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SAT Reading and Writing skill page

SAT Command of Evidence Practice

Learn how to connect claims to the exact sentence, result, or detail that proves them.

Practice Command of Evidence in DolphinPractice questions
12-18 min practice time3 questions on pageInformation and Ideas
Practice time12-18 min
Question bank3 questions
Best forInformation and Ideas

What this tests

What to know for this SAT skill

Dolphin question bank

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Question 1 of 3Easy

In the 1700s and 1800s, European composers experimented with volume in their musical works. They did so by increasing the number of musicians playing in the orchestra. For example, in some of his operas, German composer Richard Wagner added more horns, trombones, and tubas to the orchestra. With more instruments playing at the same time, the orchestra could play extremely loudly at key moments in his operas. 

According to the text, how did Richard Wagner achieve moments of extremely high volume in his operas?
  1. By moving the performances of his operas from outdoor stages to indoor ones
  2. By increasing the number of musicians playing horns, trombones, and tubas in the orchestra
  3. By building a concert hall whose shape would cause sounds to echo
  4. By insisting that the singers undergo special training to sing for extended periods of time
Show answer and solution
Correct answerB. By increasing the number of musicians playing horns, trombones, and tubas in the orchestra

Solution walkthrough

  1. Choice B is the best answer because it presents a statement about how Richard Wagner achieved moments of extremely high volume in his operas that is supported by the text.
  2. The text states that European composers experimented with volume in their works by increasing the number of musicians in the orchestra and provides the example of Wagner, who "added more horns, trombones, and tubas to the orchestra. "
  3. The text explains that by having more of these instruments playing at the same time, the overall volume of the orchestra could be dramatically increased at key moments in Wagner’s operas. Choice A is incorrect because the text never indicates that Wagner moved his operas indoors to achieve moments of extremely high volume, nor does it indicate that his operas were previously performed outdoors.
  4. The only technique discussed in the text for achieving extremely high volume is Wagner’s addition of more instruments to create a bigger, louder orchestra.
Why the other choices miss
Choice C is incorrect because the text never says that Wagner built or used a specially designed concert hall to increase volume through echoes. The only technique discussed in the text is Wagner’s addition of more instruments to create a bigger, louder orchestra. Choice D is incorrect because the text never mentions any special training for singers related to volume or singing for extended periods. The text’s focus is entirely on the orchestra and how Wagner and other European composers used instruments to experiment with volume in their musical works.
Question 2 of 3Medium

In the 1970s, a roughly 60,000-year-old piece of hyena bone marked with nine notches was discovered at a site in western France once inhabited by Neanderthals. Although many believe that only modern humans developed systems for notating numbers, one archaeologist asserts that this artifact may be a sign that Neanderthals also recorded numerical information. The notches on the bone are unevenly spaced but approximately parallel, and microscopic analysis reveals that they were made with a single stone tool; according to the archaeologist, this suggests that the notches were all made at one time by one individual as a means of counting something.

Which finding, if true, would most directly weaken the underlined claim?
  1. Parallel lines are a common feature in modern humans' early systems for recording numerical information.
  2. More than nine approximately parallel notches made with a different stone tool are present on another artifact found at a site in western France.
  3. It would have taken careful effort to make evenly spaced lines on bone with the stone tools typically used by Neanderthals.
  4. Decorative art discovered at another Neanderthal site in western France primarily features patterns of unevenly spaced parallel lines.
Show answer and solution
Correct answerD. Decorative art discovered at another Neanderthal site in western France primarily features patterns of unevenly spaced parallel lines.

Solution walkthrough

  1. Choice D is the best answer.
  2. The archeologist bases their claim on the fact that the hyena bone features unevenly spaced parallel notches.
  3. But if unevenly spaced parallel lines were found on "decorative art" at another Neanderthal site, it would suggest that the hyena bone is probably decorative art as well—not a counting tool. Choice A is incorrect.
  4. This choice doesn’t weaken the underlined claim.
  5. If anything, it might actually strengthen the claim: assuming we can make an inference about Neanderthals using a fact about early humans, it provides more support for the idea that the person who made the notches was counting something.
Why the other choices miss
Choice B is incorrect. This choice doesn’t weaken the underlined claim. The fact that another artifact had parallel notches made with a different stone tool doesn’t tell us anything about the use of either artifact. For all we know, they could both have been used for counting. Choice C is incorrect. This choice doesn’t weaken the underlined claim. The fact that it took effort to make the lines doesn’t tell us anything about what the lines were for.
Question 3 of 3Easy

Happy House is a 1920 novel by Jane Abbott. The narrator presents a young woman as being unimpressed with the house she is visiting:

Which quotation from Happy House most effectively illustrates the claim?
  1. “Her first feeling was of disappointment; in the square lines of the house there was little claim to beauty.”
  2. “Someone had opened one of the blinds so here there was more light.”
  3. “The door, built squarely in the middle of the house, opened almost directly upon a stone-flagged path that led in a straight line to the road.”
  4. “She tip-toed through the hall and opened the door on the right.”
Show answer and solution
Correct answerA. “Her first feeling was of disappointment; in the square lines of the house there was little claim to beauty.”

Solution walkthrough

  1. Choice A is the best answer because it most effectively uses a quotation from Happy House to illustrate the claim that the young woman is unimpressed with the house she is visiting.
  2. In the quotation, it says the young woman’s "first feeling was of disappointment" and that "there was little claim to beauty" when referring to the house.
  3. This disappointment and the overall lack of beauty in the house suggest that the young woman isn’t impressed by the house she is visiting. Choice B is incorrect because the quotation doesn’t describe what the young woman thinks about the house.
  4. Instead, it indicates that there is more light because window blinds have been opened.
Why the other choices miss
Choice C is incorrect because the quotation describes a door and a path outside of the house but doesn’t include anything to indicate the young woman’s feelings about the house. Choice D is incorrect because the quotation states what the young woman did in the house ("tip-toed through the hall" and "opened the door"), but it doesn’t show what she thinks about it.

Avoid these traps

Common mistakes on this skill

Picking true but irrelevant evidence

Evidence must support the specific claim in the question, not just repeat a true passage detail.

Overstating the passage

Avoid answers with extreme words if the evidence only supports a narrower claim.

Ignoring the author's wording

Match the scope and certainty of the evidence instead of strengthening the claim beyond what the passage says.

Study plan

How to practice this skill in Dolphin

  1. Underline the claim or task in the question.
  2. Find the specific sentence, finding, or passage detail that addresses that claim.
  3. Eliminate answers that are true but do not prove the claim.
  4. Choose the answer with the closest evidence-to-claim match.
Practice Command of Evidence in Dolphin

Related practice

Build the surrounding skills

SAT Quantitative Evidence PracticeSAT Words in Context PracticeSAT Transitions PracticeSAT Reading and Writing skill hub

Skill cluster

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FAQ

Questions about SAT Command of Evidence Practice

What does Command of Evidence mean on the SAT?

It means using passage statements, research findings, or textual details to support a claim accurately.

Are evidence questions always about quotes?

No. Textual evidence can come from wording, comparisons, research findings, or a specific passage detail. Graph and table questions are covered on the quantitative evidence page.

How do I improve at evidence questions?

Practice naming the claim first, then choosing only the detail that directly proves that claim.