions appear at every difficulty level on the Digital SAT Reading & Writing section. The hardest versions gate access to the top scaled scores in the hard Module 2.

    How do I practice cross-text connections?

    Use the 1600.now question bank to filter for cross-text connections questions, solve at least 20 in a row, and review every miss with the written explanation.

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