These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. The three sources below are fictional, written by Marlbridge for this resource, and are used throughout. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not an official scoring guideline. Allow about 50 minutes.
Source A (summary of a town council survey, fictional): “In the council’s autumn survey of 800 residents, 62% said the town centre needs more green space and 21% said it needs more parking. The remaining 17% had no preference.”
Source B (letter to a local newspaper from a shopkeeper, fictional): “My customers drive in from the villages. Take away the car park and you take away the people who spend £40 each on a Saturday morning. Trees don’t buy bread.”
Source C (article by an urban planner, fictional): “When a town in the north converted a car park to a market square, footfall rose in the first year, but shops on the far side of the square reported no gain. Careful placement of seating and signs mattered more than the existence of the square.”
The issue: Should the town convert its central car park into a green square?
Question 1 (multiple choice · core)
Which sentence is an example of synthesis rather than summary?
- (A) Source A reports a survey, Source B is a letter and Source C is an article.
- (B) Although a survey shows that most residents want green space, a shopkeeper’s warning and a planner’s study suggest that the decision should depend on how the square is designed to serve the shops.
- (C) Source B says that trees don’t buy bread.
- (D) I do not agree with Source B.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It organises the sources around the writer’s idea and shows how they relate (a survey in favour, qualified by the shopkeeper and the planner).
- (A) merely labels the sources.
- (C) reports one source’s words without a claim or commentary.
- (D) states an opinion without engaging with the sources’ content.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
Which sentence integrates Source B most effectively into a paragraph?
- (A) “Trees don’t buy bread.”
- (B) A shopkeeper warns that “trees don’t buy bread”, a reminder that the car park serves visitors who spend money in the town centre.
- (C) Source B is a letter and it is rather long.
- (D) Everybody knows that trees don’t buy bread.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It attributes the quotation, uses a verb (“warns”) that shows how the source is used, and adds a comment that explains its relevance.
- (A) is a dropped quotation with no introduction or commentary.
- (C) describes the source’s form, not its content, and the claim about length is false.
- (D) attributes the idea to “everybody” and gives no source.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A writer’s claim is: “Any conversion of the car park needs a plan to protect the shops.” Which detail from the sources is most relevant and so best selected?
- (A) The 17% of residents who had no preference
- (B) The planner’s finding that shops on the far side of the square reported no gain
- (C) The fact that the survey took place in autumn
- (D) The fact that Source B is a letter
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It shows that a conversion can fail to help some shops, which supports the claim that a plan is needed.
- (A) is accurate but does not bear on the claim.
- (C) is a detail of timing with no link to the claim.
- (D) describes the genre, not the substance.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Which comment on the reliability of Source B is most useful to a writer?
- (A) It is a letter, so it must be false.
- (B) The shopkeeper has first-hand knowledge of customers but also a financial interest in parking, so the £40 claim should be treated as informed but not neutral.
- (C) Shopkeepers are always right about their customers.
- (D) Reliability does not matter in a synthesis essay.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It weighs what the source offers (first-hand knowledge) against its possible limits (an interest), which is how a careful writer uses credibility.
- (A) A letter is not false because of its form.
- (C) No group is always right.
- (D) Some sources are more reliable than others, and a good synthesis considers this.
Question 5 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which statement about synthesis is most accurate?
- (A) Synthesis means summarising each source in turn.
- (B) Synthesis means drawing on several sources, selecting the most relevant material and combining it as part of the writer’s own argument.
- (C) Synthesis means quoting as much as possible.
- (D) Synthesis means choosing one source and ignoring the others.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). This is the core of the skill.
- (A) describes summary, not synthesis.
- (C) Heavy quotation can crowd out the writer’s own argument.
- (D) Synthesis needs more than one source.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Write a paragraph of five to seven sentences that argues the town should convert the car park, using at least two of the three sources. Introduce each source you use, include commentary, and show how the sources relate to one another.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
The town should convert the car park, because the evidence suggests that the change is both wanted and manageable. The council’s survey found that 62% of 800 residents asked for more green space against 21% who asked for more parking, which shows a clear preference. A shopkeeper warns that visitors from the villages, who spend about £40 each on a Saturday, depend on the car park, and that is a real risk because the survey asked only residents. A planner’s study of a northern town shows how that risk may be managed: shops on the far side of the square gained nothing at first, and she concludes that the placement of seating and signs mattered more than the square itself. Taken together, the sources suggest that the town should build the square and design it around the shops, not avoid the conversion.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | States a clear claim that the paragraph develops |
| 1 | Uses at least two sources accurately, with attribution |
| 1 | Shows the relationship between the sources (support, qualification, extension) |
| 1 | Provides commentary that explains the evidence (not only reports it) |
| 1 | Organises by idea, not source by source |
Do not award the relationship point if the sources are only listed.
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Revise this paragraph (Marlbridge passage) from a source-by-source summary into a synthesis. Keep to the content of the sources.
Source A says that 62% of residents want more green space. Source B says that the car park brings in customers who spend £40 each. Source C says a town in the north converted a car park and that some shops did not gain. I think the town should be careful.
Answer and explanation
Sample revision (Marlbridge).
The town should be careful, because the evidence points two ways. Residents want green space, with 62% asking for it in the council’s survey, but a shopkeeper reports that the car park brings in customers who spend about £40 each, and a planner’s account of a northern town shows that not all shops benefit when a car park becomes a square. A cautious conversion that protects the shops would answer both the residents’ wish and the shopkeeper’s fear.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Opens with the writer’s claim, not “Source A says” |
| 1 | Uses all three sources accurately |
| 1 | Shows how the sources relate (for example, a demand weighed against a risk) |
| 1 | Ends with a conclusion that follows from the combination |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Write a short paragraph (four to six sentences) in which you use Source A as evidence but also comment on its limitations, and say how this affects your claim that the town should consult shoppers as well as residents.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
The council’s survey appears to settle the question, since 62% of the 800 residents asked wanted more green space. But the survey asked only residents, and the car park also serves visitors who live elsewhere, such as the customers a shopkeeper says drive in from the villages. A survey of residents alone therefore cannot tell the council how those visitors would respond to the change. The council should treat the 62% as a sign of local support, not as a verdict, and consult shoppers before deciding.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Uses Source A accurately as evidence |
| 1 | Identifies a limitation (residents only, a single survey, an uncertain sample) |
| 1 | Explains how the limitation affects the claim |
| 1 | Reaches a claim that follows (consult shoppers) and uses another source or reasoning to support it |
How did you do?
- If you missed questions 1 or 5, revisit “Summary versus synthesis” in the study guide.
- If you missed questions 2 or 3, review “Ways of bringing source material in”.
- If you missed questions 4 or 8, review the discussion of credibility and Worked example 1.
- If you missed questions 6 or 7, review Worked examples 1 and 2.
- Then tick off the checklist and revise with the revision notes.