Question 77·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure

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Cognitive scientists investigating how people remember routes asked participants to study a town map together with written turn-by-turn directions. When later shown a rotated version of the map and given the directions again, participants often selected routes consistent with the verbal directions rather than with the spatial relationships shown on the original map. Some researchers interpreted this result as evidence that verbal encoding had replaced participants' spatial memory. The same choices would be expected, however, if participants retained a spatial representation but consulted the directions only when the rotated map made two routes seem equally plausible. In a follow-up trial in which the directions were unavailable, participants still identified the relative positions of landmarks at above-chance rates, indicating that spatial information had remained available.

Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?

For a function question, identify the claim immediately before the underlined sentence, then determine whether the sentence supports it, limits it, or introduces a competing explanation. Finally, connect that role to the evidence that follows; pay particular attention to whether a sentence shows that evidence is conclusive or merely compatible with more than one account.

Hints

Hint 1
Compare the two accounts
Identify what the researchers infer before the underlined sentence and what hypothetical possibility the sentence introduces.
Hint 2
Focus on the modal wording
Consider what the phrase “would be expected” implies about whether the initial choices uniquely support one explanation.
Hint 3
Examine the follow-up test
Ask what becomes possible to test when the directions are no longer available.

Step-by-step

Step 1
Identify the initial interpretation
Some researchers infer from the participants' route selections that verbal encoding had replaced spatial memory.
Step 2
Analyze the alternative account
The underlined sentence explains that the same selections could occur even if spatial memory remained intact: participants might consult the directions only when the rotated map left more than one route plausible. The initial behavior therefore does not distinguish between replacement and retention.
Step 3
Connect the sentence to the follow-up
The follow-up removes access to the directions and tests participants' knowledge of landmark positions. Their above-chance performance provides the additional evidence needed to determine whether spatial information remained available.

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SAT Reading: Craft and StructureIntermediateCoreFunction of the underlined sentence: what does this sentence do?

Question 77·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Craft and Structure

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