These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. Passages marked “Marlbridge passage” were written for this resource; the quotation in question 3 is from a public-domain historical text, 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 lecture began warmly; the speaker joked about her own clumsy early experiments, and the audience laughed with her. Then she turned to the data. Funding has fallen by a third in a decade. Labs have closed. Students have left. Nobody laughed.
Which choice best identifies the shift in tone and its strongest evidence?
- (A) The shift is at “The lecture began warmly”, shown by the word “warmly”.
- (B) The shift is at “Then she turned to the data”, shown by the turning word “Then” and the move from joking to short, stark sentences.
- (C) There is no shift; the passage is consistently humorous.
- (D) The shift is at “the audience laughed”, shown by the word “laughed”.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). A turning word, a change of diction and a change of sentence length (from a long sentence to a series of short ones) form a cluster that marks the shift from warm and humorous to grave and stark.
- (A) is the starting tone, not the shift.
- (C) The final sentences are plainly not humorous.
- (D) “laughed” belongs to the earlier warm tone.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
Read this passage (Marlbridge passage): “The new bridge is handsome. Yet it was built where nobody needs to cross.” What does the shift do?
- (A) It reconsiders the writer’s whole position and turns it into praise.
- (B) It qualifies the praise by suggesting that the bridge’s appearance does not make up for its pointless location.
- (C) It changes the subject from the bridge to the river.
- (D) It shows that the writer cannot decide what to think.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “Yet” turns from admiration to criticism, limiting the praise so that the criticism has more force.
- (A) The shift moves toward criticism, not praise.
- (C) The subject remains the bridge.
- (D) The shift is a deliberate rhetorical choice, not indecision.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
The Declaration of Independence (1776) says first that “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes”, and then: “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations … evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.” Which description of the shift is best?
- (A) From playful to serious, marked by “indeed”
- (B) From measured and cautious to resolute and accusatory, marked by “But” and by the move from “Prudence” to “abuses”, “Despotism”, “right” and “duty”
- (C) From angry to calm, marked by “throw off”
- (D) There is no shift; both sentences have the same tone.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “But” turns the argument, and the diction changes from restraint to accusation and moral resolve.
- (A) The first sentence is measured, not playful, and “indeed” is not the turn.
- (C) The shift moves the other way, from calm to resolute.
- (D) The diction and attitude clearly differ.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Which of the following describes a shift in tone, as opposed to a mere change of topic?
- (A) A paragraph on the town’s history is followed by a paragraph on its economy.
- (B) A passage that begins with affectionate memories of a school turns, after the word “But”, to blunt, impatient criticism of its current management.
- (C) A passage lists three kinds of birds, then three kinds of fish.
- (D) A passage moves from the north of a country to the south.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The writer’s attitude changes from affection to impatience, and the change is marked by a turning word.
- (A) is a change of topic with no stated change of attitude.
- (C) is a change of topic.
- (D) is a change of place.
Question 5 (multiple choice · foundation)
Which statement about shifts in tone is most accurate?
- (A) A shift always means the writer has changed their mind completely.
- (B) A shift in tone from one part of a text to another may suggest the writer’s qualification, refinement or reconsideration of a perspective.
- (C) A shift can only be marked by the word “but”.
- (D) Shifts occur only in poetry.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). This is the main idea of the topic.
- (A) A shift may only qualify or refine a view.
- (C) Shifts can be marked by diction, sentence structure, imagery and more.
- (D) Shifts occur in all kinds of writing, including arguments.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Read this passage (Marlbridge passage).
Dear Ms Alvarez, I have been a customer of your bakery for twelve years, and in that time I have never once been disappointed. The sourdough is the best in the city. It is therefore with real regret that I must report that last Saturday’s loaf was stale, and that the assistant told me, with a shrug, that this happens.
Describe the shift in tone, quoting evidence, and explain what it does for the writer’s purpose.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. The tone moves from warm and appreciative, shown by “twelve years”, “never once been disappointed” and “the best in the city”, to regretful and quietly critical, signalled by “therefore with real regret”, “stale” and “with a shrug, that this happens”. The turn comes at “It is therefore with real regret”, where the formal phrase signals a complaint to come. The shift qualifies the praise: it establishes the writer as a loyal customer so that the complaint carries weight and cannot be dismissed as a grumble. The purpose is to persuade the owner to take the problem seriously while keeping goodwill.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the tone before and after with precise terms |
| 1 | Locates the turn and quotes evidence on both sides |
| 1 | Explains what the shift does (qualifies the praise) |
| 1 | Links the effect to the writer’s purpose |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Write a passage of four to six sentences that begins with a respectful concession and then shifts to a firm, resolute tone, on this topic: a town council should keep a local swimming pool open. Mark the turn with a transition and a change of diction, and then name the tone before and after.
Answer and explanation
Sample response (Marlbridge).
The council is right that the pool is expensive to run, and its concern for the town’s budget is a fair one. The repairs are costly, and the building is old. But a pool is not a luxury for the people who use it. It is where children learn the skill that may one day save their lives, and where older residents find the only exercise that does not hurt them. The council should keep it open.
Tone before: respectful and conciliatory (“right”, “fair”, “concern”). Tone after: firm and resolute (“not a luxury”, “save their lives”, “should keep it open”). Markers: “But”, a shift to short, declarative sentences, and a change in diction from budget terms to terms of need and safety.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Begins with a clear respectful concession |
| 1 | Marks the turn with a transition |
| 1 | Changes diction and sentence style after the turn |
| 1 | Names the tones accurately |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Read this passage (Marlbridge passage).
I was sure the plan would fail. The budget was thin, the timetable absurd, and the architect had never built anything larger than a garage. Then I visited the site and found that the foundations were already poured. I am still not certain it will succeed, but I no longer think it absurd.
Explain whether the shift in this passage mainly qualifies, refines or reconsiders the writer’s perspective, and support your answer with evidence.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. The shift is mainly a reconsideration. The tone moves from scornful and certain, shown by “I was sure”, “thin”, “absurd” and the dismissive “had never built anything larger than a garage”, to cautiously open, shown by “I am still not certain” and “I no longer think it absurd”. The turn comes at “Then I visited the site”, where a concrete fact, “the foundations were already poured”, replaces the earlier scepticism. The writer does not reverse completely, since “still not certain” keeps some doubt, so the shift also qualifies the earlier confidence. The effect is credibility: the writer shows willingness to change a view in response to evidence.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Award it when the response… |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the tone before and after with precise terms |
| 1 | Locates the turn and cites the evidence that prompts it |
| 1 | Decides between qualification, refinement and reconsideration, with a reason |
| 1 | Explains the effect on the reader or on the writer’s credibility |
Credit a response that argues for qualification if it is supported by the same evidence (“still not certain”).
How did you do?
- If you missed questions 1, 4 or 5, revisit “What a shift is” and “Markers of a shift” in the study guide.
- If you missed questions 2, 3 or 6, review “Describing a shift” and the worked examples.
- If you missed questions 7 or 8, review “Writing a shift on purpose” and Worked example 1.
- Then tick off the checklist and revise with the revision notes.