SAT OwlIn the Middle Ages, books were copied by hand, and copyists sometimes made errors that were then repeated in every later copy made from their work. Scholars today compare surviving manuscripts of a text to trace these shared errors. When two manuscripts contain the same unusual mistake, scholars conclude that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
one was probably copied from the other, or both were copied from a common source.
both were copied by the same person on the same day.
neither manuscript contains any other errors.
the original author made the mistake on purpose.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
Errors pass from a manuscript to every copy made from it. If two manuscripts share an unusual error, the likeliest explanation is a copying relationship between them, either direct or through a shared source. That is choice A.
Choice B is too specific; a shared error shows a copying relationship, not that one person made both copies at the same time.
Got it wrong? On SAT Owl, Owl looks at the answer you chose and explains the exact mistake, then gives you similar questions until it sticks. Get your predicted SAT score free.