These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. Any passage not credited to a named public-domain author was written by Marlbridge for practice; quotations from named authors are public-domain texts quoted briefly. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric to help you check your own work; they are not an official scoring guideline. There is no calculator. Try each question before opening its answer.
Question 1 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which of the following is best described as statistical evidence?
- (A) “My grandmother learned to swim at sixty.”
- (B) “Of 200 members surveyed, 154 reported cycling to work at least once a week.”
- (C) “The new pool is the best in the county.”
- (D) “The pool opens at 7 a.m.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). A count summarising a sample of many people is a statistic.
- (A) is wrong: an anecdote or personal example.
- (C) is wrong: a claim or opinion, not evidence.
- (D) is wrong: a simple fact, not a summary of many cases.
Question 2 (multiple choice · foundation)
A writer argues that a town needs more bus routes and writes: “Taking the bus to the hospital is like trying to cross a river with no bridge.” This sentence is best described as a(n)
- (A) statistic
- (B) expert opinion
- (C) fact
- (D) analogy
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). It compares an unfamiliar or abstract problem (poor routes) with a familiar one (a missing bridge).
- (A) is wrong: it contains no numbers.
- (B) is wrong: no authority is cited.
- (C) is wrong: it is a figurative comparison, not a checkable statement.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A student claims: “Our school’s recycling scheme has reduced waste.” Which evidence most directly supports the claim?
- (A) “The school’s rubbish collection fell from 22 bins a week to 14 after the scheme began.”
- (B) “Many pupils say they like recycling.”
- (C) “The head teacher announced the scheme in assembly.”
- (D) “Other schools have recycling schemes.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). It measures the outcome named in the claim, a reduction in waste, before and after the scheme.
- (B) is wrong: shows approval, not waste reduction.
- (C) is wrong: shows the scheme exists, not that it worked.
- (D) is wrong: shows others do it, not what happened here.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Read this sentence, written by Marlbridge. “Dr Ana Kovacs, who has studied river ecology for twenty years, says the town’s weir has cut the number of spawning fish by half.” What type of evidence is it, and what does it add?
- (A) An anecdote that makes the issue personal
- (B) A statistic that shows scale across many towns
- (C) An expert opinion that gives authority on a technical point
- (D) An analogy that clarifies by comparison
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It cites a named person with relevant qualifications (twenty years of study) on a technical question, which lends authority.
- (A) is wrong: it is not a personal story.
- (B) is wrong: it concerns a single weir and is an expert’s judgement, not a survey of many towns.
- (D) is wrong: it makes no comparison.
Question 5 (multiple choice · core)
In the Declaration of Sentiments (1848), Elizabeth Cady Stanton writes: “He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.” Which description best fits this sentence as used in the document?
- (A) A statistic showing how many laws affected women
- (B) An anecdote about one woman
- (C) A specific example of a restriction offered in support of a larger claim
- (D) An analogy comparing law with a river
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It is one item in a catalogue of particular restrictions, each offered as evidence for the document’s claim that women have been denied rights.
- (A) is wrong: no numbers are given.
- (B) is wrong: it concerns women in general, not one person.
- (D) is wrong: there is no comparison.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Read this paragraph, written by Marlbridge with invented data.
The Millbrook playground is unsafe and should be closed until it is repaired. Last year the council recorded 23 injuries there, nearly four times the average for the district’s other playgrounds. Last month my daughter cut her hand on a split slide, and the next day another child fell from the same platform. The council’s own safety inspector wrote that the equipment “no longer meets the standard” for children under eight.
Identify the claim and three different types of evidence, labelling each type.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. Claim: “The Millbrook playground is unsafe and should be closed until it is repaired.” Statistic: 23 injuries, nearly four times the district average. Anecdote or personal example: the writer’s daughter cut her hand on a split slide (the next day another child fell). Expert opinion or authoritative source: the council’s own safety inspector says the equipment “no longer meets the standard”.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Claim identified and quoted or accurately paraphrased. |
| 1 | Statistic identified and labelled. |
| 1 | Anecdote or personal example identified and labelled. |
| 1 | Expert or official opinion identified and labelled. |
| 1 | No statement of position is mislabelled as evidence. |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
A student is writing in support of the claim: “Reading for twenty minutes every day improves a pupil’s vocabulary.” Here are four pieces of evidence he could use.
(i) “I read every night and my vocabulary is good.” (ii) “In a study of 300 pupils over a year, those who read for twenty minutes daily gained on average 15 more words on a vocabulary test than a matched group who did not.” (invented) (iii) “Reading is a popular hobby.” (iv) “Libraries lend millions of books each year.”
Choose the best evidence and explain why each of the other three is weaker.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. (ii) is best. It tests the exact claim (daily reading and vocabulary), uses a reasonably large sample and a comparison group, and reports a measurable result. (i) is a single personal experience that cannot show cause. (iii) shows that reading is popular, which says nothing about vocabulary. (iv) is a fact about library use, which does not show that reading improves vocabulary.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Selects (ii). |
| 1 | Explains that (ii) measures the outcome named in the claim, with a sample or comparison. |
| 1 | Explains why (i) is weaker (personal, unrepresentative, cannot show cause). |
| 1 | Explains why (iii) is weaker (popularity is not effect). |
| 1 | Explains why (iv) is weaker (usage does not show impact). |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments (1848) lists many complaints beginning “He has…”. Explain what kind of evidence this list is, and give one reason why presenting evidence as a long list rather than as a single statistic might suit the document’s purpose and audience.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. The list is a catalogue of specific examples of laws and customs that restricted women, each presented as a fact. A long list suits the purpose because it accumulates: the reader meets one restriction after another and the weight of the whole persuades more than any one item. It also suits the audience, who would recognise the repeated “He has…” pattern from the Declaration of Independence, and so hear the document’s charge in the same form as a famous political precedent.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the list as specific examples or facts. |
| 1 | Explains accumulation as the source of its force. |
| 1 | Links the choice to the audience or purpose. |
| 1 | Refers to the pattern or precedent of the Declaration of Independence. |
| 1 | Explains rather than only labels. |
How did you do?
Count the multiple-choice questions you got right and compare your written answers with the rubric points. For anything you missed, reread the matching section of the study guide, then tick off the topic checklist.