These are original Marlbridge practice questions, not past exam questions. The extract was written by Marlbridge for this practice. Mark points are a suggested Marlbridge rubric, not an official scoring guideline. Multiple-choice questions have four options.
Extract 3K (written by Marlbridge), from an invented novel.
On the first morning of the strike, Councillor Pryce arrived at the depot in a clean coat and stood at the gate with his hat in his hands, as a man stands at a graveside. The drivers, who had expected shouting, did not know what to do with their own. Pryce spoke for twenty minutes about his respect for the working man and did not once use the word wage. When he left, a driver called Moss took the hat that Pryce had dropped, brushed it, and handed it to the foreman to send after him, because nobody there knew how to refuse good manners.
Prompt. How does the narrator present the relationship between Councillor Pryce and the drivers?
Question 1 (multiple choice · core)
Which of the following is the best thesis statement in response to the prompt?
- (A) The passage is about a strike at a depot.
- (B) The narrator describes Councillor Pryce’s coat, his hat and his speech.
- (C) By having Pryce replace argument with courtesy, the narrator shows a relationship in which good manners disarm the drivers’ anger and let the real issue, wages, go unmentioned.
- (D) Pryce is a politician and the drivers are angry.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It answers the prompt, takes an interpretive position that can be defended with details (the hat, the unused word “wage”, the drivers who “did not know what to do with their own” shouting), and previews a movement from anger to disarmament.
- (A) is a topic or summary.
- (B) lists details and offers no interpretation.
- (D) is a pair of facts or labels with no “so what”.
Question 2 (multiple choice · core)
Which of the following is a topic and not a thesis?
- (A) The relationship between Pryce and the drivers
- (B) Pryce’s courtesy disarms the drivers and avoids the issue of wages
- (C) The narrator shows that good manners can be used as a way of avoiding an argument
- (D) The drivers’ politeness to Pryce suggests that their anger is checked by habit
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). It names a subject but makes no claim.
- (B), (C) and (D) each make a claim that needs defence from the passage.
Question 3 (multiple choice · core)
Which of the following is a list of literary elements and not an interpretation?
- (A) The narrator uses description, dialogue and irony to present Pryce.
- (B) The narrator shows that Pryce replaces argument with manners.
- (C) The narrator uses Pryce’s courtesy to expose a conflict that the drivers cannot voice.
- (D) The narrator’s irony at the end shows that manners can be a form of control.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (A). It names elements with no claim about what they show. A thesis should say what the elements do.
- (B), (C) and (D) are interpretive claims.
Question 4 (multiple choice · stretch)
A student has drafted this thesis: “The narrator shows that Pryce is polite.” Which revision best adds a defensible “so what” without listing devices?
- (A) The narrator shows that Pryce is very polite and that the drivers are polite too.
- (B) The narrator uses polite language.
- (C) The narrator shows that Pryce’s politeness is a tactic: the drivers, trained to return good manners, cannot protest, and so the courtesy that looks like respect works as a way of avoiding the issue of wages.
- (D) The narrator shows Pryce being polite on the first morning of the strike.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (C). It turns a fact into an interpretation by saying what the politeness does and by previewing a line of reasoning (from courtesy to the drivers’ inability to protest to the avoided issue).
- (A) adds another fact.
- (B) is a device label.
- (D) is summary.
Question 5 (multiple choice · stretch)
Which statement about thesis statements is most accurate?
- (A) A thesis must list the three literary elements that the essay will analyse.
- (B) A thesis may preview a line of reasoning but need not list points, elements or evidence.
- (C) A thesis should be a statement of fact so that nobody can disagree.
- (D) A thesis should avoid answering the prompt directly.
Answer and explanation
Answer: (B). A thesis expresses an interpretation and may suggest the direction of the argument without listing its parts.
- (A) is a common misconception.
- (C) is wrong because a thesis needs to be arguable.
- (D) is wrong because the thesis must respond to the prompt.
Question 6 (constructed response · core)
Write a one-sentence thesis in response to the prompt on Extract 3K. It must be defensible and must not simply list devices.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. The narrator shows that Pryce’s courtesy works as a form of control, because the drivers, who are ready for anger, are disarmed by manners and cannot raise the question of wages.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (3 points).
| Point | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Responds to the prompt (the relationship between Pryce and the drivers) |
| 2 | States an interpretation that could be disputed and defended with the text (not a topic, fact or list) |
| 3 | Is specific to the passage, with a clear “so what” |
Other defensible theses (for example, that the drivers’ own politeness shows how deeply manners are held) earn full marks.
Question 7 (constructed response · stretch)
Here is a weak thesis: “The narrator uses description and dialogue to show Pryce and the drivers.” Revise it into a defensible thesis. In one sentence after it, explain which words show the line of reasoning.
Answer and explanation
Sample response. Revised thesis: By showing the drivers returning Pryce’s dropped hat when they expected to shout, the narrator presents politeness as a habit so strong that it stops the drivers from pressing their grievance, and so exposes how good manners can protect the powerful.
Line of reasoning: The words “returning … when they expected to shout” and “stops the drivers from pressing their grievance” show a movement from the drivers’ expectation, to their reaction, to what it exposes.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| 1 | Removes the list of devices |
| 2 | States an interpretation that answers the prompt |
| 3 | Is defensible with specific details from the passage |
| 4 | Identifies the movement or line of reasoning the thesis previews |
Question 8 (constructed response · stretch)
Use the thesis ladder to move from the observation “Moss brushes the hat and hands it to the foreman” to a thesis. Write the observation, a claim, the “so what” and the thesis.
Answer and explanation
Sample response.
- Observation: Moss brushes the hat that Pryce dropped and hands it to the foreman to be sent after him.
- Claim: Moss treats Pryce with care, although Pryce is the one the drivers are protesting against.
- So what: The narrator explains this by saying that “nobody there knew how to refuse good manners”, so the act shows the force of habit.
- Thesis: The narrator shows that manners bind the drivers more closely than their grievance does, so that on the first morning of the strike the powerful man’s courtesy is returned by the very people who are meant to be opposing him.
Suggested Marlbridge rubric (4 points).
| Point | Awarded for |
|---|---|
| 1 | An accurate observation from the passage |
| 2 | A claim about what the observation does |
| 3 | A “so what” that connects to the passage’s wider meaning |
| 4 | A thesis that answers the prompt and is defensible, not a list |
How did you do? If you missed Questions 1 to 3, reread “What a thesis is” and “The thesis ladder” in the study guide. If you missed Questions 4 and 5, reread “Previewing a line of reasoning”. For the written questions, use the drafting routine, then check the checklist.