Command of Evidence — Textual

In a hypothetical museum study, a curator proposes that labels describing how a ceramic object was made direct visitors' attention to physical traces of its production. She predicts that these labels will be more effective for that purpose than labels describing the artist's childhood. Visitors are randomly assigned to read one of the two label types beside the same objects.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the curator's prediction?

A. Visitors reading production labels correctly recalled more dates from the labels.

B. Visitors reading childhood labels described the artists as more relatable.

C. Visitors reading production labels identified more tool marks on the objects.

D. Visitors in both groups considered the objects equally attractive.

The following original poem describes a potter at work.

My mother's bowl stands near the wheel. Its glaze is dark as winter rain. I keep her curve beneath the rim, then turn the lip toward my own hand. Outside, the first cart shakes the lane. I set the finished bowl to dry.

Which quotation best supports the interpretation that the speaker respects an inherited design while adapting it?

A. "My mother's bowl stands near the wheel."

B. "I keep her curve beneath the rim, / then turn the lip toward my own hand."

C. "Its glaze is dark as winter rain."

D. "I set the finished bowl to dry."

In a hypothetical study, researchers observe moths visiting pale flowers after dark. They hypothesize that the flowers' scent helps guide the moths to them even when the flowers cannot be seen. The researchers can release the scent at an empty location while controlling whether the location is visible.

Which finding, if true, would most directly support the hypothesis?

A. In complete darkness, moths approached an outlet releasing the scent more often than an otherwise identical outlet releasing unscented air.

B. The pale flowers produced more scent after sunset than before sunset.

C. Moths visited pale flowers more frequently than dark flowers under bright light.

D. The flowers' scent contained several different chemical compounds.

At an invented archaeological site, a layer dated to the town's later period contains three times as many ceramic fragments as an equally sized layer from its earlier period. An archaeologist argues that the greater fragment count indicates that ordinary households used a wider variety of ceramic cooking vessels during the later period.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the archaeologist's argument?

A. Some earlier-period fragments have decorative patterns also found in the later layer.

B. The town's population was approximately the same in both periods.

C. Both layers contain fragments of vessels made from locally available clay.

D. Most later-period fragments fit together into a few large ceremonial vessels rather than household cooking vessels.

In a hypothetical school study, students who choose an optional peer-feedback workshop produce stronger final essays than students who do not attend. The coordinator argues that the workshop improves revision skill. A reviewer notes that students already skilled at writing may be especially likely to enroll.

Which additional finding, if true, would most directly address the reviewer's concern while supporting the coordinator's argument?

A. Workshop participants report that they enjoyed exchanging suggestions.

B. Workshop participants submit their final essays earlier than nonparticipants.

C. Among students with similar initial revision scores, participants improve more on a new revision task than nonparticipants.

D. Several workshop participants had earned high grades in previous writing courses.

In a hypothetical gardening experiment, mulch increases seedling survival. Researchers propose that it does so primarily by slowing water loss from the soil rather than by protecting seedlings from insects. They can separately maintain equal soil moisture across mulched and unmulched beds or exclude insects from both kinds of bed.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the proposed mechanism?

A. Equalizing soil moisture eliminates the survival advantage of mulch, whereas excluding insects does not.

B. Mulched beds contain fewer insects than unmulched beds.

C. Seedlings survive more frequently with mulch than without it.

D. Gardeners use several different materials as mulch.

The following is from an original play. Mira is about to show her father a machine she built.

MIRA: It works. I tested every gear. FATHER: Then why wait outside? MIRA: I am not waiting for permission. [She reaches for the door, then withdraws her hand when he looks away.] FATHER: Shall we go in? MIRA: If you have time.

Which quotation best supports the interpretation that Mira asserts independence while still seeking her father's attention?

A. "It works. I tested every gear."

B. "Then why wait outside?"

C. "Shall we go in?"

D. "I am not waiting for permission. [She reaches for the door, then withdraws her hand when he looks away.]"

In a hypothetical theater study, ticket holders who receive a reminder describing the play's story attend more often than those receiving no reminder. The theater proposes that increased interest in the story, rather than a simple reminder of the date, explains the difference. Researchers then randomly assign new ticket holders to receive either the story reminder or a date-only reminder, both sent at the same time.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the theater's proposed explanation?

A. Both reminder groups remember the date more accurately than a group receiving no reminder.

B. The groups recall the date equally well before the performance, but the story group reports greater interest and subsequently attends more often.

C. The story reminder is longer than the date-only reminder.

D. Within the story group, people who attend rate the performance more highly than people who leave early.