Question 115·Easy·Cross-Text Connections
Text 1
In the year after Riverton banned single-use plastic bags, volunteers recorded 40% less plastic litter along the riverbanks. The timing and magnitude of the drop indicate that eliminating plastic bags directly reduced river pollution.
Text 2
During the same year, the city also launched weekly cleanup events, expanded trash pickup in parks, and added more public bins. Given these overlapping efforts, it is uncertain whether the bag ban alone caused the decline in riverbank plastic.
Which choice best describes a difference in how the authors of Text 1 and Text 2 interpret the reported decline in plastic litter?
For cross-text questions, first summarize each text’s main point in your own words—especially how each one explains a key result or event. Then look for the difference in attitude (certainty vs. uncertainty, single cause vs. multiple causes, support vs. skepticism). Eliminate any answer that introduces ideas not mentioned in the texts (like costs, benefits, or calls for more data that aren’t there), and choose the option that most precisely captures how the two authors’ interpretations or explanations contrast.
Hints
Locate each author’s explanation of the decline
In each text, find the sentence that explains why plastic litter went down. Pay close attention to any cause-and-effect language (like “indicate,” “caused,” or “given these efforts”).
Notice confidence vs. uncertainty
Ask yourself: Does the author speak as if they are sure about the cause of the decline, or do they sound cautious and unsure? Compare that tone between Text 1 and Text 2.
Eliminate choices that mention topics not in the texts
Check whether either text talks about financial costs, environmental benefits in detail, or the need for more data. If an answer mentions something that isn’t in the texts, you can safely eliminate it.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify Text 1’s interpretation
Read Text 1 and focus on how the author explains the decline in plastic litter.
Text 1 says volunteers recorded “40% less plastic litter” and then states that “the timing and magnitude of the drop indicate that eliminating plastic bags directly reduced river pollution.”
So, Text 1 is treating the bag ban as the main (direct) cause of the decline in plastic litter.
Identify Text 2’s interpretation
Now read Text 2 and look for how this author explains the same decline.
Text 2 lists several other actions: weekly cleanup events, expanded trash pickup, and more public bins. Then it says, “Given these overlapping efforts, it is uncertain whether the bag ban alone caused the decline.”
So, Text 2 is questioning whether the decline can be credited just to the bag ban, suggesting that other actions might also explain the drop.
Contrast the two viewpoints
Compare the attitudes:
- Text 1: confident and specific about cause, directly tying the decline to the bag ban.
- Text 2: cautious and uncertain, pointing out multiple possible causes and saying it’s unclear if the ban alone is responsible.
The key difference is that one text sees the bag ban as the primary cause, while the other emphasizes that other initiatives could be responsible for some or all of the decline.
Match this contrast to the answer choices
Scan each answer choice and ask: which one says that Text 1 credits the bag ban itself, while Text 2 raises doubt by mentioning other efforts?
Only choice A) Text 1 attributes the decline primarily to the bag ban, whereas Text 2 suggests other concurrent initiatives may explain some or all of the decline. accurately captures this difference, so A is correct.