SAT Reading & Writing: Using Data to Support or Refute a Claim
36+ practice questions in Praczo
The concept, explained
- 1
These questions pair a passage with a graph or table and ask whether the data supports, refutes, or is neutral to a claim. Read the claim carefully before examining the data.
- 2
"Supports" means the data is consistent with and makes the claim more plausible. "Refutes" means the data contradicts the claim. "Neither" means the data doesn't address it.
- 3
Identify exactly what the claim asserts, then look for data that directly addresses that specific point.
- 4
Scope matters: if the claim says "in all countries" but the data covers only two, the data may neither support nor refute it.
- 5
When completing a sentence using data, choose the option that accurately reflects what the data shows — not one that exaggerates direction or magnitude.
- ✗ Choosing "supports" when the data shows correlation but the claim makes a causal statement — correlation data cannot support causation claims.
- ✗ Misreading graphs by ignoring axis labels, units, or the specific year/category being referenced.
SAT-style practice
A student claims: "Spending on public transportation increased every year from 2018 to 2022." A table shows: 2018: (42B, 2019: )45B, 2020: (41B, 2021: )48B, 2022: $51B. What is the relationship between the data and the claim?
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