Question Bank / Reading and Writing / Cross-Text Connections
Cross-Text Connections SAT question
Reading and Writing · Craft and Structure · Hard · Answer it here, explanation included.
Text 1
Like the work of Ralph Ellison before her, Toni Morrison’s novels feature scenes in which characters deliver sermons of such length and verbal dexterity that for a time, the text exchanges the formal parameters of fiction for those of oral literature. Given the many other echoes of Ellison in Morrison’s novels, both in structure and prose style, these scenes suggest Ellison’s direct influence on Morrison.
Text 2
In their destabilizing effect on literary form, the sermons in Morrison’s works recall those in Ellison’s. Yet literature by Black Americans abounds in moments where interpolated speech erodes the division between oral and written forms that literature in English has traditionally observed. Morrison’s use of the sermon is attributable not only to the influence of Ellison but also to a community-wide strategy of resistance to externally imposed literary conventions.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely characterize the underlined claim in Text 1?
ExplanationShow
Choice A is the best answer. The author of Text 2 argues that Morrison’s use of the sermon is not only influenced by Ellison, but also by a “community-wide strategy of resistance” to literary conventions practiced by Black American authors. Ellison, Text 2 alleges, is only one of many influences on Morrison.
Choice B is incorrect. Neither text specifically mentions sermons in works by authors other than Morrison or Ellison, only a tendency towards eroding “the division between oral and written forms” among Black American writers. Choice C is incorrect. Both texts describe similarities between the works of Ellison and Morrison, and neither points out instances of divergence. Text 2 simply suggests that Morrison was influenced by more than just Ellison. Choice D is incorrect. While Text 2 does discuss Morrison’s resistance to certain literary conventions, it’s unclear what it would mean for the underlined claim to be “indebted” to that tradition. This choice recycles language from the text, but not in a way that makes any coherent point.
Drill this skill on Aceit
Adaptive practice, a daily plan, and score tracking take a free account so we can save your work.
More Cross-Text Connections questions
- Text 1 In 1916, H. Dugdale Sykes disputed claims that The Two Noble Kinsmen was coauthored by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Sykes felt Fletcher's contributions to the pla
- Text 1 Public policy researcher Anthony Fowler studied the history of elections in Australia, a country that requires citizens to vote. Fowler argues that requiring citizens to vo
- Text 1 Growth in the use of novel nanohybrids—materials created from the conjugation of multiple distinct nanomaterials, such as iron oxide and gold nanomaterials conjugated for u
- Text 1 Africa's Sahara region—once a lush ecosystem—began to dry out about 8,000 years ago. A change in Earth's orbit that affected climate has been posited as a cause of desertif
- Text 1 Soy sauce, made from fermented soybeans, is noted for its umami flavor. Umami—one of the five basic tastes along with sweet, bitter, salty, and sour—was formally classified
- Text 1 Dance choreographer Alvin Ailey's deep admiration for jazz music can most clearly be felt in the rhythms and beats his works were set to. Ailey collaborated with some of th