Use this diagnostic to find which Unit 7 topics to revisit: one short question per topic, with extra questions on the claim and sentence topics.
These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. All passages are written by Marlbridge, and all figures are invented for practice. The diagnostic is not calibrated and gives no predicted score.
How to take it. Allow 30 minutes and answer everything before opening any answer. No calculator is needed. The three written questions need only a few sentences each.
Question 1 (multiple choice · 7.1)
A writer opens an essay on school meals: “At 12.10, forty students stand in a queue that will not reach the till before the bell.” Which move does the opening mainly make?
- (A) A quotation from an expert
- (B) A scenario that engages the reader with a concrete problem
- (C) A summary of the argument
- (D) A call to act
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). It places the reader in a specific situation, which engages them and sets up a problem.
- (A) has no quoted voice.
- (C) Nothing has been argued yet to summarise.
- (D) Nothing asks the reader to act.
If you missed this: Topic 7.1 study guide.
Question 2 (multiple choice · 7.2)
Which claim is most likely to be criticised as an oversimplification?
- (A) “Some students find music helps them concentrate.”
- (B) “Homework never helps anyone.”
- (C) “In the trial school, test scores rose slightly after the change.”
- (D) “The evidence suggests longer breaks may help younger pupils.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “Never” and “anyone” are absolutes that a single counterexample would refute.
- (A) limits itself with “some”.
- (C) names its scope and its size (“slightly”).
- (D) uses “suggests” and “may”.
If you missed this: Topic 7.2 study guide.
Question 3 (multiple choice · 7.3)
In “Where bus services are frequent, fares can fall without harming service,” which part limits the claim by condition or place?
- (A) “fares”
- (B) “Where bus services are frequent”
- (C) “fall”
- (D) “harming service”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The “Where…” clause sets the circumstances in which the claim holds.
- (A) and (C) are the subject and main verb.
- (D) is the thing the claim says will not happen; it is not a limit on the claim’s scope.
If you missed this: Topic 7.3 study guide.
Question 4 (multiple choice · 7.4)
“When every plan had failed, when every appeal had been refused, the town finally built its own bridge.” This sentence is best described as
- (A) loose, because the main clause comes first.
- (B) periodic, because the main clause is held back until the end.
- (C) simple, because it has one verb.
- (D) balanced, because it has two equal independent clauses.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Two dependent “when” clauses build up before the main clause arrives.
- (A) reverses the order.
- (C) The sentence has three verbs and three clauses.
- (D) The first two clauses are dependent, not independent.
If you missed this: Topic 7.4 study guide.
Question 5 (multiple choice · 7.5)
“Although the museum was crowded, the visitors were polite.” Compared with “The museum was crowded, and the visitors were polite,” the first sentence
- (A) gives the two ideas equal weight.
- (B) subordinates the crowding and treats the politeness as the main point.
- (C) subordinates the politeness.
- (D) has the same structure.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). “Although…” makes the crowding a conceded, subordinate idea, and the main clause carries the politeness.
- (A) describes the “and” version.
- (C) reverses the roles.
- (D) is false: one is complex, the other compound.
If you missed this: Topic 7.5 study guide.
Question 6 (multiple choice · 7.6)
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
- (A) “The results were clear; the school changed its policy.”
- (B) “The results were clear, the school changed its policy.”
- (C) “The results were: clear the school changed its policy.”
- (D) “The results were clear the school, changed its policy.”
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). A semicolon correctly joins two related independent clauses.
- (B) is a comma splice.
- (C) misplaces the colon and omits a break.
- (D) misplaces the comma and creates a run-on.
If you missed this: Topic 7.6 study guide.
Question 7 (multiple choice · 7.7)
A notice prints “Parking permits must be renewed by 31 May.” The boldface on “by 31 May” mainly
- (A) turns the phrase into a title.
- (B) makes the deadline prominent so that readers notice it.
- (C) shows that the phrase is a quotation.
- (D) signals the end of a paragraph.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Bold creates emphasis through contrast with the surrounding plain text.
- (A) Titles are usually italicised or set larger.
- (C) Quotation marks would mark a quotation.
- (D) Bold does not mark paragraph ends.
If you missed this: Topic 7.7 study guide.
Question 8 (short answer · 7.2 and 7.3)
Revise this claim so that it keeps a position but avoids oversimplification: “Social media destroys friendships.” Use at least two different kinds of modifier and name them.
Answer and explanation
Sample. “Heavy social media use can weaken some friendships when it replaces time spent together, although it also helps many people stay in touch across distance.” Modifiers: “can” (certainty), “some” (amount), “when it replaces time spent together” (condition), “although it also helps many people…” (concession).
Marking guide. Full credit for a revision that (1) keeps a position, (2) uses at least two different kinds of modifier correctly named and (3) is still arguable.
Question 9 (short answer · 7.4 and 7.5)
Rewrite “The shop raised its prices, but sales went up” so that the sales rise is the main point and the price rise is a concession. Explain what your structure does.
Answer and explanation
Sample. “Although the shop raised its prices, sales went up.” The price rise is in a subordinate “Although” clause (a concession), and the main clause, which is also in the end position, states the sales rise.
Marking guide. Full credit for a subordinated concession, the sales rise in the main clause and a sentence of explanation that mentions subordination and the end position.
Question 10 (short answer · 7.1 and 7.6)
Write a two-sentence conclusion to an essay arguing that schools should teach first aid. Use one colon or dash purposefully and name the conclusion move you use.
Answer and explanation
Sample. “A first-aid lesson costs a morning; the skill might one day save a life. Schools should teach it, because the one moment a student needs it will not wait for a better time.” The move is explaining implications with a purposeful semicolon joining two related clauses (a colon or a dash would also be acceptable if used purposefully).
Marking guide. Full credit for two sentences that add significance or implication (not just repetition), a correctly used mark that has a purpose and a named move.
Where to go next
Go back to the study guide for every question you missed, then try the Unit 7 mixed review. If you are secure on all of them, move to Unit 8 and the Topic 8.1 study guide.