SHSAT: Paired passages: positions, examples and common ground
Learn to summarize each writer's position along with its limits, explain what an example is doing, and name where two passages agree and where they differ.
How do you compare two passages that argue about the same issue?
Short answer
Summarize each writer's position in one sentence, including what the writer accepts or wants to fix. Then name the shared ground and the real difference before you answer comparison questions.
Know first: Claims and evidence, Summarizing an argument
Step 1 of 5
Summarize each position with its limits
Paired passages usually take different sides of one practical question. But a writer rarely says only one thing. Each one may grant a point to the other side, propose a fix, or limit the claim. A good summary includes those parts.
Wrong summaries usually make a writer more extreme than the passage does. They turn mostly yes into always, or change part of it into get rid of all of it.
| Step | Ask |
|---|---|
| Position A | What does writer A want, and what does A accept or want to fix? |
| Position B | The same questions for writer B |
| Examples | What claim does each example support? |
| Shared ground | What do both writers value or agree on? |
| Difference | Where do their proposals actually split? |
Step 2 of 5
Summarize two short positions
Two letters about the school garden
Writer A: Our garden should keep individual plots for each class1. When students tend their own rows, they notice every weed and sprout. I agree the shared toolshed works well2, and we should keep it. Writer B: The garden would grow more food as one shared plot. Last year, three class plots sat empty all summer3 while others were crowded. Classes that want their own corner could still mark one small bed4.
- A's position.
- A grants a point to sharing.
- B's example: separate plots can waste space.
- B's limit: some class space survives.
Worked example: Summarize Writer A
Which statement best summarizes Writer A's position?
- AGet rid of everything shared in the garden.
- BKeep individual class plots because ownership builds attention, while keeping the shared toolshed.
- CLet each class decide whether to garden at all.
- DCombine all the plots because one shared plot grows more food.
- 1
Find the main claim
Keep individual plots for each class.
- 2
Find the reason
Students who tend their own rows notice more.
- 3
Find the limit
A supports keeping the shared toolshed.
- 4
See why the others are there
A makes the writer extreme and ignores the toolshed. C raises a question neither writer discusses. D is Writer B's position.
Answer
B. Keep individual class plots because ownership builds attention, while keeping the shared toolshed.
Wrong: The writers disagree about everything.
Right: The writers both accept some sharing and some class space; they disagree about which should come first.
Writer A keeps the shared toolshed, and Writer B keeps small class beds. Their difference is the starting point, not all or nothing.
Step 3 of 5
Compare without exaggerating
Check yourself · Question 1
In Writer B's letter, what does the example of the empty plots mainly support?
Answer: B
The empty plots sit right after B's claim that one shared plot would grow more food. They show space going to waste.
Check yourself · Question 2
Which statement best describes how the two writers' views relate?
Answer: D
It names each writer's main value and the overlap: A keeps the shared toolshed, and B keeps small class beds.
Trap answer: Writer B rejects any class space, while Writer A rejects any sharing.
Making both writers extreme
- Why it looks right
- Paired passages are presented as opposing sides, so a clean opposition feels right.
- Why it's wrong
- Each writer keeps part of the other's idea. A choice that removes those limits misreads both letters.
- The right answer
- The choice that names each writer's main value and notes the overlap matches both letters.
Common mistake
I summarized a writer by the first sentence only.
- Why it's tempting
- The first sentence often states the position, so it seems like enough.
- Do this instead
- Read for what the writer accepts, proposes or limits later in the passage. Those details often decide between two close answer choices.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Summarize each writer's position along with what the writer grants or wants to fix.
- Treat each example as evidence for the claim right next to it.
- Name the shared ground and the real difference before you compare.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
In the practice question, which sentences in Passage A did you use to rule out each wrong summary?