Read the big ideas and the method table, then try the six questions without notes. Each question combines two or more Unit 7 topics.
These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. All passages are written by Marlbridge, and the people, places and figures are invented. The rubrics are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not official scoring.
Big ideas of the unit
- Openings and endings are choices. An introduction orients, engages and focuses; a conclusion brings the argument to a unified end and adds significance, implication or action (7.1).
- Complexity protects credibility. Oversimplification flows from limited understanding; arguments in an ongoing conversation avoid absolutes and ask whether new evidence supports, refutes or complicates a claim (7.2).
- Modifiers set the scope of a claim. Words, phrases and clauses limit frequency, amount, group, place, condition and certainty, and their strength should match the evidence (7.3).
- Arrangement emphasises ideas. The end of a sentence is the strongest position; loose, periodic and balanced sentences each have an effect (7.4).
- Coordination balances; subordination ranks. The choice of conjunction changes which idea the reader treats as central (7.5).
- Punctuation is both convention and craft. Conventions enable clarity; marks such as dashes, colons and semicolons also clarify, organise, emphasise, supplement and set tone (7.6).
- Design creates a hierarchy. Italics, boldface, headings and white space guide the reader’s eye, and emphasis works by contrast (7.7).
Key relationships and methods
| If the task asks you to… | Do this | Watch out for… |
|---|---|---|
| Analyse an introduction or conclusion | Name the move, then explain its effect on this audience and purpose | Saying “it hooks the reader” with no detail |
| Qualify a claim | Add scope, condition and degree words matched to the evidence: position + scope + condition | Over-hedging until no position remains |
| Judge new evidence | Support, refute or complicate? Revise the claim to fit | Dropping a claim that only needed narrowing |
| Explain a sentence’s structure | Find the clauses; locate the main clause and the end position; name the effect | Labelling the sentence type and stopping |
| Compare coordination and subordination | Say which idea is in the main clause and what relationship the conjunction creates | Treating “but” and “although” as identical |
| Explain punctuation | Name the mark, what it does in this sentence and why | Naming without effect |
| Analyse design | What is prominent, what is quiet, what path the eye follows, why | Describing the look without the purpose |
| Write a conclusion | Add significance, implication or action | Repeating the introduction |
Question 1 (multiple choice · 7.1, 7.4)
Use this passage (written by Marlbridge) for Questions 1 to 4.
“Every Thursday night, the Harbour Street Youth Orchestra rehearses in a hall with a leaking roof. Forty children, most of whom could not afford lessons elsewhere, play violins that the council bought in 1998. The council now proposes to close the hall—a saving of £18,000 a year. That figure deserves respect; budgets are not infinite. But it ignores what the hall produces: a generation of young people who have learned to listen to one another. Some will become musicians. Most will become something harder to measure: neighbours who know how to share a difficult piece of work. If the council closes the hall, it will save £18,000. It will not save the thing it was paying for.”
Which description best fits the last two sentences?
- (A) A summary that repeats every earlier point in order
- (B) A conclusion that returns to the figure from the opening, then reframes it, ending on a short sentence that adds significance
- (C) A new counterargument introduced at the last moment
- (D) A statistic offered as fresh evidence
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). The ending echoes the £18,000 figure, which appeared earlier, then reframes what is being saved. The short last sentence, “It will not save the thing it was paying for”, lands in the strongest position and adds a claim about value.
- (A) The ending does not list earlier points.
- (C) No opposing view is introduced.
- (D) £18,000 is not new; it has already been mentioned.
Topics: 7.1 (conclusion moves), 7.4 (short sentence in the end position).
Question 2 (multiple choice · 7.2, 7.3)
“Some will become musicians. Most will become something harder to measure.” What do the words “Some” and “Most” contribute to the argument?
- (A) They overstate the benefits so that the claim sounds stronger.
- (B) They limit the claim by amount, avoiding the absolute that every child will become a musician, which makes the argument more credible.
- (C) They show that the writer is unsure of the position.
- (D) They are modifiers of place.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). Both are quantifiers that limit the claim, and distinguishing “some” from “most” shows the writer has thought about different outcomes rather than making a sweeping promise.
- (A) The words reduce, not inflate, the scope of the claim.
- (C) The writer’s position is clear; these words add precision.
- (D) They limit amount, not place.
Topics: 7.2 (avoiding absolutes), 7.3 (modifiers of amount).
Question 3 (multiple choice · 7.5, 7.6)
“That figure deserves respect; budgets are not infinite. But it ignores what the hall produces.” Which statement best describes the effect of the semicolon and “But”?
- (A) The semicolon joins two related independent clauses, so the writer concedes the council’s point, and “But” turns to the writer’s own claim.
- (B) The semicolon marks a list of items.
- (C) The semicolon and “But” together show that the writer agrees with the council.
- (D) The semicolon introduces a quotation.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The concession is stated in two linked independent clauses, and “But” begins the rebuttal that follows. The structure shows fairness before disagreement.
- (B) There is no list.
- (C) The writer concedes a point but does not agree with the proposal.
- (D) No quotation is introduced.
Topics: 7.5 (concession then contrast), 7.6 (semicolon).
Question 4 (multiple choice · 7.6, 7.7)
The writer uses a dash in “The council now proposes to close the hall—a saving of £18,000 a year.” The dash most likely
- (A) separates the proposal from its justification, giving the figure emphasis as an addition.
- (B) joins two independent clauses.
- (C) shows that the figure is a quotation.
- (D) marks the figure as unimportant.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). The dash sets off the figure as an emphatic addition after the main clause.
- (B) “a saving of £18,000 a year” is a phrase, not an independent clause.
- (C) There are no quotation marks.
- (D) Parentheses, not a dash, would play the figure down.
Topics: 7.6 (dash for emphasis and supplementing information).
Question 5 (constructed response · 7.2, 7.3)
A student draft says: “Orchestras always improve children’s lives, and councils that cut them are failing every child in the district.” (Written by Marlbridge.)
(a) Identify two features that make the claim an oversimplification. (2 marks) (b) Rewrite it so that it keeps a position, uses modifiers of at least two different dimensions and acknowledges a competing consideration. Name the modifiers. (4 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
(a) “Always” and “every child” are absolutes. The claim also assumes that cutting an orchestra has a single effect (failing children) and ignores competing needs for money.
(b) Sample: “Youth orchestras can improve many children’s confidence and teamwork, particularly where families cannot pay for lessons; councils that cut them should therefore weigh the saving against that loss, even though budgets are limited.” Modifiers: “can” (certainty), “many” (amount), “particularly where families cannot pay for lessons” (condition/group), “even though budgets are limited” (concession).
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identifies the absolute words |
| 1 | Identifies the single-cause or overreach assumption |
| 1 | Keeps a clear position |
| 1 | Uses two correctly named modifiers from different dimensions |
| 1 | Acknowledges a competing consideration |
| 1 | The claim remains arguable and is not over-hedged |
Question 6 (constructed response · 7.1, 7.4, 7.7)
A group of parents wants to hand out a one-page flyer to residents, urging them to attend a council meeting to defend the orchestra’s hall. (Use the facts in the passage above.)
(a) Write a two-sentence introduction for the flyer. Name the move you use and say what it does for this audience. (3 marks) (b) Describe two design features you would use and explain how each creates emphasis. (3 marks) (c) Explain how you have placed the most important idea in the strongest position in at least one of your sentences. (2 marks)
Sample answer and suggested rubric
(a) Sample: “Forty children rehearse every Thursday under a leaking roof, and the council wants to close the hall that shelters them. You can change that on the night of the meeting.” Move: scenario plus call to act; it engages residents with a concrete image and tells them what they can do.
(b) A large bold heading, “Save the Harbour Street hall”, so the issue is clear at a glance. The meeting date and time in bold on a line of its own, so that the key action stands out from the plain text.
(c) In the second sentence, “on the night of the meeting” is at the end, which is the strongest position, so the reader finishes on the action; in the first, the closure of the hall is the final idea.
| Mark | What earns it |
|---|---|
| 1 | The introduction is two sentences and orients the reader |
| 1 | It engages with a concrete image or fact |
| 1 | Names the move and explains its effect on residents |
| 1 | First design feature chosen and explained |
| 1 | Second design feature chosen and explained |
| 1 | Both features are used sparingly (no over-emphasis) |
| 1 | Identifies a sentence in which the key idea is at the end |
| 1 | Explains why the end position gives emphasis |
What next?
If any question surprised you, return to the matching study guide. When you are comfortable, move to Unit 8 and the Topic 8.1 study guide.