These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. Unless a source is credited, every passage was written by Marlbridge for this page, and the people, places and figures in it are invented. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric to help you check your work; they are not an official scoring guideline. No calculator is needed.
Question 1 (multiple choice · foundation)
What does it mean to say that audiences are dynamic?
- (A) They are always loud.
- (B) Their attitudes and needs can change over time and as a text unfolds.
- (C) They are all the same.
- (D) They never change their minds.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Audiences respond to events and to the argument itself, so their views can shift.
- (A) has nothing to do with the term.
- (C) contradicts the idea that audiences are unique.
- (D) is the opposite of dynamic.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
Which of these is not one of the audience features a writer should consider when making choices about evidence, organisation and language?
- (A) The audience’s perspective
- (B) The audience’s context
- (C) The audience’s needs
- (D) The font used on the writer’s computer
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). The writer’s own software is not a feature of the audience.
- (A), (B) and (C) are the three features to consider: perspectives, contexts and needs.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A writer proposes a recycling scheme. In a letter to local business owners she gives cost savings on waste collection; in a flyer to schoolchildren she gives a competition with prizes. This shows that the writer is adjusting
- (A) only her tone.
- (B) her evidence and appeal to fit the audience’s needs.
- (C) her thesis, which differs completely in each case.
- (D) the length of the text, and nothing else.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). She chooses savings for owners and a competition for children, which are different kinds of evidence and appeal tied to what each group cares about.
- (A) The choice goes beyond tone.
- (C) The claim (support recycling) is the same.
- (D) Length is not the main difference described.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
A writer must persuade a panel of engineers to adopt a new bridge design. Which kind of evidence is most likely to suit this audience?
- (A) A story about a child who likes bridges
- (B) Load-test results and a comparison with existing designs
- (C) A slogan
- (D) A quotation from a poet about rivers
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Engineers are likely to trust technical data and direct comparisons.
- (A) might engage a general audience but is unlikely to carry weight with specialists.
- (C) is unlikely to persuade on technical grounds.
- (D) is irrelevant to the decision, however attractive.
Question 5 (multiple choice · stretch)
A writer addresses residents who oppose a new housing development. Which plan for organisation is most likely to keep them listening?
- (A) Begin by calling them selfish, then present the plan
- (B) Begin with a shared concern (the neighbourhood’s character), acknowledge their worries about traffic, then present the plan with safeguards
- (C) Present the plan with no mention of their worries
- (D) End with the strongest insult
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Starting with common ground and conceding concerns early makes a hostile audience more willing to hear the argument.
- (A) and (D) insult the audience and lose them.
- (C) ignores their perspective, which tends to deepen resistance.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Read the passage below, written by Marlbridge. It is addressed to nurses on a hospital ward by a manager.
“None of us needs to be told how hard the last year has been. You carried it. Before I ask for anything, I want to tell you what we have changed because of what you reported: the night rota has been shortened, and the supplies cupboard is now restocked daily. The new handover form is one more thing to learn, and I understand that. Here is why it saves time in the end.”
Explain three choices that show an understanding of the audience. Base your explanation on the text. (6 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
Sample. First, the manager begins by acknowledging how hard the year has been (“None of us needs to be told”), which shows awareness of the nurses’ experience and builds goodwill before any request. Second, the evidence offered is concrete actions already taken because of the nurses’ own reports (shorter rota, daily restocking), which shows the manager has listened and gives proof rather than promises. Third, the organisation places the request for a new form last and admits the burden (“one more thing to learn”) before explaining the benefit, so the audience’s likely objection is met directly. The language is plain, short and inclusive (“us”, “you”), suited to busy professionals.
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the acknowledgement of the audience’s experience |
| 1 | Explains its effect on trust or goodwill |
| 1 | Identifies the concrete evidence (changes already made) |
| 1 | Explains why it suits this audience |
| 1 | Identifies the organisation (request placed last, objection acknowledged) |
| 1 | Explains the effect, and bases all claims on the text |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Write two short versions (two sentences each) of an argument that a school should open its sports hall to the community in the evenings: one for a governing body and one for local teenagers. Then explain two differences in your choices. (6 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
Governing body. “Opening the sports hall for four evenings a week would bring in about £6,000 a year in hire fees at no extra staffing cost, as at two comparable schools. It would also strengthen the school’s standing in the community and reduce vandalism on the site.” (Figures invented for practice.)
Local teenagers. “Imagine a warm, lit court on a dark Wednesday night, with no cost to turn up. If you tell us which sports you want, we will make it happen.”
Differences. The governors’ version uses financial evidence and a formal register because governors are accountable for budgets and risks. The teenagers’ version uses a scene, direct address and an invitation, because the audience needs a reason to care and a chance to take part.
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Both versions keep the same claim |
| 1 | The governors’ version uses evidence suited to governors |
| 1 | The teenagers’ version uses an appeal suited to teenagers |
| 1 | Register differs appropriately |
| 1 | Explains one difference in choice and ties it to the audience |
| 1 | Explains a second difference |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Susan B. Anthony said in 1873 (public domain): “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.”
Explain how the choices in this sentence are suited to an audience of local citizens who might serve on a jury. (6 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
Sample. Anthony draws on “we, the people”, the opening words of the Constitution’s Preamble, which her audience of ordinary citizens knows well, so the evidence is shared and checkable. The syntax builds her point in steps: two negatives (“not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens”) narrow and then reject the exclusive readings, and the final “but we, the whole people” widens the meaning to include women. The repeated “we” keeps her within the founders’ voice, which gives her argument the authority of the document itself. Because potential jurors would be asked to interpret law, her method of reading the founding text closely suits the setting and invites them to judge as she does.
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the allusion to the Constitution’s opening words |
| 1 | Explains why the audience would recognise and trust it |
| 1 | Identifies the step-by-step syntax of negatives then “but” |
| 1 | Explains the effect of narrowing and then widening |
| 1 | Notes the repeated “we” or the legal setting |
| 1 | Links these choices explicitly to the audience (citizens or jurors) |
How did you do? If you missed Questions 1 to 5, reread “Audiences are unique and dynamic” and the audience strategies. If you lost marks in 6 to 8, check that each choice you named was tied to a specific audience feature.