# SAT Command of Evidence (Textual): Method, Example | topin

SAT guidesCommand of Evidence: Textual

Section

Reading and Writing, Information and Ideas domain

Count

Usually 1–3 per module

Question forms

Which finding would support or weaken a hypothesis; which quotation illustrates a claim

Subjects

Mostly science and social science studies, plus literature

Time

About a minute and a half

## How it works

A passage describes a claim, often a researcher's hypothesis, or a reading of a literary work. The question asks which choice would most directly support or weaken it, or, for literature, which quotation best illustrates it. Each choice is a possible finding or quotation, and you judge whether it bears on the claim exactly as stated.

## Worked example

Many songbirds begin their spring migration at about the same time each year. An ecologist hypothesises that one species, the pale-throated warbler, times its departure by changes in day length rather than by changes in temperature. Which finding, if true, would most directly support the ecologist's hypothesis?

1. APale-throated warblers kept at a constant temperature but exposed to natural changes in daylight became restless and ready to migrate at their usual time.
2. BPale-throated warblers migrate farther each spring than most other songbirds in the region.
3. CIn unusually warm springs, many insects that pale-throated warblers eat appear earlier than usual.
4. DPale-throated warblers kept with fixed daylight but exposed to natural temperature changes became ready to migrate at their usual time.
Show the answer

A

To support the claim that day length, not temperature, controls timing, you need a result where day length changes, temperature does not, and the birds still prepare on schedule. A gives exactly that. D is the reverse: it points to temperature and would weaken the hypothesis. B is about distance, not timing. C is about insects and does not separate day length from temperature.

## A method for Command of Evidence: Textual

1. 1  
### Restate the claim precisely  
Write it in a few words with every limit it carries, such as "day length, not temperature, sets timing". Words such as some, only, most and rather than decide what counts as support.
2. 2  
### Decide what evidence would test it  
Ask what result would only happen if the claim were true. For a cause-and-effect claim, that means changing one factor while holding the other steady.
3. 3  
### Check whether each choice touches the claim  
Rule out choices about a different variable, group or outcome, however true they sound.
4. 4  
### Check the direction  
Make sure the choice supports when asked to support, and weakens when asked to weaken. Reversed choices are a common trap.

## Traps to avoid

* A true, on-topic finding that does not actually test the claim, such as a fact about the same animal's diet.
* A finding that would support the opposite claim, placed for students who stop at the topic match.
* A finding about a broader or narrower group than the claim covers.
* For quotation questions, a line that mentions the right subject but does not show the quality the claim describes.

## Command of Evidence: Textual FAQs

What does 'most directly support' mean on the SAT?

The finding has to bear on the exact claim, not just its topic. If the claim is about what causes something, the best support isolates that cause.

How are textual and quantitative Command of Evidence different?

Textual questions use findings described in words or quotations from a text. Quantitative questions give a table or graph and ask you to use its data to complete or support a claim.

Do I need science knowledge for these questions?

No. Everything you need is in the passage, and choices should be judged as if they are true. What helps is knowing basic study logic, such as why a control group matters.

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