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 is the most defensible thesis for an essay on school uniforms?
- (A) School uniforms are a topic that many people have opinions about.
- (B) School uniforms should be optional because they cost families more than the discipline they are meant to bring.
- (C) This essay will discuss school uniforms.
- (D) Uniforms exist in many schools.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It takes a position, gives a reason and is specific enough to be argued in an essay.
- (A) is wrong: names a topic and observes that people disagree; it takes no position.
- (C) is wrong: an announcement.
- (D) is wrong: a fact.
Question 2 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which thesis for a rhetorical analysis of a speech is strongest?
- (A) The speaker uses imagery, repetition and rhetorical questions.
- (B) The speaker uses strong language.
- (C) The speech is good.
- (D) By repeating a short, plain phrase and turning to the audience as “we”, the speaker turns a list of losses into a shared resolve to act.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). It names the strategies and says what they accomplish for the audience.
- (A) is wrong: names devices without saying what they accomplish.
- (B) is wrong: vague, with no analysis.
- (C) is wrong: a vague evaluation.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A prompt (written by Marlbridge) asks: “To what extent should schools require students to wear uniforms?” Which response is a thesis and not just a restatement?
- (A) Schools should require uniforms only in the youngest years, where the evidence of benefits is strongest.
- (B) Schools should or should not require uniforms, depending on the situation.
- (C) Uniforms are an important topic.
- (D) This essay examines whether schools should require uniforms.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). It takes a qualified, specific position and signals the basis of the argument (evidence of benefits).
- (B) is wrong: restates the prompt with a non-committal hedge.
- (C) is wrong: names a topic.
- (D) is wrong: an announcement.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Which revision best improves the weak thesis “Homework is bad”?
- (A) “Homework is really bad.”
- (B) “Homework is a problem for some people.”
- (C) “Primary schools should set no homework, because the research on benefits for young children is weak and the time costs to families are large.”
- (D) “Homework has existed for a long time.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It names a group, takes a position, gives reasons and can be defended in an essay.
- (A) is wrong: repeats the vagueness.
- (B) is wrong: remains vague and uncontroversial.
- (D) is wrong: states a fact and takes no position.
Question 5 (multiple choice · core)
Which statement best explains why “Pollution is a problem in many cities” is a weak thesis?
- (A) It is too specific.
- (B) It contains a reason.
- (C) Nobody would dispute it, so it needs no defence.
- (D) It is too long.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). A thesis must be something a reasonable person could dispute. This sentence states a widely accepted fact.
- (A) is wrong: it is too general, not too specific.
- (B) is wrong: it contains no reason.
- (D) is wrong: length is not the issue.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
The following draft thesis (written by Marlbridge) responds to the prompt “Should public libraries receive more funding?”: “Libraries are important and many people use them.” (a) Explain two weaknesses. (b) Write a revised thesis of one or two sentences that is arguable, specific and reasoned.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. (a) First, the statement is a general fact or truism that nobody disputes, so it does not require a defence. Second, it takes no position on funding and gives no reason, so it does not answer the prompt. (b) “Public libraries should receive more funding, because they provide free access to computers, books and a place to study that low-income families cannot otherwise afford.”
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies that the draft is a truism or fact that needs no defence. |
| 1 | Identifies a second weakness (no position, no reason, not responsive). |
| 1 | The revision takes a clear position on the issue. |
| 1 | The revision gives a reason. |
| 1 | The revision is specific and defensible in an essay. |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Write a thesis (one or two sentences) for each of the following tasks, written by Marlbridge.
(i) Argument: “Some people argue that voting should be compulsory. Write an essay that argues your position.” (ii) Rhetorical analysis: A speaker addresses striking workers and says, “We have stood outside these gates for nine weeks, and we will stand nine more.” Write a thesis about how this sentence serves the speaker’s purpose.
Answer and explanation
Model answers. (i) “Voting should not be compulsory, because a vote forced from an unwilling citizen weakens the meaning of the choice and does little to make government more responsive.” (ii) “By using the pronoun ‘we’ and the parallel of nine weeks past and nine more to come, the speaker builds solidarity and turns the workers’ endurance into a promise that strengthens their resolve.”
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Thesis (i) takes a clear position. |
| 1 | Thesis (i) includes a reason and is specific. |
| 1 | Thesis (ii) names at least one feature of the sentence accurately. |
| 1 | Thesis (ii) says what the feature accomplishes for the audience or purpose. |
| 1 | Neither thesis is a plan or announcement. |
Accept any arguable position for (i).
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Here is a weak thesis for a rhetorical analysis of the Gettysburg Address (1863): “Lincoln uses repetition, imagery and a serious tone to make the speech effective.” (a) Explain why it is weak. (b) Rewrite it so that it is defensible, using the idea that Lincoln says the living “can not dedicate” the ground because the dead have already consecrated it, and then turns to “us the living”.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. (a) It lists devices without saying what they accomplish, it relies on the vague word “effective”, and it could be written about almost any speech, so it does not require a specific defence. (b) “By insisting that the living cannot add to what the dead have already consecrated, and then turning to ‘us the living’, Lincoln uses humility and a shift in focus to turn a memorial into a call to continue the unfinished work.”
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies that the draft lists devices without explaining effects. |
| 1 | Identifies the vague word “effective” or the lack of specificity. |
| 1 | The rewrite names strategies from the speech accurately. |
| 1 | The rewrite states what they accomplish. |
| 1 | The rewrite is a single, defensible claim. |
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.