Cross-Text Connections: Disagreement and Response
SAT Reading & WritingCraft & StructureHard
Predict how one author would respond to the other by matching claims and assumptions.
What you need to know
- A response must reflect the responding author’s actual position.
- Locate the precise claim in Text 1 that Text 2 would address.
- Distinguish disagreement about facts, explanation, importance, or recommendation.
- Do not make an author more extreme than the passage.
The AYLOTI method
- State the target claim from the named text.
- Find the responding author’s relevant belief.
- Combine them into “Author 2 would say…” language.
- Check tone and degree against the responding text.
AYLOTI • Sir Hunain Zia • SAT Score 1594/1600 • 154 Total A Grades (Personal), 11 World Records, 7 Distinctions
Worked example
Author 1 says a decline is caused mainly by habitat loss. Author 2 presents evidence that disease explains most of the decline in protected habitats. How would Author 2 respond?
- Target: habitat loss is the main cause.
- Author 2’s protected-habitat evidence reduces that explanation’s reach.
- The response should challenge sufficiency, not deny all habitat effects.
Answer: Author 2 would argue that habitat loss alone cannot explain the decline because it also occurs where habitat is protected.
Common SAT traps
- Claiming Author 2 rejects every role for habitat.
- Responding with a point unrelated to the target claim.
- Confusing evidence offered by Author 1 with Author 2’s view.
Quick check
If Text 2 says an effect is smaller than Text 1 claims, do the authors necessarily disagree that the effect exists?
No. They may disagree only about its size.
Before you move on
- Explain the core rule without looking back.
- Redo the worked example using your own steps.
- Write the trap you are most likely to fall for.
