Practice Test 3 - AP English Language and Composition

20 questions. Answer them in any order, then submit to see your score and every explanation.

Read the following excerpt from a student newspaper piece about campus recycling (embedded below). "Our dorm has three recycling bins per floor, but the labels are faded and the lids are identical. The result is predictable: bottles in the trash, food in the recycling, and a custodian who sorts what students could have sorted in ten seconds. The school's sustainability posters are glossy, yet the system they advertise is, at the point of use, vague." The author's precise choice of glossy most strongly suggests the tone is…
Read the following student-written argumentative passage (AP English Language style, 300–450 words). The essay's thesis is intentionally imperfect. Our town council is debating whether to replace the downtown public library with a "digital learning hub" in a smaller building. The plan would cut most physical books, add more computers, and rely on e-books and online databases. Supporters argue that libraries are outdated and that people can read on their phones anyway. But the idea that the library is just a storage unit for paper is a misunderstanding of what it does. The council should keep the library as it is. To begin with, the current library is one of the few truly free indoor spaces in town. On hot days, families come in to cool off; in the winter, people sit at tables to fill out job applications or just exist somewhere without being expected to buy a coffee. That matters because public life is increasingly pay-to-play. When the "third places" disappear, civic life gets thinner. Also, physical collections still serve real needs. Not everyone has reliable internet, and not every household can afford multiple devices. Even when people do have internet, e-books often require accounts, apps, and waitlists that are confusing for seniors or new English learners. A shelf of books is immediate, browsable, and private. It doesn't track what you read the way some digital platforms do. Finally, the proposed hub shrinks the library's role in education and community memory. The library hosts story times, tutoring, local history exhibits, and quiet study areas for students whose homes are crowded. A smaller building with fewer books and less space turns a community anchor into a computer lab. We can add technology without deleting the parts that make the library a library. Which revision of the bolded thesis best previews the reasoning that follows?
Read the following passage and answer the question. After our district installed new software to track "learning minutes" on student laptops, administrators celebrated the dashboard's clean certainty. Time-on-task, they argued, would finally make effort visible and accountability fair. But the metric mistakes motion for progress. A student can click through slides for an hour while understanding nothing; another can spend ten minutes wrestling with a single paragraph and emerge changed. Numbers are not the enemy—teachers need information—but when a measure becomes a target, students learn to optimize the display rather than the skill. The deeper risk is cultural: we teach children that education is what can be counted, so they stop valuing what cannot be easily graphed—curiosity, patience, and intellectual courage. We should use data to inform teaching, not to redefine learning as mere accumulated minutes. The author's main argument is that…
Read the following passage and answer the question. A local newspaper editorial argues that the town should convert an abandoned rail corridor into a public greenway. The piece notes that nearby towns with similar trails reported increased foot traffic for small businesses and fewer pedestrian injuries on busy roads. Skeptics worry about maintenance costs and nighttime safety, but the editorial replies that leaving the corridor unused has costs too: illegal dumping, overgrowth, and a sense of neglect. What, after all, is "too expensive" about turning a liability into a path? The writer concludes that the choice is between investing now or paying later in less visible ways. The author's use of the bolded sentence structure primarily serves to…
Read the following excerpt from a commentary on a proposed school cellphone ban: "The ban is presented as a panacea, a single rule that will restore attention spans and resurrect conversation. Perhaps it will help; perhaps it will merely relocate distraction to laptops and whispers. Adults love simple fixes because they flatter our authority. Children, unfortunately, live in the complex world we built." The word panacea helps establish a tone of…
Read the following excerpt from a school-board op-ed, then answer the question. In a district where 38% of students ride buses and many families work shifts that start before sunrise, the first bell is not a neutral policy—it is a daily obstacle. Last year, our high school moved start time from 7:20 to 8:30, and tardies fell by 22% while first-period failures dropped from 14% to 9%. Those numbers matter, but the reason behind them matters more: teenagers' sleep cycles run later, and a schedule built for adult convenience punishes adolescent biology. Opponents warn that later starts will disrupt sports and childcare. Those concerns are real, but they are solvable. Practices can shift by thirty minutes, and the district can coordinate with community centers that already run before-school programs. We have adjusted bus routes before; we can do it again. The question is whether we want a schedule that merely looks efficient on paper or one that actually helps students learn. Keeping a too-early bell because change is complicated is not responsibility—it is avoidance. The structure of the passage best serves its purpose by…
Read the following excerpt from a community blog post about planting native species: "A yard can be an exhibit, or it can be an ecosystem. Imported ornamentals may look tidy, but they often feed nothing." "Plant what belongs: milkweed for monarchs, oaks for caterpillars, asters for late-season bees." "We don't need more lawns that demand water; we need living patches that return it—slowly, quietly, back into the soil." The author's use of the bold sentence serves to…
A local newspaper editorial claims: "Public libraries remain essential because they provide reliable internet access for people who can't afford it at home." In a body paragraph, the writer includes this evidence: "The Pew Research Center reported that in 2021, 43% of adults with household incomes under $30,000 did not have broadband at home." The paragraph ends with weak commentary: "That is a lot of people without broadband." Which sentence would most effectively replace the bolded commentary to connect the evidence to the paragraph's claim?
Read the following passage and answer the question. A company announced that it will track employee "productivity" by monitoring keystrokes and mouse movement. Managers call the system objective, but it measures motion, not meaning. A worker who spends an hour thinking through a complex problem may look idle, while a worker who clicks constantly may be producing nothing of value. Worse, surveillance erodes trust: when employees feel watched, they focus on appearing busy rather than doing work that requires experimentation or candor. If leadership wants better performance, it should clarify goals, remove bottlenecks, and evaluate results—not install software that turns the workday into a performance for an algorithm. Data can inform management, but it cannot replace judgment. Which of the following is a claim the author explicitly makes?
Read the following excerpt from an essay about public transit funding. The author notes that the city's bus system carries 41% of commuters but receives only 18% of transportation dollars. The author argues that transit budgets reveal moral priorities. To fund roads while starving buses is to subsidize convenience for the few by taxing time from the many. Which explanation best accounts for the author's decision to structure the bolded sentence this way?
A student is revising a body paragraph from an argumentative essay about school start times. The paragraph's claim is: Later start times improve student learning by increasing sleep and reducing tardiness. The paragraph includes this evidence: A district report from 2023 found that after the high school moved its start time from 7:25 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., average first-period tardies dropped from 18 per day to 7 per day over one semester. The writer's commentary after the evidence is "This shows that when school starts later, fewer students are late." Which revision of the bolded commentary would best explain the significance of the evidence in relation to the paragraph's claim?
A student is drafting a body paragraph arguing that cities should replace some parking spaces with protected bike lanes to improve public safety. The paragraph's claim is: Protected bike lanes reduce serious injuries by separating cyclists from car traffic. Evidence in the paragraph: A 2021 transportation department evaluation of 12 corridors found that after installing protected bike lanes, cyclist injury crashes fell by 28% while total cycling volume increased by 14%. The commentary that follows is "This means protected bike lanes reduced crashes and more people biked." Which revision of the bolded commentary would best connect the evidence to the claim?
A letter to the editor supports community college funding: "State leaders call community colleges 'backup plans,' but that label ignores who actually relies on them. Many students are the first in their families to pursue a degree, and they choose programs that connect directly to local jobs. Graduation rates can look lower, but those numbers often count students who transfer, stop out to work, or attend part-time. More advising and childcare support would not magically fix every barrier, yet it would remove obstacles that are administrative rather than academic. If we want an economy with skilled workers, we should invest where the training happens." The use of the word yet in "would not magically fix every barrier, yet it would remove obstacles…" serves to…
Read the student essay below, then answer the question. Student essay (approx. 370 words): Schools should adopt later start times for teenagers. A later start would improve academic performance, reduce dangerous driving, and support mental health. Teenagers' sleep cycles shift later, meaning they naturally fall asleep and wake up later than younger children. When schools start at 7:20 a.m., many students function on too little sleep. Sleep affects memory and attention, so a schedule that ignores biology makes learning harder than it needs to be. Later starts can also make roads safer. Drowsy driving is similar to distracted driving: reaction times slow and judgment worsens. If teens are less exhausted, they will be more alert behind the wheel, especially during dark winter mornings. Some critics argue that moving the schedule would disrupt sports and after-school jobs. But sports are not the point of school, and students can always adjust. Since academics matter most, the inconvenience is worth it. Finally, later start times support mental health. Chronic sleep deprivation increases anxiety and irritability. When students are constantly tired, small problems feel bigger, and conflicts escalate. A later start is not therapy, but it removes a daily stressor that schools control. Which aspect most weakens the author's line of reasoning? (Identify the issue that most harms the argument's development.)
The passage suggests that the writer is a
Read the following excerpt from an essay about reading habits (embedded below). "Many people say they 'don't have time' to read, but the phrase hides a choice. Time appears for what we treat as nonnegotiable: the commute, the scrolling, the show we watch to unwind. Reading does not need to be sacred, only regular. Ten pages a night is not a transformation; it is a practice that accumulates." By choosing nonnegotiable, the author conveys a tone that is…
Read the following excerpt from a blog post by a veteran teacher addressed to parents in an academically competitive district. The teacher argues for limiting homework in elementary school. "In a district like ours, 'rigor' is practically a family heirloom. You want doors to stay open for your kids, and you've seen how quickly a small gap in reading becomes a large one by middle school. But more homework in third grade doesn't automatically create more learning. When assignments stretch past an hour, we stop practicing skills and start practicing endurance—often with parents reteaching the lesson at the kitchen table. That produces neat packets, not independent thinkers. A nightly reading routine, short math practice, and time for sleep and play will do more for long-term achievement than a second worksheet. If we truly value excellence, we should build it on mastery, not fatigue." The author demonstrates awareness of the audience's values by emphasizing which assumption about the audience?
Read the student essay below and answer the question that follows. Our local library is deciding whether to eliminate late fees. Some residents think fees teach responsibility, but the fees mostly teach people to stop coming back. The library should eliminate late fees. The biggest reason is that late fees don't mainly punish the people who are careless; they punish the people who are stretched thin. A parent juggling two jobs and childcare is more likely to return a book a few days late than someone with free time and a car. Once a few dollars turn into twenty, people avoid the library out of embarrassment or because they literally can't pay. The result is fewer readers, especially in the neighborhoods that benefit from free resources the most. Another reason is that late fees don't actually bring in much money compared to what they cost to manage. Staff time goes to collecting small debts, explaining policies, and dealing with angry patrons. That time could be spent helping kids find books, running programs, or assisting people who need internet access. Finally, eliminating fees doesn't mean eliminating expectations. The library can send reminders, temporarily block accounts for very overdue items, or charge replacement costs for items that are never returned. Those policies focus on getting books back, which is the library's real goal. Which revision of the bolded thesis best previews the reasoning that follows?
Read the following embedded passage, then answer the question. A university op-ed argues that first-year students should be required to take a short course on evaluating online information. The writer begins by observing that students arrive with constant access to search engines and social media, which can create the illusion that information is automatically reliable. When students accept the first result or the most shared post, they may cite inaccurate claims in papers; inaccurate claims lead to weaker arguments and lower grades, and repeated low grades can push students to disengage from college altogether. The writer adds that the problem extends beyond academics: graduates who cannot evaluate sources are more likely to fall for scams or misinformation, which can affect their finances and civic decisions. A brief required course, he argues, would teach students to check authorship, evidence, and incentives, giving them a repeatable method for judging claims. Because a small requirement can prevent larger academic and social harms, he concludes the course is justified. The passage's line of reasoning can best be described as…
Read the following passage embedded in this prompt: A town facing drought launches a campaign urging residents to take shorter showers. Billboards show a dripping faucet and the slogan "Every Minute Matters." The mayor celebrates that household water use fell by 8% over the summer. But a local hydrologist points out that the biggest water draw comes from a handful of industrial wells and irrigated lawns at large properties on the edge of town—uses largely untouched by the campaign. Residents in apartment buildings follow the rules while watching sprinklers run at noon in wealthy neighborhoods. The hydrologist warns that public messaging can become a substitute for policy: it makes people feel involved while leaving the hardest decisions—pricing, enforcement, and limits on high-volume users—unaddressed. The campaign, she argues, should not disappear, but it must be paired with regulations that match the scale of the problem. The overall message of the passage is that…

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