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 passage (Marlbridge passage).
The council, with characteristic speed, has resolved to consider the possibility of studying the potholes on Mill Road. A working party will be formed. Residents are invited to be patient; the potholes, we are assured, are not going anywhere.
Which phrase best describes the tone?
- (A) Admiring and grateful
- (B) Wry and sardonic
- (C) Detached and objective
- (D) Furious and threatening
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The mock-praise (“characteristic speed”), the stacked, vague verbs (“consider the possibility of studying”) and the dry joke about the potholes not “going anywhere” show a mocking, sceptical attitude.
- (A) The praise is ironic.
- (C) The passage has a clear attitude, so it is not detached.
- (D) The tone is dry, not furious or threatening.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
In the passage above, which words contribute most to the tone, and how?
- (A) “Mill Road”, because it names a place
- (B) “characteristic speed” and “consider the possibility of studying”, because the mock-praise and the long chain of hedged verbs suggest the council is slow and evasive
- (C) “working party”, because it is a formal term
- (D) “Residents”, because it names the audience
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). These phrases carry the irony: speed is praised where it is lacking, and the verbs pile up without action.
- (A) A place name is neutral and carries little tone.
- (C) “Working party” is a neutral term; on its own it carries no attitude.
- (D) Naming the audience does not signal attitude.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address (1865) ends: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds…” Which description of the tone is best supported by the word choice?
- (A) Vengeful and triumphant
- (B) Conciliatory and humble
- (C) Sarcastic and bitter
- (D) Detached and clinical
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “Malice toward none”, “charity for all” and “bind up the nation’s wounds” connote forgiveness and healing, and “as God gives us to see the right” admits the limits of human judgement.
- (A) The words reject malice, not celebrate victory.
- (C) Nothing in the passage is sarcastic.
- (D) The language is warm and moral, not clinical.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
A student wants to rewrite “The school closed the library early” for a respectful letter of thanks to the headteacher. Which version best fits?
- (A) The school shut the library early, for whatever reason.
- (B) We appreciate that the library was closed early so that staff could attend the training day.
- (C) The library was closed early, which was annoying.
- (D) The headteacher abruptly closed the library early.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “Appreciate” and the acknowledgement of a reason create an understanding, grateful tone.
- (A) “for whatever reason” sounds dismissive.
- (C) “annoying” is a complaint.
- (D) “abruptly” is critical.
Question 5 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which statement about tone is most accurate?
- (A) Tone is the feeling a text creates in the reader.
- (B) Tone is the writer’s attitude or feeling about a subject, conveyed through word choice and writing style.
- (C) Tone is the topic of a text.
- (D) Tone cannot be inferred from the words used.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Tone is the writer’s attitude, inferred from the connotations of the words and from style.
- (A) describes mood, not tone.
- (C) The topic is what the text is about, not the attitude.
- (D) Readers infer tone precisely from word choice.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Read this passage (Marlbridge passage).
My grandmother’s kitchen has not changed in forty years: the same blue teapot, the same cracked clock that is always ten minutes slow. I do not mind. In a world that rewrites itself every week, there is something almost holy about a clock that has made up its mind.
Identify the tone, quote at least two words or phrases that create it, explain their connotations and say what the tone does for the writer’s purpose.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. The tone is affectionate and gently humorous, with a note of nostalgia. “The same blue teapot” and “the same cracked clock” use repetition to suggest comforting constancy. “Almost holy” connotes reverence, but “almost” and the idea of a clock “that has made up its mind” are playful, mixing respect with humour. The contrast with “a world that rewrites itself every week” implies mild criticism of constant change. The tone invites the reader to value stability and to see the grandmother’s unchanged kitchen as a refuge.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Names a precise tone (not just “positive”) |
| 1 | Quotes at least two relevant words or phrases |
| 1 | Explains their connotations |
| 1 | Links the tone to the writer’s purpose |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Here is a neutral sentence (Marlbridge passage): “The team lost the final by two goals.” Write two versions of the sentence, one in an indignant tone (blaming the referee) and one in a gracious tone (praising the winners). Identify the words that create each tone.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
Indignant: The team was robbed in the final, losing by two goals after the referee ignored a clear foul and waved away every appeal.
Gracious: The team lost the final by two goals to a side that deserved the title, and the players congratulated their opponents warmly.
Words: “robbed”, “ignored”, “waved away” convey blame and anger; “deserved”, “congratulated”, “warmly” convey respect and generosity.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Keeps the core fact (lost the final by two goals) |
| 1 | Uses clear indignant connotations in the first version |
| 1 | Uses clear gracious connotations in the second version |
| 1 | Identifies the words that create each tone |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Compare the tone of these two public-domain extracts and explain how each tone serves its writer’s purpose.
Extract 1 (Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, 1776): “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Extract 2 (Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865): “With malice toward none, with charity for all…”
Answer and explanation
Sample response. Paine’s tone is urgent and defiant. “Times” and “try men’s souls” frame the moment as a test, so the audience feels pressure to prove its resolve. This suits his purpose of rallying demoralised soldiers and citizens in the midst of a war. Lincoln’s tone is conciliatory and humane. “Malice” and “charity” are opposites on a moral scale, and the repeated “with… with…” gives a steady, gentle rhythm. This suits his purpose of calling a divided nation toward reconciliation as the war ends. The contrast shows how a writer’s attitude is chosen to fit the audience and moment: Paine needs courage, Lincoln needs healing.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Names an accurate, precise tone for Extract 1 with a supporting word or phrase |
| 1 | Names an accurate, precise tone for Extract 2 with a supporting word or phrase |
| 1 | Links each tone to the writer’s purpose and audience |
| 1 | Makes a comparison between the two (not two separate summaries) |
How did you do?
- If you missed questions 1, 2 or 6, revisit “From connotation to tone” and Worked example 1 in the study guide.
- If you missed questions 3 or 8, review “Tone in published prose”.
- If you missed questions 4, 5 or 7, review “What tone is” and Worked example 2.
- Then tick off the checklist and revise with the revision notes.