Question 194·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Information and Ideas
Two early-twentieth-century plays by Clara Voss and Daniel Reyes contain courtroom scenes in which witnesses enter in the same unusual order. Because Voss's play premiered first, scholars have generally concluded that Reyes copied her scene. Literary historian Mina Patel instead argues that the playwrights independently adapted a stagecraft manual published years earlier.
Which archival finding, if true, would most strongly support Patel's argument?
For command-of-evidence questions involving competing source explanations, identify what the favored explanation uniquely predicts. Prioritize evidence that establishes direct use, correct chronology, and independence rather than evidence showing only that a source existed or was generally accessible.
Hints
Separate the two explanations
Ask what would distinguish direct copying from two writers' independent use of an earlier source.
Examine the chronology
Consider whether each finding comes from before or after one playwright could have encountered the other's script.
Distinguish access from use
Evidence that a source was available is weaker than evidence showing how it was used during composition.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the competing accounts
The conventional account says Reyes copied Voss. Patel instead proposes that each playwright independently adapted the same stagecraft manual.
Determine what the evidence must establish
Strong evidence should document each playwright's use of the manual during composition and should predate any opportunity for one script to influence the other.
Compare the findings
The separate drafts meet both requirements: they were created before either script circulated, each explicitly cites the manual, and the different optional details indicate that the playwrights made separate selections from that source.