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 “enter an ongoing conversation” in a written argument?
- (A) To repeat what others have said
- (B) To engage the positions that have already been considered and argued about
- (C) To avoid mentioning other writers
- (D) To change the subject
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Entering a conversation means taking account of existing positions and responding to them.
- (A) Repetition adds nothing.
- (C) Avoiding other writers means ignoring the conversation.
- (D) Changing the subject leaves the conversation altogether.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
A writer argues for a longer school year without mentioning that earlier studies have already examined the same proposal. What is the most likely problem?
- (A) The essay will be too short.
- (B) The essay may repeat points already answered and overlook counterevidence.
- (C) The essay will have too many sources.
- (D) There is no problem.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Ignoring the conversation risks repeating points that others have already addressed and missing objections.
- (A) Length is not the issue.
- (C) The writer has not used any sources.
- (D) Ignoring the existing debate weakens the argument.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
A student summarises an opposing view as “People who disagree just don’t care about children.” Why is this a weak way to engage the opposing position?
- (A) It is too long.
- (B) It misrepresents the position, so informed readers will distrust the writer.
- (C) It cites too many sources.
- (D) It makes the writer’s claim stronger.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). A caricature is easy to attack but is not what opponents actually argue, which damages credibility.
- (A) Length is not the issue.
- (C) No source is cited.
- (D) The summary may feel satisfying but it weakens the argument for careful readers.
Question 4 (multiple choice · core)
Source: “Since vending machines in schools sell sugary snacks, removing them will make pupils healthier.” Which is an assumption underlying the source’s reasoning?
- (A) Vending machines exist in schools.
- (B) Pupils will not find sugary snacks elsewhere once the machines are removed.
- (C) Some snacks are sugary.
- (D) Health matters.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The conclusion depends on the unstated idea that removing the machines will actually reduce pupils’ sugar intake rather than moving it elsewhere.
- (A) and (C) are stated facts, not hidden assumptions.
- (D) is a value the source and most readers share, but it is not the assumption that links the reasoning to the conclusion.
Question 5 (multiple choice · stretch)
Which signal verb best describes a source that grants a point against its own side?
- (A) “insists”
- (B) “concedes”
- (C) “assumes”
- (D) “overlooks”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). To concede is to grant something to the other side.
- (A) means to assert firmly, not to grant.
- (C) means to take for granted without proof.
- (D) means to omit something relevant.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Three sources (written by Marlbridge) discuss whether a town should build a bypass road.
- Source 1 (shop owners): “The bypass will take traffic away from the high street, so fewer customers will reach our shops.”
- Source 2 (residents on the main road): “The bypass will cut noise and danger for the families who live beside the main road.”
- Source 3 (a transport consultant): “Evidence from other towns suggests that shops lose trade only when the bypass is poorly signposted.”
(a) Map the three positions in one sentence each. (3 marks) (b) Write a thesis that enters the conversation by qualifying and extending at least two sources. (3 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
(a) Source 1 opposes the bypass because it would divert customers from shops. Source 2 supports it because it would reduce noise and danger for residents. Source 3 suggests that the loss to shops depends on signposting.
(b) Sample: “The town should build the bypass, because it protects the families on the main road, provided that the council signposts the high street clearly, as the consultant’s evidence suggests, to address the shop owners’ fear of lost trade.”
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Source 1 mapped accurately |
| 1 | Source 2 mapped accurately |
| 1 | Source 3 mapped accurately |
| 1 | The thesis takes a defensible position |
| 1 | The thesis uses at least two sources fairly |
| 1 | The thesis qualifies or extends rather than merely listing |
Question 7 (constructed response · core)
Read the paragraph below, written by Marlbridge.
“Supporters of banning cars from city centres point to cleaner air, and they are right that traffic is a major source of pollution. But their case often assumes that people who currently drive can easily switch to buses or bicycles. For a nurse finishing a night shift or a person with a limited ability to walk, the alternative may not exist. The debate should be less about whether to ban cars and more about how to keep centres open to people who cannot do without them.”
Explain how the paragraph enters a conversation. Refer to at least three choices. (6 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
Sample. The paragraph begins by naming the position it responds to (“Supporters of banning cars”) and stating their evidence (cleaner air), which attributes the claim and represents it fairly. It then concedes (“they are right that traffic is a major source of pollution”), which builds credibility with readers who agree with the supporters. Next it identifies an assumption (“assumes that people who currently drive can easily switch”) and offers examples that test it (the nurse, the person with limited mobility), which adds a consideration the supporters’ case does not address. The last sentence redirects the debate from “whether to ban” to “how to keep centres open”, so the writer positions the argument as moving the conversation forward.
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the attribution of the existing position |
| 1 | Identifies the concession and explains its effect |
| 1 | Identifies the assumption the writer challenges |
| 1 | Identifies the counterexamples (nurse, person with limited mobility) and their effect |
| 1 | Identifies the redirecting final sentence |
| 1 | Links the choices to engaging the existing conversation |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
The Declaration of Independence (1776) states that “all men are created equal”. The Declaration of Sentiments (1848, public domain) states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”
Explain how the second text enters a conversation with the first, and why this is persuasive. (6 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
Sample. The Declaration of Sentiments takes up the wording and form of the 1776 text, “We hold these truths to be self-evident”, which is a document its audience already honours. By keeping the original’s phrases, the writers show that they accept the principle behind it. They then change one thing, adding “and women”, which exposes what the original omitted and claims that the principle has not been applied. This entering of the conversation is persuasive because the audience cannot easily reject the claim without rejecting the founding principle they already hold, so the argument appears to follow from shared values rather than to oppose them.
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the echo of the earlier text |
| 1 | Explains that the earlier text is known and honoured by the audience |
| 1 | Identifies the change (“and women”) |
| 1 | Explains what the change reveals or claims |
| 1 | Explains why the approach persuades |
| 1 | Links to the idea of engaging an existing conversation |
How did you do? If you missed Questions 1 to 5, reread “Arguments arrive in a conversation that has already started” and “Step 2”. If you lost marks in 6 to 8, check that you named the existing position, represented it accurately and said how your claim relates to it.