Logical comparison
SAT glossary · Reading & Writing
Definition
The requirement that a comparison put like against like: 'Unlike the earlier composers, whose works survive in manuscripts, Barbosa's music has come down to us…' compares works to works, so the subject after the comma must be the music, not the man. The distractors compare works to a person or bury the right noun out of the modified position.
Logical comparison in plain English
A logical comparison requires that whatever you're comparing be genuinely the same KIND of thing on both sides. In a sentence like 'Unlike the earlier composers, whose works survive in manuscripts, Barbosa's music has come down to us…' — the comparison is between WORKS and WORKS (the earlier composers' works versus Barbosa's music), meaning whatever comes right after the comma has to logically be 'the music,' not 'the man' (Barbosa himself) — because comparing a body of musical works to an actual PERSON isn't a fair or logical comparison. Wrong answer choices often accidentally compare the works to the wrong thing, or bury the correct noun somewhere it isn't actually doing the comparing.
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