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)
A writer claims, “Every teenager spends more than five hours a day on social media,” and supports it by describing the habits of his two younger sisters. The main weakness is that the evidence is
- (A) too recent
- (B) too little and unrepresentative for a claim about every teenager
- (C) too detailed
- (D) too formal
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Two cases cannot support a claim about every teenager.
- (A) is wrong: recency is not the problem.
- (C) is wrong: the problem is quantity and scope, not detail.
- (D) is wrong: formality is not at issue.
Question 2 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which revision of “Everyone hates the new timetable” best matches what limited evidence can support?
- (A) “Nobody likes the timetable.”
- (B) “The timetable is the worst one ever.”
- (C) “Timetables exist.”
- (D) “In a survey of 150 pupils in Year 10, 96 said the new timetable left too little time to eat.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). It gives a narrower claim backed by a specific, measurable sample.
- (A) is wrong: another broad claim with no support.
- (B) is wrong: a sweeping comparison with no support.
- (C) is wrong: a fact that makes no argument.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A paragraph claims that a new bus lane has reduced journey times. As evidence it offers the average journey time from a single day last spring. Which addition would most improve the sufficiency of the evidence?
- (A) Average journey times over several months before and after the lane opened
- (B) A photograph of the lane
- (C) A comment that buses are green
- (D) A quotation from the writer’s neighbour
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). A before-and-after comparison over a longer period shows a pattern and tests the claim of reduction.
- (B) is wrong: it shows the lane exists, not what it did.
- (C) is wrong: it is irrelevant to journey times.
- (D) is wrong: a single personal remark adds little.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
The Declaration of Independence (1776) says, “To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world,” and then lists many grievances. Why does a claim about a long pattern of abuse call for a long list?
- (A) Long lists are always more persuasive
- (B) The list shows the writers’ vocabulary
- (C) A pattern can only be shown by several related instances
- (D) The list replaces the need for a claim
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). A claim about a pattern or design cannot be established by one event; repeated, related acts provide the needed quantity.
- (A) is wrong: length alone does not persuade; relevance and specificity matter.
- (B) is wrong: the list is for proof, not display.
- (D) is wrong: the list supports the claim; it does not replace it.
Question 5 (multiple choice · core)
A paragraph includes nine very similar examples of broken benches in the park, each described in a sentence. What is the most likely problem?
- (A) The paragraph lacks sufficient evidence
- (B) The paragraph uses the wrong kind of evidence for any audience
- (C) The paragraph is repetitive and may bury its strongest example and leave no space for commentary
- (D) The paragraph has no claim
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). Beyond a certain point more of the same adds little. Sufficiency means enough apt support, not exhaustive repetition.
- (A) is wrong: there is plenty of evidence; the issue is repetition.
- (B) is wrong: examples can suit an audience; the problem is the number of near-identical ones.
- (D) is wrong: nothing says the claim is missing.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Read this paragraph, written by Marlbridge.
Our town’s recycling scheme has failed. A friend told me her bin was not collected twice last month. Recycling is a good idea in theory, but it never works in practice.
(a) Identify two reasons the evidence is insufficient. (b) Rewrite the first sentence as a narrower claim that could be supported. (c) Suggest two types of evidence that would support your new claim.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. (a) The evidence is one secondhand anecdote, which is too little for a claim that the whole scheme has failed, and “it never works in practice” is a sweeping assertion with no support. (b) “Recycling collections in the north of the town were missed on four of the last eight scheduled dates.” (c) Collection logs from the council showing the missed dates, and a survey of residents on affected streets reporting how often their bins were not emptied.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies that the evidence is too little or anecdotal for the claim. |
| 1 | Identifies a second reason (sweeping language, secondhand, unrepresentative). |
| 1 | Narrows the claim to a specific, supportable statement. |
| 1 | Suggests one appropriate type of evidence. |
| 1 | Suggests a second, different type of evidence. |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
A student argues, “Schools should start at 9.30 a.m., because teenagers are not awake before then.” He supports it with one sentence: “My brother is always tired in the morning.” Explain why this is insufficient and write two sentences of stronger evidence (invented for practice) that would better support a narrower version of the claim.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. The evidence is a single, secondhand personal observation that cannot represent all teenagers, and it does not show that later starts help. A stronger version might read: “A study of 14 schools that moved the start of the day from 8.30 to 9.30 found that attendance rose by an average of 3 percentage points over two years. In a survey of 300 pupils at those schools, 211 said they slept longer on school days after the change.” The narrower claim is that later starts improve attendance and sleep.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Explains that one personal observation is too little and unrepresentative. |
| 1 | Explains that the evidence does not link later starts to improvement. |
| 1 | Provides evidence with a sample, comparison or measured outcome. |
| 1 | Provides a second, distinct piece of evidence. |
| 1 | The evidence matches a narrower claim. |
Accept any invented data that is plausible and clearly matches the narrowed claim.
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Explain how the Declaration of Independence (1776) shows awareness that its claim needs strong support. Refer to the sentence “To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world” and to the form of what follows.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. The sentence openly announces that the claim (a design of absolute despotism) needs proof, and calls what follows “Facts”, which presents the evidence as objective. Addressing a “candid world” shows awareness of an audience that is fair-minded and needs to be convinced, not only the King. The list of grievances beginning “He has…” is the proof: many specific, checkable acts accumulate to show a pattern, which is what a claim of a design of despotism requires. The sheer quantity gives the argument weight that a single complaint could not.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Explains that the opening sentence recognises the claim needs proof. |
| 1 | Explains the effect of calling the evidence “Facts” or addressing a “candid world”. |
| 1 | Describes the list of grievances as the evidence and its form (“He has…”). |
| 1 | Explains that quantity shows a pattern, matching the scope of the claim. |
| 1 | Writes about effect on the audience and not only the label. |
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.