Cross-Text Connections
How to Identify
Instead of having one passage, these questions will have two texts, labelled "Text 1" and "Text 2". The question will ask you something about how the two texts relate to each other.
Example Question
The Actual Question Can Vary
While you can easily identify these by the presence of two texts, and the question will make some reference to "Text 1" and "Text 2", the actual question can vary a fair amount. It may ask you how one author would reply to an underlined portion of the other text, or how they would respond to the other text as a whole. Or it may ask you what both authors would agree on, etc.
How to Approach
In many cases it will ask how one author would respond to something. In that case, I recommend starting by reading the text by the author whom they are asking about how they would respond, so that you have their perspective as your foundation. Then you can read the second text under that lens. Keep in mind that the differences between the texts can sometimes be nuanced. Rather than the two authors completely disagreeing with each other, there is often some common ground, but they might have different perspectives or a disagreement on a specific point.
Summarize in Your Own Words
As you go through the texts, try to summarize each sentence in your own words, and then each text as a whole. This will help you get a feel for the texts, and will help you see how they relate to each other.
Identify How the Texts Relate
The texts are always related in some way. Sometimes they are very directly related, but offer different perspectives. Other times they might be less directly related, but have some overlapping subject matter. Try to identify how the texts are related, and and how the two authors' perspectives relate to each other. Keep in mind that the differences between the texts can sometimes be nuanced. Rather than the two authors completely disagreeing with each other, there is often some common ground, but they might have different perspectives or a disagreement on a specific point.
Wrong Answers To Look Out For
Be on the lookout for all the common wrong answer types we discussed in Wrong Answers, but especially the following:
Overstatement
Some wrong answers might take something claimed in a text, but overexaggerate it or take it too far to be supported by the text.
Opposite
Some answer choices will actually be the opposite of the correct answer. Make sure you are careful to answer the question from the perspective of the right author, and be sure to read carefully enough to know what their perspective is, not just the subject they are discussing.