SAT Reading & Writing · Cross-Text Connections
**Text 1** Observational studies found that people whose diets were naturally high in antioxidant-rich foods, including foods containing…
**Text 1**
Observational studies found that people whose diets were naturally high in antioxidant-rich foods, including foods containing vitamin E, tended to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease than people with lower dietary antioxidant intake.
**Text 2**
Large randomized controlled trials that gave participants high-dose vitamin E supplements, instead of relying on dietary intake, failed to find the cardiovascular benefit that the earlier observational research had suggested.
Which choice best describes the relationship between the two texts?
Observational studies found that people whose diets were naturally high in antioxidant-rich foods, including foods containing vitamin E, tended to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease than people with lower dietary antioxidant intake.
**Text 2**
Large randomized controlled trials that gave participants high-dose vitamin E supplements, instead of relying on dietary intake, failed to find the cardiovascular benefit that the earlier observational research had suggested.
Which choice best describes the relationship between the two texts?
Answer and explanation
Answer: D: The texts suggest that a nutrient's association with health benefits when consumed as part of a whole diet may not transfer to the same nutrient given as an isolated, high-dose supplement.
The two texts differ in more than just their conclusions, they tested different things: whole-diet antioxidant intake in Text 1 versus isolated high-dose supplementation in Text 2. D is the only choice that identifies this distinction as the likely explanation for the differing results, instead of treating the studies as directly comparable. A overstates Text 2 into a sweeping claim about all circumstances. C incorrectly treats dietary intake and supplementation as the same intervention. B misstates the relationship, since Text 2 actually fails to replicate Text 1's suggested benefit instead of confirming it.
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