Command of Evidence Pattern - Find the Fact

Locating a specific data point in a table or graph to complete a sentence

Some SAT questions give you a short passage with a blank and ask you to fill it in using data from a table or graph. These are "Find the Fact" questions — your job is to locate one specific piece of information in the graphic and pick the answer choice that states it correctly.

Here's a simple example. Read the passage, look at the table, then consider the answer choices:

In a chemistry class, students are learning about the physical properties of metals. One student is making flashcards to study melting points. On one card, the student writes: "Iron has a very high melting point of 1538°C." To create a comparison on another card, the student writes, "In contrast, the common metal lead has a much lower melting point of ______"

Which choice most effectively uses data from the table to complete the comparison?

A) 327°C. B) 1085°C. C) 660°C. D) 1064°C.

The text tells you to find the melting point of lead. Look at the table: Lead's melting point is 327°C. That's choice A. The wrong answers pull numbers from the table that belong to other metals — choice B is copper (1085°C), choice C is aluminum (660°C), and choice D is gold (1064°C). The entire question hinges on reading the right row.

 

How to recognize it

The question will say something like "Which choice most effectively uses data from the table/graph to complete the text?" The passage will contain a blank, and the answer choices will be numbers or data points. There will always be a table or graph alongside the passage.

 

How to approach it

Follow these steps:

1. Read the passage first. Figure out exactly what data point is needed — which category, which row, which column, or which bar on the graph.
2. Go to the graphic. Find the specific value the passage asks for.
3. Match it to an answer choice. The correct answer will state that value accurately.

Here's an example with a graph. Read the passage, examine the graph, then work through the choices:

The widespread adoption of genetically modified (GM) crops has significantly impacted global agriculture, though results vary by crop type. Some GM varieties, like Maize-G7, have shown high yields since the beginning of this century. Other innovations have produced more dramatic improvements over time. The development of Wheat-T4, for instance, has been a key success story, with Wheat-T4's average yield increasing from ______

Which choice most effectively uses data from the graph to complete the assertion?

A) approximately 2 tons per hectare in 2000 to about 3.5 tons per hectare in 2020. B) around 4 tons per hectare in 2000 to 8 tons per hectare in 2020. C) about 5 tons per hectare in 2000 to nearly 9 tons per hectare in 2020. D) around 4 tons per hectare in 2000 to approximately 6 tons per hectare in 2020.

The passage specifically asks about Wheat-T4's yield from start to finish. In the graph, find the Wheat-T4 line (the dotted line in the legend). It starts at 4 tons per hectare in 2000 and rises to 8 tons per hectare by 2020. That matches choice B. Choice A actually describes Soya-R2 (2 to 3.5). Choice C misidentifies the starting point — Maize-G7 ended near 9 but started at 7, not 5. Choice D gets the start right (4) but understates the 2020 value (6 instead of 8).

 

Traps to watch for

• Right number, wrong category. The most common trap is an answer that uses a real value from the graphic but assigns it to the wrong item. You'll see the number in the table or graph, which makes it feel correct, but it belongs to a different row, column, or data series.
• Numbers not in the graphic. Some answer choices include values that don't appear anywhere in the data. These are designed to catch students who don't check the graphic carefully.
• Partially correct data. An answer might get one part right (such as a starting value) but misstate another part (such as the ending value). Always verify the complete claim against the graphic.

 

How the difficulty changes

Easier questions:

At the easiest level, you simply look up one value for one clearly named item. The passage tells you exactly what to find, and the table makes it obvious.

A marine biologist is studying the impact of rising ocean temperatures on coral reefs. The biologist measures the percentage of bleached coral in five different reef sections, each experiencing a different average water temperature. The biologist claims that there is a concerning link between temperature and coral health, noting that the highest percentage of bleached coral observed in any reef section is ______

A) 60%. B) 8%. C) 45%. D) 75%.

The passage asks for the highest percentage of bleached coral. Scanning the second column: 8%, 14%, 21%, 33%, 45%. The highest is 45%, which is choice C. Choice B (8%) is the lowest value. Choices A and D (60% and 75%) don't even appear in the table.

Medium questions:

At the medium level, you may need to compare values across categories or pick data that supports a specific claim. The passage frames a point, and you must find the data that best illustrates it.

A sociological study at a large university investigated the motivations behind students' choice of academic major. Students from three different academic divisions were surveyed on the primary factors influencing their decisions. The findings indicate that the reasons for selecting a major differ substantially across disciplines. As a case in point, ______

A) for Business students, 90% cited career prospects as a motivation, while only 40% cited faculty reputation. B) faculty reputation was cited as a motivation by a similar percentage of students in Engineering (35%) and Humanities (38%). C) 85% of Engineering students cited career prospects as a primary motivation for their choice of major. D) while 92% of Humanities students cited personal interest as a primary motivation, only 40% of Engineering students did so.

The passage says motivations "differ substantially across disciplines," so the example must compare the same motivation between two different groups and show a big gap. Choice D does this — Personal Interest is 92% for Humanities vs. 40% for Engineering, a huge contrast. Choice A compares two different motivations within one group (Business), which doesn't show cross-discipline variation. Choice B highlights a similarity between groups, the opposite of what's needed. Choice C gives only one data point from one group, which can't demonstrate a difference.

Harder questions:

At the hardest level, you may need to filter the data by multiple criteria (such as material type and oldest date) before identifying the correct value.

At the excavation site of an ancient settlement, archaeologists used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of various artifacts. The team carefully cataloged each find, distinguishing between 'Ceramic' fragments and items of 'Organic material' like wood or bone, as each material type provides different insights into the settlement's history. The goal was to establish a clear timeline for the site's occupation. Of the artifacts listed in the excavation log, the oldest confirmed ceramic artifact was ______

A) P-01, a ceramic piece from Hearth A dated to 1200 BCE. B) B-01, an organic item from the Midden dated to 1100 BCE. C) W-01, an organic item from Burial 2 dated to 1500 BCE. D) P-02, a ceramic piece from Floor Level 3 dated to 1450 BCE.

The passage asks for the "oldest confirmed ceramic artifact." Two steps are required: first, filter for Ceramic items only (P-01 at 1200 BCE and P-02 at 1450 BCE), then compare dates. Since 1450 BCE is older than 1200 BCE, P-02 is the oldest ceramic artifact — that's choice D. Choice A (P-01) is ceramic but more recent. Choices B and C are Organic material, not ceramic, so they fail the first filter regardless of their dates.

Here's another hard example using a graph with a quantitative threshold:

Economists studying the adoption of financial technologies (FinTech) have noted that usage is not purely a function of age. While younger generations are often early adopters, certain technologies have achieved broad acceptance. In some cases, older generations show significant uptake, with adoption rates exceeding one-third of their population for specific services, challenging the stereotype of technological resistance. For instance, ______

A) for every generation, peer-to-peer (P2P) payments had higher adoption rates than robo-advisors. B) Gen X showed over one-third adoption for digital wallets and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments. C) Gen Z and Millennials showed significantly higher adoption rates for most FinTech services than Gen X did. D) Gen X demonstrated an adoption rate greater than one-third for both digital wallets and robo-advisors.

The passage asks for an example of an older generation exceeding one-third adoption. Gen X is the older generation in the graph. Check Gen X's rates: digital wallets at 60% and P2P payments at 35% — both above 33.3%. That's choice B. Choice A makes a true observation but doesn't address the specific claim about older generations. Choice C reinforces the youth-dominance pattern rather than challenging it. Choice D gets digital wallets right (60%) but robo-advisors for Gen X is only 25%, which is below one-third.

 

Your approach on test day

1. Read the passage and identify exactly what value or data point is being asked for.
2. Go to the table or graph and locate that specific piece of information.
3. If the question involves multiple criteria (such as a specific category and a superlative like "highest" or "oldest"), apply each filter step by step.
4. Match your finding to the answer choice that states it accurately — watch for choices that use real numbers from the wrong category.