AP English Language and Composition Unit 3: Evidence and Commentary Practice Exam

1. The following question is based on the excerpt below. 'When the city of Barcelona implemented “superblocks”—clusters of streets where traffic is restricted to near-zero speeds—noise pollution dropped by 5 decibels, and local commerce saw a 30% increase in foot traffic. Contrast this with my own neighborhood, where the roar of engines drowns out conversation and the sidewalks are too narrow for two people to walk abreast. Urban planner Jane Jacobs once noted that “eyes on the street” keep a city safe, but how can we have eyes on the street if we are too afraid to step off our porches?' In the first two sentences, the author employs which of the following combinations of evidence to support the argument for pedestrian-friendly streets?

2. The following question is based on the excerpt below. 'When the city of Barcelona implemented “superblocks”—clusters of streets where traffic is restricted to near-zero speeds—noise pollution dropped by 5 decibels, and local commerce saw a 30% increase in foot traffic. Contrast this with my own neighborhood, where the roar of engines drowns out conversation and the sidewalks are too narrow for two people to walk abreast. Urban planner Jane Jacobs once noted that “eyes on the street” keep a city safe, but how can we have eyes on the street if we are too afraid to step off our porches?' The author references Jane Jacobs primarily to:

3. The following question is based on the excerpt below. 'Some educators argue that typing is the future, rendering cursive obsolete. However, a 2014 study by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer found that students who took notes by hand retained significantly more conceptual information than those who typed. It is not merely about nostalgia; it is about cognitive processing. I recall my own struggle to learn cursive in third grade—the loops of the “z” feeling like an impossible code. Yet, that struggle taught me patience and fine motor control, skills that typing “asdf” repeatedly simply cannot replicate.' The author cites the 2014 study by Mueller and Oppenheimer primarily to:

4. The following question is based on the excerpt below. 'Some educators argue that typing is the future, rendering cursive obsolete. However, a 2014 study by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer found that students who took notes by hand retained significantly more conceptual information than those who typed. It is not merely about nostalgia; it is about cognitive processing. I recall my own struggle to learn cursive in third grade—the loops of the “z” feeling like an impossible code. Yet, that struggle taught me patience and fine motor control, skills that typing “asdf” repeatedly simply cannot replicate.' In the final two sentences ('I recall... replicate'), the author uses personal experience to:

5. Questions 1–4 refer to the following passage. (1) Critics often dismiss public libraries as relics of a bygone era, arguing that the ubiquity of smartphones and home Wi-Fi renders physical book repositories obsolete. (2) However, this perspective ignores the evolving role of libraries as essential community hubs that bridge the digital divide. (3) For example, in the rural town of Oakhaven, the local library is the only location offering free, high-speed internet access within a twenty-mile radius. (4) My neighbor, a retired mechanic named Frank, visits the library daily to check his email and read the news, proving that without this service, the entire town would be disconnected from the modern world. (5) While Frank’s experience is touching, it is supported by broader trends; a 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that 26% of American adults who visited a library used the computers or Wi-Fi connection. (6) This statistic underscores that libraries provide critical infrastructure for a significant portion of the population, not just a convenient reading nook. (7) Therefore, cutting library funding based on the assumption that "everyone has internet" is not only factually incorrect but socially damaging. In sentence 2, the author claims that libraries "bridge the digital divide." Which of the following sentences from the passage provides the most relevant evidence to support this claim?

6. The author cites the experience of "Frank" in sentence 4 to support the assertion that "without this service, the entire town would be disconnected from the modern world." Which of the following best explains why this evidence is insufficient to support the assertion?

7. Questions 1–4 refer to the passage below. (The following passage is excerpted from a speech delivered by Theodore Roosevelt in 1899.) 'I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph. A life of slothful ease, a life of that peace which springs merely from lack either of desire or of power to strive after great things, is as little worthy of a nation as of an individual. I ask only that what every self-respecting American demands from himself and from his sons shall be demanded of the American nation as a whole. Who among you would teach your boys that ease, that peace, is to be the first consideration in their eyes—to be the ultimate goal after which they strive? You men of Chicago have made this city great, you men of Illinois have done your share, and more than your share, in making America great, because you neither preached nor practiced such a doctrine. You work yourselves, and you bring up your sons to work. If you are rich and are worth your salt, you will teach your sons that though they may have leisure, it is not to be spent in idleness; for wisely used leisure merely means that those who possess it, being free from the necessity of working for their livelihood, are all the more bound to carry on some kind of non-remunerative work in science, in letters, in art, in exploration, in historical research—work of the type we most need in this country, the successful carrying out of which reflects most honor upon the nation.' In the first paragraph, the author contrasts the 'doctrine of ignoble ease' with the 'doctrine of the strenuous life.' Which of the following best explains how this contrast functions as commentary to support his main claim?

8. In the second paragraph, the author states, 'I ask only that what every self-respecting American demands from himself and from his sons shall be demanded of the American nation as a whole.' How does this commentary support the author's line of reasoning?

9. In the final sentence ('If you are rich...'), the author's commentary regarding 'wisely used leisure' serves to...

10. [Skill: 4.A | Topic: 3.4] Read the following draft paragraph from a student essay about the impact of digital notifications. (1) The constant barrage of notifications on smartphones creates a state of hyper-vigilance that is detrimental to deep focus. (2) According to a study by the University of California, Irvine, 'it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on task' after an interruption. (3) This statistic reveals the hidden cost of what might seem like a momentary distraction; we are not just losing the few seconds it takes to check a text, but significant portions of our cognitive recovery time. (4) Therefore, turning off non-essential notifications is a crucial step for anyone attempting to engage in sustained, high-quality work. Which sentence in the passage provides commentary that explains the significance of the evidence in relation to the paragraph's claim?

11. [Skill: 4.C | Topic: 3.4] A student is writing an argumentative essay about the ethics of zoos. They want to quote a specific phrase from Dr. Jane Goodall to support their claim about animal captivity. Original Source: 'The least we can do is ensure that those animals who are in captivity are given the best possible conditions, even if they can never be truly free.' — Dr. Jane Goodall, Primatologist. Which of the following versions of the student's text contains the most precise and credibility-building attribution?

12. [Skill: 3.A | Topic: 3.4] A student is writing an essay arguing that municipal recycling programs are often less effective than the public believes. The student has found a 20-page technical report from the Department of Environmental Protection detailing the specific chemical processes, energy consumption, and logistical costs associated with recycling glass, plastic, and paper. The student wants to use this source to support the claim that the energy cost of recycling glass often outweighs the benefits. Which method of integrating evidence would be most effective for this specific purpose?

13. The following questions are based on the passage below. 'In the cacophony of the modern metropolis, silence has become a rare commodity, treated not as a luxury but as a void to be filled. We plug our ears with noise-canceling headphones, not to seek quiet, but to replace the chaotic roar of the street with the curated rhythm of a playlist. This aversion to silence is not merely a preference for sound; it is a defense mechanism against the introspection that quietude demands. When the external world falls silent, the internal monologue grows deafening. We fear that without the distraction of constant auditory stimulation, we might be forced to confront the uncomfortable truths of our own existence. Thus, we cling to the noise, wrapping ourselves in a blanket of decibels to ward off the chill of self-reflection.' In the first sentence, the writer uses the words 'cacophony,' 'void,' and 'filled' primarily to establish a tone that is:

14. In the second sentence ('We plug our ears... playlist'), the writer uses the syntactical structure 'not... but...' primarily to:

15. In the final sentence, the writer's choice to describe noise as a 'blanket of decibels' serves to: