These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. All scenarios and data are invented. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not an official scoring guideline. Allow about 45 minutes.
Question 1 (multiple choice · core)
A writer’s thesis is: “Cities should ban all cars from their centres.” The writer then finds three pieces of evidence: ambulances need access; some disabled residents depend on cars; and a six-month trial in one city cut air pollution in the centre. Which revised thesis best fits the evidence?
- (A) Cities should ban all cars from their centres, whatever the objections.
- (B) Cities should reverse their position and allow all cars in their centres.
- (C) Cities should limit private cars in their centres while keeping access for ambulances and disabled residents.
- (D) Cars in city centres are a complicated issue.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It keeps the direction of the original claim (fewer cars) and adds conditions that respond to the evidence about access, while using the pollution evidence in its favour.
- (A) ignores the contrary evidence.
- (B) reverses the position more than the evidence warrants, since the trial supported limiting cars.
- (D) is a retreat, not a defensible, specific claim.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
Which revision of the thesis “Schools should require school uniform” adds a condition?
- (A) Schools should require uniform unless the cost to families is covered by the school.
- (B) Schools should never require uniform.
- (C) Schools should require uniform because it looks smart.
- (D) Schools should think about uniform.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). “Unless” states the condition under which the claim holds.
- (B) reverses the claim; it does not add a condition.
- (C) gives a reason but does not revise the claim.
- (D) is vague and is not a defensible claim.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A writer finds a study that contradicts the first draft of the thesis. Which response shows the strongest argumentative practice?
- (A) Leave the study out, because it does not fit.
- (B) Weigh the study against the other evidence and revise the thesis so that it fits what the evidence best supports.
- (C) Replace the whole thesis with the opposite claim at once.
- (D) Mention the study but say nothing about its effect on the claim.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Weighing the study and adjusting the claim lets the evidence shape the argument.
- (A) is selective use of evidence, which weakens credibility.
- (C) may be more than the evidence requires; a narrower revision may be enough.
- (D) leaves the contradiction unresolved.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Which revised thesis is still specific and defensible?
- (A) Towns and transport are both important.
- (B) Towns should convert one central car park into a square, provided the layout is planned with nearby shops, because trial conversions elsewhere have helped some shops and harmed others.
- (C) The car park may or may not be good.
- (D) Everyone has an opinion about car parks.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It states a position, a condition and a reason that the writer can support with evidence.
- (A) is too general to be argued.
- (C) takes no position.
- (D) is an observation, not a claim.
Question 5 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which statement is most accurate?
- (A) A thesis should never change once the essay is planned.
- (B) Consideration and use of new evidence may require revision of the thesis and/or changes to the line of reasoning.
- (C) Only the introduction needs revising when a thesis changes.
- (D) A revised thesis is always weaker than the first.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). This is the principle of the topic.
- (A) A thesis should be tested against the evidence.
- (C) Body paragraphs, topic sentences and commentary often need adjustment as well.
- (D) A thesis that fits the evidence is usually stronger.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
A student’s thesis is: “A town should replace its paper library cards with a phone app.” The student finds three pieces of evidence (invented): (1) a survey shows 40% of older residents do not own a smartphone; (2) in a trial, the app halved queue times at the desk; (3) the app costs £5,000 to build, and paper cards cost about £1,000 a year. Write a revised thesis that fits all the evidence, and name the type of revision.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
A town should introduce a library app to cut queues but keep paper cards for residents who do not use smartphones, since the app halves waiting times while 40% of older residents could not use it.
Type of revision: adding a condition (and narrowing “replace” to “introduce… but keep”).
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | States a clear, defensible claim |
| 1 | Accounts for the contrary evidence (older residents without smartphones) |
| 1 | Uses the supporting evidence (the queue-time trial) |
| 1 | Names the type of revision correctly (condition, narrowing) |
Alternative revisions that also use the cost evidence are acceptable if they are accurate and do not claim savings the figures do not show.
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Original plan for the essay in Question 6: Paragraph 1, the app saves money; Paragraph 2, the app is faster; Paragraph 3, paper cards are old-fashioned. The revised thesis is the one you wrote for Question 6. Rewrite the plan as three topic sentences in a logical order that leads to the revised thesis.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
- An app would speed up the desk: in a trial, it halved queue times.
- An app cannot serve everyone: 40% of older residents do not own a smartphone.
- The town should therefore introduce the app while keeping paper cards for those who need them, a combination whose cost can be weighed against the £1,000 a year that cards now cost.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Drops or reworks the unsupported point (“old-fashioned”) |
| 1 | Includes a topic sentence on the benefit (speed) and one on the limit (older residents) |
| 1 | Orders the paragraphs so the final one leads to the revised thesis |
| 1 | Each topic sentence is a claim, not a topic |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Read this passage (Marlbridge passage).
I used to believe that a town should simply pay for a bus lane. I had read an engineer’s report on how much faster the buses would run and assumed the case was closed. Then I spoke to a shopkeeper, who pointed out that the lane would remove the only place where delivery vans could stop. I now think the lane should be built, but only if the council finds a loading bay for the shops.
Explain how the writer has revised the thesis and what the writer’s new thesis requires in the line of reasoning.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. The writer began with an unqualified claim, that a town should pay for a bus lane, based on an engineer’s report about speed. After learning from a shopkeeper that the lane would remove the place where delivery vans stop, the writer added a condition: the lane should be built “but only if the council finds a loading bay”. The revision keeps the direction of the original claim and responds to the new evidence. The new thesis requires the argument to show both the benefit of the lane (speed) and a workable answer to the shops’ problem, so a paragraph on loading bays has to be added.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | States the original claim and the new claim accurately |
| 1 | Identifies the new evidence that prompted the change |
| 1 | Names the revision as adding a condition (or equivalent) |
| 1 | Explains what the new thesis requires in the line of reasoning |
How did you do?
- If you missed questions 1, 2 or 4, revisit “Ways a thesis can change” in the study guide.
- If you missed questions 3 or 5, review “A thesis is a working claim” and “Weak and strong responses to new evidence”.
- If you missed questions 6 or 7, review Worked example 1.
- If you missed question 8, review Worked example 2.
- Then tick off the checklist and revise with the revision notes.