Question 77·Medium·Cross-Text Connections

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Text 1
City planners often overlook the humble community garden when drafting redevelopment blueprints, yet these volunteer-tended plots provide more than fresh produce. Because the labor is shared and the harvest is distributed without regard to income or background, gardens become what sociologists call "third places"—neutral grounds where neighbors meet, cooperate, and form enduring bonds. Consequently, once a municipality allocates an unused lot, the community itself will maintain that space indefinitely, reaping both environmental and social dividends.

Text 2
A recent multi-city study tracked 312 community gardens over a decade. Researchers confirmed that the gardens strengthened neighborhood ties and reduced residents' feelings of isolation. However, the data also revealed an unintended consequence: in areas where property values rose sharply, 41 % of gardens were later converted into private developments despite vigorous local protests. Lead author Dr. Lin observes, "Communal enthusiasm alone cannot counteract market forces; without legal protections, many gardens will disappear just as their social benefits peak."

Question
Based on the information in both texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to Text 1's assertion that simply setting aside a vacant lot ensures a garden's long-term success?

A question about two texts tests how one author would respond to a claim in the other. Start with the question to find who answers whom and the exact promise being judged. Then put each text's claim and reason in a few words, watching for limits on that promise. Name the author's view: does the responding author reject the claim, accept it with limits, or carry it further? A response needs that author's own reason, not only their view.

Hints

Hint 1
The question targets Text 1's final sentence. Identify what allocating an unused lot is supposed to guarantee.
Hint 2
In Text 2, look for what happens despite local protests. How does Dr. Lin explain that result?

Step-by-step

Test the promise against the study
Step 1
Locate the promise being judged
Text 1 promises that the community itself will maintain that space indefinitely once a lot is allocated. What is Text 2's author being asked to judge? Whether providing land alone guarantees a garden's future, rather than whether gardens help neighbors. We're testing the promise of permanence.
Step 2
Read the study's two findings
What does the study support, and what does it challenge? Researchers found that gardens strengthened neighborhood ties, which supports Text 1's praise of their social benefits. But in areas where property values rose sharply, 41 % became private developments despite local protests. Gardens can build bonds and still lose their land, so willing volunteers don't guarantee that a garden will remain.
Step 3
Find why the guarantee fails
Dr. Lin says Communal enthusiasm alone cannot counteract market forces, which explains why local protests weren't enough. What view does that support? Text 2 rejects the guarantee, not the gardens' value. The warning without legal protections names what's missing from Text 1's promise: protection for the land against the market, not greater effort from volunteers.
Step 4
Match the response to that reason
Which response gives that reason? The choice pairing initial allocation is vital with additional safeguards are needed treats land allocation as a first step, not a guarantee. Its warning about future economic pressures matches Dr. Lin's concern about market forces, and the added safeguards answer his call for legal protections. Choice B.

Lessons that teach this

SAT Reading: Craft and StructureAdvancedCoreText 1 and Text 2: how would one author respond?

Question 77·Medium·Cross-Text Connections

Strategy

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Step-by-step

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