Practice Test 9 - AP English Language and Composition

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

Read the student essay below, then answer the question. Student essay (approx. 380 words): Many schools are debating whether to replace most printed textbooks with school-issued tablets. While tablets sound modern, schools should keep printed textbooks as the primary resource because they support focus, equal access, and long-term learning. First, printed books help students focus. A tablet is designed to do many things at once: messages, games, and endless tabs. Even with "school mode," students know the device can do more than the lesson, which makes it harder to concentrate. In contrast, a textbook does one job. When students open it, they see the chapter, not a dozen icons calling for attention. If schools want deeper reading and better comprehension, they should choose the format that naturally reduces distraction. Second, keeping print protects equal access. Not every student has reliable internet at home, and not every family can afford to replace a broken device quickly. Schools can say they will provide hotspots or insurance, but those programs often have limits and complicated rules. A printed textbook works anywhere, without Wi-Fi or charging. If education is supposed to be a public good, the main learning tool should not depend on a battery. Third, tablets are expensive. Districts have to buy devices, update them, repair them, and eventually replace them. Companies also charge for licenses and digital platforms. Schools already spend money on sports, dances, and decorations, so they can afford textbooks too. If budgets are tight, it makes more sense to invest in durable books that can be reused for years. Finally, reading on paper builds long-term learning habits. Students can annotate margins, flip back easily, and remember where information appears on a page. Many adults still prefer paper for serious reading because it feels more "real." That preference matters because it shows our brains are wired for paper. Schools should not rush to replace a proven tool just because tablets look innovative. Which aspect most weakens the author's line of reasoning across the argument? (Consider how the paragraphs connect and whether claims are supported and logically advanced.)
Read the following passage and answer the question below. Every election season, candidates promise to "fix" traffic by widening highways, as if congestion were a plumbing problem that simply needs a larger pipe. But decades of transportation research and lived experience suggest the opposite: more lanes often invite more driving, quickly restoring the same delays at a higher public cost. Meanwhile, the people most harmed by car-first planning—those who cannot drive, cannot afford a car, or live near polluted corridors—are treated as afterthoughts. This is not an argument against roads; it is an argument against pretending that roads alone can do the work of a transportation system. Cities should prioritize frequent public transit and safe walking and biking networks over perpetual highway expansion, because mobility is a public good, not a private convenience. The measure of success should be how many people can reach jobs and services, not how fast a few commuters can pass through. The author's main argument is that…
Read the student essay excerpt below, then answer the question. Driving is a normal part of life for many Americans, and roads are important for getting places. There are many kinds of traffic laws, and they help keep people safe. Our town has been growing, so traffic has become a bigger topic lately. In the full essay, the student argues that the town should install a protected bike lane on Oak Avenue, a corridor where a new apartment complex opened and where the high school is located. The student cites a police report showing 14 bike-involved crashes in two years on Oak Avenue and notes that many students bike because parking permits are limited. Which revision to the bolded introduction would best establish context for the argument?
Read the following passage embedded in this prompt: To the parents reading this PTA newsletter, I know your first question about any change is the same as mine: "Will it keep kids safe and learning?" That's why I'm asking the district to adopt a no-phone-during-class policy with secure classroom pouches. Teachers report losing the equivalent of 30 minutes of instruction per day to reminders, buzzing, and off-task scrolling. This isn't about demonizing technology; it's about restoring attention so students can practice sustained reading and problem-solving. Emergencies matter, and the policy keeps phones accessible between classes and in the office, where messages can be relayed immediately. When we set clear boundaries, we teach students self-control—the skill colleges and employers say is missing most. You can't build a strong academic foundation on constant interruption. The author demonstrates awareness of the audience's values by…
Read the following excerpt from a letter to the editor about neighborhood noise ordinances. The author notes that police responded to 146 late-night noise complaints last summer, but only 12 resulted in citations. The author argues that enforcement alone won't fix a culture of constant amplification. Because the problem isn't one party, or one street, or one weekend, the solution can't be one patrol car. The author's use of the bolded sentence structure primarily serves to…
Read the student essay below, then answer the question. Student essay (Paragraphs 1–4) [1] Restaurants should include calorie counts on menus. Some people say it ruins the fun of eating out, but information is not the enemy. Menu labeling empowers customers to make informed choices and can encourage restaurants to offer healthier options. [2] When customers know what they are ordering, they can match meals to their goals or health needs. For example, someone with diabetes may need to watch sugar and carbs. Calorie counts are not perfect, but they provide a baseline. [3] Also, obesity is a problem in America. Obesity is a problem because it leads to health problems. Health problems cost money, and money matters. So calorie counts will fix obesity. [4] Finally, restaurants will respond to consumer behavior. If people choose lower-calorie options more often, restaurants will add more of them. That doesn't ban any food; it just changes the default environment. Therefore, menus should list calories. Revision: Which revision would most improve logical development in the argument?
Read the following passage and answer the question. A neighbor recently told me she "quit the news" for her mental health, and I understood the impulse. The modern feed is engineered to keep the nervous system slightly inflamed: a crisis, a hot take, an outrage, then another crisis. Still, opting out entirely is not a private choice in the way skipping dessert is. Citizenship requires a minimum of shared attention, and democracies weaken when the public treats reality as an optional subscription. The better response is not abstinence but hygiene: fewer sources, more local reporting, and a habit of reading past the headline. We also need to stop confusing constant updates with understanding; knowing what happened is not the same as knowing what it means. In an age of engineered distraction, responsible news consumption should be deliberate rather than total or nonexistent. The passage is primarily arguing that…
In 'the so-called plan deserves praise,' 'so-called' makes the praise sound
Read the following excerpt and answer the question. I began tracking bus reliability not as a hobby but as a necessity: after my night shift at the hospital, a missed transfer can mean an hour standing in the dark with my scrubs still on. Over six weeks, I recorded 214 arrivals on Route 9 and found that one in five buses came more than ten minutes late, with the worst delays clustered around the same two intersections where cars routinely block the lane. So when the transit authority says it "cannot justify" dedicated bus lanes, I hear a refusal to measure what riders live daily. A painted lane and camera enforcement are not luxuries; they are the cheapest way to make the schedule honest. People who can afford ride-share call this an inconvenience. For the rest of us, it is the difference between keeping a job and losing it. The author can best be described as…
The speaker's persona is that of a...
A writer writes, 'Only then did we act.' The inverted order argues that the action:
Read the following student-written argumentative passage and answer the question. Some colleges are considering test-optional admissions permanently. I believe colleges should keep standardized tests optional because a single Saturday exam should not outweigh years of coursework, jobs, and family responsibilities. During the pandemic, many students lost access to quiet study spaces and reliable internet, yet they still maintained grades and took care of siblings. If admissions offices claim to evaluate "the whole student," then they should stop treating a test score as a gatekeeper. Test-optional policies can also increase access. When students see that a school requires scores, they often self-select out if they cannot afford tutoring or multiple test attempts. Meanwhile, wealthier students can take the SAT three times, pay for prep classes, and hire private counselors. Optional testing does not ban the SAT; it simply removes a barrier that falls hardest on students with fewer resources. Critics say test scores provide a common measure across schools, but colleges already interpret transcripts differently depending on course rigor and opportunity. They can use essays, recommendations, and graded writing samples to judge readiness. In fact, a student's consistent performance in challenging classes is a better predictor of success than a score that can be inflated through expensive prep. Besides, anyone insisting on test requirements clearly just wants to keep certain students out. Colleges should commit to fairness by making tests optional for good. Which addition would most effectively acknowledge a counterargument while maintaining the author's position, inserted immediately after the bolded sentence?
Read the paragraph below from an argumentative essay about smartphone rules. Claim: Schools should ban smartphones during class because phone restrictions improve academic focus. Paragraph: In one high school, administrators required students to keep phones in locked pouches during instructional time. Teachers reported fewer interruptions and said it was easier to start lessons on time. The school also reported that hallway tardiness decreased by 12% during the first quarter of the policy. This proves phone bans improve academic focus. Which revision of the bolded commentary would best explain the significance of the evidence without overstating what it shows?
Read the following excerpt from an essay about creativity: People romanticize inspiration as lightning—a rare strike that either hits you or doesn't. That story flatters our excuses. In reality, creative work is closer to compost: messy, slow, and built from scraps you're willing to turn over again and again. Drafts that seem useless today become nutrients for tomorrow's clarity. The process isn't glamorous, and it doesn't reward impatience, but it does reward persistence. If you wait for lightning, you'll spend a lifetime staring at the sky. If you build compost, you'll eventually grow something. The comparison of creativity to compost helps the author…
Read the following embedded passage and answer the question. A workplace newsletter argues that short, meeting-free blocks increase productivity more than adding new project-management software. The author references an internal experiment at a mid-size tech company: for four weeks, two departments instituted a daily 90-minute "no meeting" window, and both teams reported a 31% increase in tasks completed per sprint, as measured by their existing ticketing system. During the same period, a third department rolled out a new software tool but kept its meeting schedule; its tasks completed rose only 5% while employees reported spending "more time updating dashboards." The author admits self-reported satisfaction can be biased, but notes that the ticket counts were verified by managers. He concludes that "time is the first tool," and that software should serve time, not consume it. Which of the following does the author use as evidence for the claim that meeting-free blocks increase productivity more than adding new project-management software?
Read the following excerpt from a letter a small-business owner writes to a chamber of commerce, urging members to support paid family leave. The author notes that in the past year, three trained employees quit after having children: "I know what you're thinking: 'If I offer leave, my shop can't run.' I've lived that fear. But turnover is its own tax—recruiting, training, and lost customer trust cost me more than a short, planned absence. A modest paid-leave pool across member businesses would let us share the burden instead of each owner improvising alone. This isn't charity; it's risk management. If we believe in entrepreneurship, we should build policies that keep skilled people in the workforce." Which assumption about the audience underlies the author's argument?
Read the following passage and answer the question. A student in my class asked why we still read speeches written decades ago. "They didn't have our problems," he said, meaning algorithms, climate anxiety, and the particular exhaustion of being reachable at all times. But the speeches weren't assigned as museum pieces. They were assigned as blueprints. A well-made argument shows its seams: the way a speaker anticipates objections, chooses a metaphor, or repeats a phrase until it becomes unavoidable. Those moves are not old; they are human. If anything, our era needs rhetorical literacy more, not less. When a viral clip strips a claim from its context, you have to know what context does. When a headline trades precision for outrage, you have to hear the difference. Reading older speeches is not about agreeing with every conclusion; it is about practicing how conclusions are built. The point is to become harder to manipulate, not easier to entertain. The author ultimately conveys that…
Read the student essay draft below, then answer the question. Work is a part of life, and people have jobs for many different reasons. Teenagers often want to earn money, learn responsibility, and save for the future. Rules at workplaces can help things run smoothly. A state is considering a bill that would extend the latest allowable work time for 16- and 17-year-olds on school nights from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Supporters argue it helps businesses fill shifts and gives teens flexibility; opponents argue it increases sleep deprivation and harms academic performance. A local university study found that students working past 10 p.m. reported significantly less sleep on weekdays, and the state's graduation task force has identified chronic absenteeism as a major concern. I argue the bill should not pass because it prioritizes short-term labor needs over students' health and learning. Which revision to the bolded introduction would best establish context for the argument?
Read the following excerpt from a book review about a politician's memoir: "The memoir is an exercise in carefully curated candor. The author confesses just enough to appear human, then pivots to triumph with the smoothness of a campaign ad. Every mistake is framed as destiny's detour; every opponent is a cardboard villain. One finishes the book not enlightened, but managed." The phrase carefully curated helps establish a tone of…
In an article about ocean plastics, the author argues that preventing waste upstream is more effective than beach cleanups alone. The author notes that a single storm can wash tons of litter from open dumpsters into waterways. The draft sentence reads: "Cleanups are visible, but redesigning packaging prevents the trash from existing in the first place." Which change best improves readability?

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