Use this diagnostic to find which Unit 3 topics to revisit: one multiple-choice question for each of the seven topics, then three written questions that combine them.
These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. Passages and sources were written by Marlbridge for practice, apart from brief quotations credited to public-domain authors. The diagnostic is not calibrated and gives no predicted score. Allow about 30 minutes; answer everything before opening any answer. No calculator is needed.
Question 1 (multiple choice · 3.1)
Evidence: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” (Emerson, 1841). Which is the best commentary to follow it?
- (A) This is by Emerson.
- (B) By calling consistency a “hobgoblin”, an imaginary bogeyman, Emerson suggests that the fear of contradicting oneself is a needless terror, and the word “foolish” shows that his target is only the rigid kind.
- (C) This shows Emerson dislikes consistency.
- (D) The sentence is famous.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It explains specific words and connects them to a refined claim. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.1 study guide.
- (A) is wrong: identifies the source only.
- (C) is wrong: restates and misreads the quotation, since he says a foolish consistency.
- (D) is wrong: says nothing about meaning.
Question 2 (multiple choice · 3.2)
Which sentence best synthesises two sources? (Sources invented for practice.)
- (A) Source A says rents rose. Source B says shops closed.
- (B) Source A.
- (C) Rents and shops are topics.
- (D) Source A shows that rents rose by a fifth, and Source B suggests why this matters: three shops closed in the same period, which supports the view that higher rents are emptying the street.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). It attributes both sources, links them and makes a point of its own. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.2 study guide.
- (A) is wrong: summarises in turn with no connection.
- (B) is wrong: is not a sentence.
- (C) is wrong: names topics only.
Question 3 (multiple choice · 3.3)
An essay argues for a free school breakfast. Its paragraphs run: pupils arrive hungry; hunger lowers attention; a breakfast programme would remedy this; objections about cost answered; recommendation. This is best described as
- (A) a problem-then-solution line of reasoning ending in the thesis
- (B) a random list
- (C) a narrative
- (D) a comparison of two schools
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The order moves from problem to consequence to remedy to objection to recommendation. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.3 study guide.
- (B) is wrong: each step leads to the next.
- (C) is wrong: no story is told.
- (D) is wrong: no comparison is made.
Question 4 (multiple choice · 3.4)
Which sentence is bridge-level commentary, linking a paragraph about teenagers to one about pensioners?
- (A) “118 of 200 teenagers said the library was their only quiet place.”
- (B) “Libraries have books.”
- (C) “If teenagers have no other place to go, the same must be true of others who rely on the building during the day.”
- (D) “The survey took a week.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It links the point just made to the next group and shows the direction of the argument. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.4 study guide.
- (A) is wrong: evidence.
- (B) is wrong: a fact.
- (D) is wrong: a fact about the survey.
Question 5 (multiple choice · 3.5)
“We must either ban all phones in school or accept that no one will ever learn anything again.” The main flaw is
- (A) circular reasoning
- (B) ad hominem
- (C) a false dilemma
- (D) a faulty analogy
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It offers only two extreme options when others exist. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.5 study guide.
- (A) is wrong: the claim is not used as its own support.
- (B) is wrong: no person is attacked.
- (D) is wrong: no comparison is drawn.
Question 6 (multiple choice · 3.6)
“By ‘a good teacher’ I do not mean one who is liked. I mean one whose pupils later say, ‘I could not have done it without her.’” The dominant method of development is
- (A) definition
- (B) description
- (C) narration
- (D) comparison-contrast
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The writer fixes the meaning of a key term and marks its boundaries. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.6 study guide.
- (B) is wrong: no sensory detail is given.
- (C) is wrong: no story is told.
- (D) is wrong: no two things are set side by side.
Question 7 (multiple choice · 3.7)
“The factory closed in March, so the cafe lost its lunchtime trade, and soon the bus route that served both was cut. The town has therefore lost its heart.” Which link is least supported?
- (A) The factory closing led to the cafe losing trade
- (B) The cafe’s loss of trade contributed to the bus route being cut
- (C) The factory closed in March
- (D) The conclusion that the town “has therefore lost its heart”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (D). The final claim is large and not supported by any evidence about the town as a whole. If you missed this, read the Topic 3.7 study guide.
- (A) is wrong: a plausible and stated link.
- (B) is wrong: a plausible link, though more evidence would help.
- (C) is wrong: a statement of fact.
Question 8 (constructed response · 3.1, 3.4)
Evidence: Theodore Roosevelt said in 1910 that the credit belongs to the person “actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.” Claim: Roosevelt measures worth by effort and risk, not by judgement from the sidelines. Write three or four sentences of commentary that explain the evidence and connect it to the claim, and state why the point matters for his larger argument.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. The word “actually” contrasts the doer with the critic who only imagines a better result, so presence and risk are the test. The list “dust and sweat and blood” escalates from mess to pain, making effort visible and physical, and “marred” turns damage into a mark of participation and not of failure. Together these details show that worth lies in the willingness to be marked by trying. This matters for the larger argument because it invites his listeners to see themselves as doers and to value courage over commentary.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Explains “actually” or the contrast with the critic. |
| 1 | Explains the list or “marred”. |
| 1 | Connects the explanation to effort and risk. |
| 1 | States the significance for the larger argument or audience. |
| 1 | Does not simply repeat the claim. |
Question 9 (constructed response · 3.2, 3.3)
Use these invented sources.
Source A (council report). After the town centre was pedestrianised, air pollution readings fell by a quarter.
Source B (traders’ survey). 17 of 25 shop owners said takings fell in the first six months.
Write a thesis and three sentences that synthesise both sources into a line of reasoning that favours pedestrianisation with a qualification.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. Thesis: The town centre should stay pedestrianised, provided the council helps traders through the first year. Paragraph: Pedestrianisation delivered its main aim, since air pollution readings fell by a quarter (Source A). The cost, however, fell on traders, as 17 of 25 reported lower takings in the first six months (Source B), which qualifies the council’s success. A scheme that cleans the air while threatening the shops that make the centre worth visiting should therefore be kept only if the council supports traders through the transition.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Thesis takes a position with a qualification. |
| 1 | Both sources cited accurately. |
| 1 | Sources are linked, not summarised in turn. |
| 1 | Includes commentary connecting sources to the thesis. |
| 1 | Order shows a line of reasoning. |
Question 10 (constructed response · 3.5, 3.7)
“Since the library introduced self-service machines, book loans have fallen. Clearly the machines are to blame, so they must be removed.” (a) Identify the flaw. (b) Rewrite the two sentences so that the causal claim is reasonable.
Answer and explanation
Model answer. (a) False cause: the argument assumes that because loans fell after the machines arrived, the machines caused the fall, without considering other explanations such as reduced opening hours. (b) “Book loans have fallen since the self-service machines arrived, but opening hours were also cut that month. Before blaming the machines, the library should compare loans in the hours that stayed open with the same hours in the previous year.”
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (5 points)
| Points | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies false cause. |
| 1 | Explains that sequence is not cause. |
| 1 | Names a rival explanation in the rewrite. |
| 1 | Proposes a way to test. |
| 1 | Removes the leap to a recommendation. |
After the diagnostic
For every question you missed, read the study guide it names, then try the topic’s practice questions. When you are ready, take the Unit 3 mixed review.