For cross-text connections questions, first state (in your own words) the single main critique or claim each text makes, then look for an answer choice that correctly assigns each critique to the correct text. Treat each option as two checks—Text 1 half and Text 2 half—and eliminate any option that misattributes, swaps, or overgeneralizes either text.
Hints
- Hint 1
Pinpoint Text 1’s ‘missing factor’
In Text 1, what does the author say Jacobs is “blind” to, and what examples are given?
- Hint 2
Pinpoint Text 2’s ‘missing factor’
In Text 2, who/what does Jacobs “underestimate,” and what consequence does the author warn about?
- Hint 3
Test each option as two separate matches
For each choice, check whether the Text 1 half matches Text 1 and the Text 2 half matches Text 2. Eliminate any choice where either half doesn’t align.
Step-by-step
- Step 1
Identify Text 1’s critique
Text 1 says Jacobs’s street-level focus “blind[s] her to the importance of metropolitan-scale transportation networks” and mentions “highways and rail corridors.” So Text 1’s criticism is that she overlooks large-scale regional infrastructure.
- Step 2
Identify Text 2’s critique
Text 2 says Jacobs “underestimates the entrenched political and economic power of real-estate interests” and mentions “power imbalances” and the risk of co-optation. So Text 2’s criticism is that she overlooks powerful economic/political interests shaping cities.
- Step 3
Match the difference to an answer choice
Select the option whose first half matches Text 1’s infrastructure critique and whose second half matches Text 2’s real-estate/power-imbalance critique.
- Step 4
Confirm the best choice
Only one choice pairs “overlooks the role of large-scale infrastructure” (Text 1) with “overlooks the influence of powerful economic interests” (Text 2).
Therefore, the correct answer is: The author of Text 1 argues that Jacobs overlooks the role of large-scale infrastructure, whereas the author of Text 2 argues that Jacobs overlooks the influence of powerful economic interests.