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)
“As a doctor who has treated asthma for twenty years, I can tell you that this pollution is harming children.” The primary appeal is to
- (A) logos, because it contains a statistic
- (B) ethos, because it establishes the speaker’s expertise
- (C) pathos, because it describes children
- (D) kairos, because it names a year
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The first clause presents the speaker’s qualifications and experience to make the audience trust her judgement.
- (A) is wrong: no statistic is given.
- (C) is wrong: children are mentioned but the sentence does not evoke feeling through imagery or story; the main work is done by the credentials.
- (D) is wrong: no moment or deadline is invoked.
Question 2 (multiple choice · foundation)
“Because the crossing has no light, children must judge the gaps in traffic themselves, so they will eventually misjudge one.” This sentence is primarily an appeal to
- (A) ethos
- (B) pathos
- (C) none of these
- (D) logos
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). It lays out a chain of cause and effect, a piece of reasoning.
- (A) is wrong: it does not point to the writer’s credibility.
- (B) is wrong: it does not evoke a feeling through imagery or story, though the prospect may be sobering.
- (C) is wrong: it clearly uses a recognised appeal.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A speaker says: “I know that many of you distrust councils, and you have good reason. I have served on this one for six years and have voted against its worst ideas.” Which appeal is most prominent?
- (A) Ethos: it acknowledges the audience’s distrust and builds trust through fairness and experience
- (B) Logos: it presents a statistic
- (C) Pathos: it describes a family’s suffering
- (D) Kairos: it names a deadline
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The speaker concedes the audience’s distrust (fairness) and cites experience, both of which build credibility.
- (B) is wrong: no statistic is used.
- (C) is wrong: no family or suffering is described.
- (D) is wrong: no deadline appears.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
A writer quotes a named climate scientist to support a claim about warming. Which statement is the most accurate description?
- (A) It is always pathos.
- (B) It is never an appeal.
- (C) It is usually an appeal to ethos, since the authority of the source lends credibility, and it may also support logos if the scientist’s reasoning is explained.
- (D) It is an appeal to kairos.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). Citing an expert primarily builds credibility; if the expert’s reasoning is presented, it also supports logos.
- (A) is wrong: nothing in the description suggests emotion.
- (B) is wrong: citation of authority is one of the ways of persuading.
- (D) is wrong: no timing is involved.
Question 5 (multiple choice · core)
Susan B. Anthony (1873): “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.” Which statement best explains the sentence’s logos?
- (A) It states a statistic about the number of voters.
- (B) It tells a story about an individual woman.
- (C) It argues from the founding wording by narrowing the phrase “the people” and rejecting each restriction in turn.
- (D) It names her profession.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). The logical force comes from testing the phrase “the people” and showing that each narrowing is not what it says.
- (A) is wrong: no statistic appears.
- (B) is wrong: no story is told.
- (D) is wrong: her profession is not named in the sentence.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Read this passage, written by Marlbridge with invented figures.
I have coached the under-elevens at Dale Park for fourteen years. Last season, 31 of our 40 players said they would stop playing if the pitch fees rose again. Last Saturday, I watched a boy borrow boots from another team because his family could not afford a pair. Sport should not be something only the lucky afford.
Identify the primary appeal of each of the first three sentences and explain.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. Sentence 1 is ethos: fourteen years of coaching shows experience and credibility on the subject. Sentence 2 is logos: the statistic that 31 of 40 players would stop supports the claim that fees threaten participation. Sentence 3 is pathos (with some ethos): the image of a boy borrowing boots evokes sympathy and makes the cost of fees human, and the first-hand observation shows the writer sees the problem in person.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sentence 1 identified as ethos with a reason. |
| 1 | Sentence 2 identified as logos with a reason. |
| 1 | Sentence 3 identified as pathos with a reason. |
| 1 | Notes a secondary appeal in at least one sentence (for example ethos in sentence 3). |
| 1 | Explanations refer to words or details in the passage. |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
The following paragraph has a claim and plenty of feeling but no credibility and little reasoning: “Our parks are being destroyed and it is a total disgrace. Everyone is furious. The council must stop.” Revise it into a paragraph of three to four sentences that adds an ethos appeal and a logos appeal, and name where each appears.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. “I have walked in Cutler Park every morning for eleven years, and I was among the volunteers who cleared the pond in 2021. Since March the council has removed three of its eight benches and cut the grass-cutting from fortnightly to monthly, and in a petition last week 410 of 520 residents who passed the gate signed asking for the cuts to be reversed. A park is cheap to keep and costly to lose; the council should restore the maintenance before the summer.” Ethos: the eleven years and volunteering. Logos: the removal of three of eight benches, the cut in grass-cutting, the petition figures, and the cost reasoning.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adds a credibility appeal (experience, fairness or service) that is specific. |
| 1 | Adds a logos appeal with at least one fact, statistic or step of reasoning. |
| 1 | Keeps the original claim. |
| 1 | Removes or tones down the unsupported emotional assertions (for example ‘total disgrace’). |
| 1 | Correctly names where each appeal appears. |
Figures in the model answer are invented for practice; accept any plausible, specific details.
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Explain how one sentence from Susan B. Anthony’s 1873 address, “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union,” works through at least two appeals. Name each appeal and explain how it works.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. Logos: the sentence argues from the Constitution’s opening phrase by testing it against two narrower readings and rejecting both, which leaves only the inclusive reading. Pathos: the repeated structure (“not… nor yet… but”) builds a rhythm that rises to “the whole people”, so that the conclusion feels like a widening of justice. Ethos: she speaks from within the founding text that her audience honours, which presents her as a defender of the nation’s principles and not an outsider.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Names one appeal accurately. |
| 1 | Explains how it works with reference to specific wording (for example the repeated narrowing). |
| 1 | Names a second appeal accurately. |
| 1 | Explains how it works with reference to specific wording or rhythm. |
| 1 | Links at least one appeal to the audience or to her purpose. |
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.