Question 113·Medium·Inferences
Open-source mapping platforms depend on volunteers to add and update data. Despite the lack of formal credentials, these contributors often produce maps whose accuracy rivals that of professional surveys. In a recent pilot program, when volunteers received monthly summaries showing how their edits reduced delivery times and improved emergency response routes, the number of active contributors rose significantly. Based on this information, it is most reasonable to infer that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For SAT Reading & Writing inference-completion questions, first identify the key cause-and-effect or contrast in the passage, especially near the blank. Ask yourself: "Given what just happened, what general idea is strongly suggested?" Then, eliminate choices that introduce new topics, contradict the passage, or use extreme language (like "always," "never," "only," or "any"). Choose the option that reasonably generalizes the relationship shown in the text without going beyond the evidence.
Hints
Focus on the cause-and-effect in the pilot program
Look closely at what changed during the pilot program and what happened afterward. What did the volunteers start receiving, and what happened to the number of active contributors?
Think about what motivates volunteers
From the description of the pilot program’s results, what can you reasonably conclude about what helps volunteers stay active or become more active on the platform?
Beware of new or extreme ideas
Eliminate any answer that introduces topics the passage never mentions (like money or internet access) or that makes very strong claims (using words like "any" or "only"). Then see which remaining choice best matches the pattern described in the pilot program.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the question is asking
The question asks what is most reasonable to infer based on the information in the passage. That means you must choose something that is strongly suggested by the text but not directly stated, and avoid anything that adds new, unsupported ideas.
Identify the key evidence in the passage
Focus on the description of the pilot program:
- Volunteers received monthly summaries.
- These summaries showed how their edits reduced delivery times and improved emergency response routes.
- After this change, the number of active contributors rose significantly.
This clearly sets up a cause-and-effect pattern: after volunteers were shown information about their edits, then more of them stayed active.
Decide what kind of inference you can safely make
From this cause-and-effect pattern, you can infer something general about what encourages volunteers to keep contributing.
You cannot infer anything unrelated to what the passage discusses (like internet access or money), and you cannot make extreme claims (like saying professionals are never needed). The correct completion will:
- Connect what volunteers were given in the pilot (information about their edits)
- To the result (more active contributors)
- In a reasonable, non-extreme way.
Match the choices to the evidence and eliminate extremes
Now check each answer choice against the passage:
- Choice B brings in internet access, which the passage never mentions—this is new, unsupported information.
- Choice C says professional cartographers are no longer necessary for any mapping tasks, which is an extreme claim not supported by the text.
- Choice D talks about financial bonuses as the only reliable way to maintain engagement, but the passage never mentions money, and in fact shows engagement rising without bonuses.
- Choice A directly fits the pattern: when volunteers were shown how their work helped in real situations, participation increased. This generalizes the passage’s cause-and-effect relationship in a reasonable way.
Therefore, the correct answer is A) clearly communicating the real-world impact of volunteers’ contributions can help sustain or increase their participation.