These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. Passages marked “Marlbridge passage” were written for this resource; quotations from historical texts are from public-domain sources with author, title and year. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not an official scoring guideline. Allow about 45 minutes.
Question 1 (multiple choice · core)
Read this sentence (Marlbridge passage): “The new bus route is faster than the old one; [ … ], it costs more.”
Which transition best completes the sentence?
- (A) moreover
- (B) however
- (C) for example
- (D) therefore
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The sentence sets a benefit (faster) against a drawback (costs more), a contrast.
- (A) “moreover” adds a point of the same kind; here the second point is a drawback.
- (C) “for example” would introduce an illustration of the first claim, not a contrary fact.
- (D) “therefore” would suggest that the cost follows from the speed, which the sentence does not claim.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
Which sentence uses a transition that misleads the reader?
- (A) The museum is free; as a result, more families visit it.
- (B) The garden was neglected for years; however, volunteers have now restored it.
- (C) The bakery opens at six; therefore, it sells bread.
- (D) Admittedly, the plan is expensive; nevertheless, it should go ahead.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). “Therefore” promises that the second statement follows from the first, but opening at six does not cause a bakery to sell bread.
- (A) names a plausible result.
- (B) correctly contrasts neglect with restoration.
- (D) concedes a point and then returns to the claim.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A paragraph has argued that a cycle lane would save the town money. The next paragraph will argue that it would improve public health. Which opening sentence best links the two?
- (A) Public health is also important.
- (B) The saving is only half the case; the lane would also improve the health of the people who use it.
- (C) There are many reasons for a cycle lane.
- (D) Money is not everything.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It looks back (the saving), signals addition (“only half the case”), and looks forward (health).
- (A) is a bare addition with no link to the previous idea.
- (C) is vague and does not look back or forward.
- (D) is a stray remark that does not connect the two ideas.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
In his Second Inaugural Address (1865), Abraham Lincoln says: “Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish.” What does the word “but” do?
- (A) It shows that the second party was in agreement with the first.
- (B) It moves from what both parties shared (a dislike of war) to what separated them (their different choices).
- (C) It introduces an example of the first statement.
- (D) It shows that the second statement happened earlier.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “But” contrasts a shared position with a difference in action.
- (A) The sentence turns from agreement to disagreement.
- (C) The second part is not an example of deprecating war.
- (D) “But” signals contrast, not time.
Question 5 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which statement about transitional elements is most accurate?
- (A) They must be single words placed at the start of a sentence.
- (B) They can be words, phrases, clauses, sentences or paragraphs, and they show relationships among ideas, including how evidence relates to other evidence.
- (C) They create a logical connection between any two ideas.
- (D) They are only needed in long essays.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). This matches the way transitions work and their uses.
- (A) Transitions vary in size and position.
- (C) Transitions reveal relationships that exist; they cannot create them.
- (D) Even a paragraph needs them where ideas connect.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Rewrite this paragraph (Marlbridge passage) by adding transitional words, phrases or clauses so that the relationships between the ideas are clear. Do not add new information. Then explain what relationship each transition shows.
Schools should offer free breakfast. Many students come to school hungry. They find it hard to concentrate. A breakfast programme costs money. The cost is small compared with the benefit. Schools in other areas have introduced such programmes.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
Schools should offer free breakfast because many students come to school hungry and, as a result, find it hard to concentrate. A breakfast programme would, admittedly, cost money, but the cost is small compared with the benefit. Moreover, schools in other areas have already introduced such programmes.
Relationships. “Because” gives the reason for the claim. “As a result” shows consequence (hunger leads to poor concentration). “Admittedly” concedes the objection and “but” turns back to the writer’s position. “Moreover” adds supporting evidence of the same kind (other schools).
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Marks a cause or reason relationship accurately |
| 1 | Marks the concession and the return to the claim (contrast) |
| 1 | Marks the addition of further evidence |
| 1 | Explains each transition’s relationship and does not add new information |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Read this passage (Marlbridge passage).
The old market hall was loud, cramped and cold. Even so, it was crowded every Saturday. The reason was not the goods, which were ordinary, but the people: sellers who knew their customers by name, and customers who stayed to talk. When the hall was replaced by a bright new shopping centre, the goods improved. The talk, however, did not survive the move. In the end, what the town lost was less a building than a habit.
Explain how the writer uses transitional elements to guide the reader through the line of reasoning.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. “Even so” concedes the hall’s discomforts and turns to its popularity, which sets up the puzzle the passage explains. “The reason was not the goods… but the people” uses “not… but” to correct an expected explanation. “When the hall was replaced” marks a change in time. “The goods improved” is followed by “however”, which sets the loss of conversation against that gain. “In the end” signals the conclusion, and “less a building than a habit” states the claim the earlier contrasts have prepared. Together the transitions move the reader from puzzle to explanation to loss to conclusion.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies at least two transitional elements accurately |
| 1 | States the relationship each shows (concession, contrast, time, conclusion) |
| 1 | Describes the progression of ideas the transitions create |
| 1 | Links the sequence to the final claim |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Paragraph A of an essay ends: “A cheaper bus fare would help families on low incomes.” Paragraph B will argue that a cheaper fare would also help the town’s shops. Write a transitional sentence that opens Paragraph B and then introduce a piece of evidence (invented but plausible) with a transitional phrase that signals what kind of evidence it is.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
Families are not the only people who would gain from a cheaper fare; the town’s shops would gain too. In a trial in a neighbouring town, for instance, weekend takings on the high street rose by a tenth in the month after fares were halved.
Transitions: the first sentence looks back (“Families are not the only people”) and forward (“the town’s shops would gain too”); “for instance” signals an example used as evidence.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | The opening sentence refers back to Paragraph A’s idea |
| 1 | It introduces the new claim (the shops) |
| 1 | A transitional phrase introduces the evidence and signals its kind |
| 1 | The evidence is relevant and plausible |
How did you do?
- If you missed questions 1, 2 or 5, revisit “Relationships and the words that signal them” and “Matching the transition to the logic” in the study guide.
- If you missed questions 3 or 8, review “Bigger transitions”.
- If you missed questions 4, 6 or 7, review Worked examples 1 and 2.
- Then tick off the checklist and revise with the revision notes.