Midterm Practice Exam (ungraded) · Weeks 1–7 (Objectives 1–4)

Course: English Composition (ENGL 1A) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Lindgren
What this is: a low-stakes rehearsal for the cumulative midterm. It mirrors the real exam's blueprint — same coverage, item-type mix, length, and concept/scenario difficulty — but is built from fresh item-bank variants and shares none of the live midterm's questions.
Settings: ungraded (0 points) · unlimited attempts · feedback shown after submission · opens before the exam window so you can prepare. AI is not permitted on the real midterm, but you may use this practice however helps you study.

This is the human-readable practice exam with its vetted answer key and feedback (released after submission). The import-ready Classic QTI 1.2 is in O-practice-exam-week-08-qti.xml (generated by a validated Python script — parses with 20 items). The Canvas placement block is at the bottom.

Integrity note for students. Every item here is a fresh variant — a new scenario and wording — with a pre-vetted answer. None of these are the live midterm questions. Working them builds the skill the midterm tests, honestly. The paired live exam is L-midterm-week-08.md.

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Blueprint (mirrors the midterm)

Coverage is proportional to teaching time, matching the real exam: Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 6 · Obj 4 = 8. (The actual midterm items are not listed here — only the shared structure.)

#	Type	Concept	Objective	Week
1	Multiple choice	"Purpose" in the rhetorical situation	1	1
2	True / False	"Revising means fixing grammar and spelling" misconception	1	1
3	Multiple choice	Invention / prewriting (which stage)	1	1
4	Multiple choice	Is this sentence summary or response? (a response)	2	2
5	Multiple choice	The "they say / I say" order — fair summary before response	2	2
6	Multiple answer	Traits of an accurate summary (select all)	2	2
7	Multiple choice	Identify the real topic sentence (vs. title / bare fact)	3	3
8	Multiple choice	The function of a conclusion (synthesis, not repetition)	3	4
9	Multiple choice	Which transition fits a contrast	3	3
10	Multiple choice	What makes a thesis "arguable"	3	4
11	Matching	Essay part → its function (intro/thesis/body/transition/conclusion)	3	4
12	Multiple choice	A thesis is not a question	3	4
13	Multiple choice	Exposition defined (explain/inform, not opinion)	4	5
14	Multiple choice	Concrete vs. abstract detail	4	5
15	Multiple choice	Identify the appeal — kairos	4	6
16	Multiple choice	Why "the author uses pathos" isn't yet analysis	4	6
17	Matching	Rhetorical move → its job (summary/analysis/agreement/claim)	4	2/6
18	Multiple choice	Counterargument + rebuttal (steel-man, then answer)	4	7
19	Multiple choice	Name the fallacy in a passage (false dilemma)	4	7
20	Multiple answer	What an effective narrative / "showing" uses	4	5

Objective totals: Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 6 · Obj 4 = 8 → 20 items (ungraded; mirrors the 100-point midterm's emphasis). Item-type mix: 15 multiple-choice + 2 matching + 2 multiple-answer + 1 true/false.

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Questions, key, and feedback (feedback releases after you submit)

Objective 1 — The Rhetorical Situation & the Writing Process (Week 1)

Q1 (MC). A volunteer is writing a flyer to recruit people for a neighborhood food drive. In the rhetorical situation, the purpose of her flyer most nearly means —
- A. her reason for writing — what she wants readers to think, feel, or do (here, to show up and donate) ✅
- B. the font, color, and margins she chooses for the flyer
- C. her mood while she designs it
- D. the date the flyer is due to the print shop
Feedback: Purpose is the goal — to inform, persuade, entertain, or reflect (here, to persuade people to donate). (Formatting, mood, and deadlines are real, but none of them is the purpose of the writing.)

Q2 (True / False). "Revising a draft mainly means correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar."
- True
- False ✅
Feedback: False. That's editing/proofreading. Revision is re-seeing the big stuff — ideas, focus, evidence, and structure — which is where weak drafts become strong ones. (Doing only the surface pass and calling it "revising" is the single most common reason a draft stalls at a C.)

Q3 (MC). Before writing a word of her draft, a student spends ten minutes brainstorming, freewriting, and listing everything she might say. These activities belong to which stage of the writing process?
- A. Editing
- B. Proofreading
- C. Invention (prewriting) ✅
- D. Publishing
Feedback: Invention/prewriting is about finding material — ideas, not polished sentences. (Editing and proofreading come much later, on a draft that already exists; publishing is the very end.)

Objective 2 — Critical Reading: Summary & Response (Week 2)

Q4 (MC). Is this sentence a summary or a response? "That argument doesn't hold up, because the writer relies on one personal story and never cites any data."
- A. A summary — it neutrally reports what the text says
- B. A response — it evaluates the argument and gives a reason ✅
- C. Neither — it is the text's own thesis
- D. A summary, because it mentions the writer
Feedback: It evaluates ("doesn't hold up") and gives a reason ("one story, no data") — that's an analytical response, not a neutral report. (Mentioning the writer doesn't make a sentence a summary.)

Q5 (MC). Why does academic writing usually summarize a text fairly before responding to it (the "they say / I say" order)?
- A. To pad the essay with extra length
- B. So your response argues with what the writer actually said, not a distorted version of it ✅
- C. Because you are not allowed to disagree with a published author
- D. Because a summary always earns more points than a response
Feedback: If you can't restate a text fairly, you end up arguing with a version the author never wrote (a straw man). Representing it accurately first — the "they say" — is what makes your response (the "I say") land. (It isn't about length, points, or deference.)

Q6 (Multiple answer — select all that apply). Select all of the following that describe an accurate summary.
- A. It is neutral — it reports the text's point without your opinion attached ✅
- B. It is comprehensive — it covers the main claim and the major support, not one stray detail ✅
- C. It is a list of your reactions and whether you agreed
- D. It is written in your own words ✅
- E. It quotes the author's three best sentences in a row
Feedback: An accurate summary is neutral (A), comprehensive (B), and in your own words (D). C is a response (your judgment), not a summary; E is quoting (and unmarked, plagiarism), not summarizing.

Objective 3 — The Paragraph, the Thesis & Essay Structure (Weeks 3–4)

Q7 (MC). Which of the following is a real topic sentence — a claim a paragraph could develop — rather than a title or a bare fact?
- A. My Summer Job
- B. Working the front desk all summer taught me that most "rude" customers are just confused ones ✅
- C. I started the job in June.
- D. Jobs
Feedback: A topic sentence makes a claim the paragraph can prove (B). ("My Summer Job" and "Jobs" are titles/subjects; "I started in June" is a bare fact that sets up nothing to develop.)

Q8 (MC). A strong conclusion to an essay should mainly —
- A. repeat the thesis word for word
- B. introduce a brand-new argument the essay never made
- C. synthesize the points to show what they add up to and why the claim matters ✅
- D. simply say "In conclusion" and stop
Feedback: A conclusion does more than restate — and it doesn't spring a new argument. Synthesis answers the "so what?": what the points together mean, and why the claim matters. (Word-for-word repetition (A) and a brand-new argument (B) are the two classic conclusion mistakes.)

Q9 (MC). A writer has just made a point and now wants the next sentence to introduce a contrasting idea. Which transition fits best?
- A. for example
- B. as a result
- C. however ✅
- D. in addition
Feedback: A transition names the relationship between ideas. "However" signals contrast; "for example" introduces an illustration, "as a result" signals cause/effect, and "in addition" signals more of the same.

Q10 (MC). A thesis is "arguable" when —
- A. it is long and uses formal vocabulary
- B. a reasonable person could disagree with it ✅
- C. it states a fact you can simply look up
- D. it is phrased as a question
Feedback: Arguable means a reader could take the other side. If no one could possibly say "I don't think so," there is nothing for the essay to prove. (Length, facts, and questions are not what makes a claim arguable.)

Q11 (Matching). Match each part of an essay to its function.
| Part | Correct function |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Hooks the reader, gives brief context, and leads to the thesis |
| Thesis | States the essay's main arguable claim in one sentence |
| Body paragraph | Develops one supporting point for the thesis |
| Transition | Bridges ideas by showing how one point relates to the next |
| Conclusion | Synthesizes the points to show what they add up to |
Feedback: Each part has one job. Watch the classic mix-up: the conclusion synthesizes (shows what the points mean together) rather than merely repeating the thesis, and a transition shows a relationship (adds / contrasts / causes), not just sequence.

Q12 (MC). Can a thesis statement be phrased as a question — for example, "Should college athletes be paid?"
- A. Yes — a question makes the strongest possible thesis.
- B. No — a question asks; a thesis answers it with an arguable claim (e.g., "College athletes should be paid, because their work generates revenue the schools keep"). ✅
- C. Yes — as long as the question is interesting.
- D. No — because a thesis must always be exactly one sentence long.
Feedback: A question can open an introduction, but the thesis is your contestable answer to it. (A and C confuse asking with claiming; D invents a length rule that isn't the real reason.)

Objective 4 — Composing in Multiple Modes: Narration/Exposition, Rhetorical Analysis & Argument (Weeks 5–7)

Q13 (MC). Expository writing is best described as writing that —
- A. explains or informs — laying out a process, an idea, or information clearly so a reader understands it ✅
- B. argues that one side of a debate is right and the other is wrong
- C. is always fictional and made up
- D. must never use any concrete examples
Feedback: Exposition explains or informs (A); its job is clarity and accuracy. (Arguing a side (B) is argument — Week 7; exposition is not opinion. Exposition is nonfiction and welcomes concrete examples.)

Q14 (MC). Which of the following is a concrete detail (something a camera or microphone could catch) rather than an abstract one?
- A. loyalty
- B. ambition
- C. the chain-link fence rattling in the wind ✅
- D. nostalgia
Feedback: Concrete detail names things you could see or hear (C). Loyalty, ambition, and nostalgia are abstract — ideas you can't point a camera at. Showing runs on concrete detail.

Q15 (MC). A roofing company emails a discount offer for storm-damage inspections the morning after a major hailstorm hits the city. The persuasive force of choosing that moment is an appeal to —
- A. ethos (credibility)
- B. pathos (emotion)
- C. logos (logic and evidence)
- D. kairos (the timeliness of the occasion) ✅
Feedback: Kairos is the right-moment appeal: the message lands because of when it arrives. The same email a month earlier would have far less force. (Ethos = trust the sender; pathos = feeling; logos = the reasoning — none of those is timing.)

Q16 (MC). A student's rhetorical analysis says, in full: "The author uses pathos." Why is this not yet a complete analysis?
- A. Because you should never mention pathos in an analysis
- B. Because it only labels the appeal — analysis must also explain HOW the move works and its EFFECT on the audience ✅
- C. Because pathos is not a real appeal
- D. Because the student should have stated whether they agreed with the author first
Feedback: Naming the appeal is step one of three. Real analysis adds the how (which move creates the pathos) and the effect (on which audience). (A bare label is not analysis; whether you agree is your position on the issue, not analysis of strategy.)

Q17 (Matching). Match each reading / analysis move to the job it does.
| Move | Correct job |
|---|---|
| Summary | Neutrally restate what the text says, in your own words |
| Rhetorical analysis | Explain how the text persuades — its strategies and their effects |
| Agreement / position | State whether you think the text is right about the issue |
| Claim | The main point the writer wants the audience to accept |
Feedback: These four are easy to confuse. A summary reports (no opinion); a rhetorical analysis explains how a text persuades; agreement is your stance on the issue; the claim is the point itself. (Analysis is not summary, and it is not agreement — it points at the machinery of persuasion.)

Q18 (MC). In an argument essay, including a counterargument and a rebuttal means you —
- A. repeat your thesis more forcefully at the end
- B. attack the character of the people who disagree with you
- C. state the strongest opposing view fairly, then answer it with reasoning or evidence ✅
- D. remove every mention of the other side so your case looks stronger
Feedback: A counterargument is the other side's best case, stated fairly (steel-manned); the rebuttal is your answer to it. Doing this builds your credibility and closes a hole a reader would otherwise find. (B is the ad hominem fallacy; D weakens the argument and ignores the reader.)

Q19 (MC). Which logical fallacy does this passage commit? "Either we cancel the entire study-abroad program, or we accept that our school doesn't care about safety."
- A. Hasty generalization
- B. Circular reasoning
- C. False dilemma (either/or) ✅
- D. Ad hominem
Feedback: A false dilemma reduces a complex issue to only two options when others exist (added safety training, a vetted provider, a smaller program). (Naming only two "choices" is the tell; it isn't a leap from too little evidence, a circular claim, or a personal attack.)

Q20 (Multiple answer — select all that apply). Select all of the following that describe an effective narrative / "showing" in college writing.
- A. Concrete sensory detail the reader can see, hear, or feel ✅
- B. A clear point or significance the events add up to ✅
- C. Piling on adjectives and adverbs to sound more "literary"
- D. A clear order in time (chronology) with transitions like then and by the time ✅
- E. Overwritten, cliché-stuffed sentences (e.g., "a whirlwind of emotions cascaded through my very soul")
Feedback: Effective narrative uses concrete sensory detail (A), has a point (B), and follows a clear time order (D). Stacking adjectives (C) and purple prose (E) are the over-writing trap — detail is selective, not maximal.

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Answer key (quick reference)

Q	Answer	Q	Answer
1	A (purpose = the writer's goal)	11	Intro→hook/context/leads to thesis / Thesis→arguable claim / Body→develops one point / Transition→shows relationship / Conclusion→synthesizes
2	False (that's editing, not revision)	12	B (a thesis answers; a question only asks)
3	C (invention / prewriting)	13	A (exposition explains/informs)
4	B (a response — evaluates with a reason)	14	C (the chain-link fence rattling)
5	B (fair summary first → argue what was said)	15	D (kairos)
6	A, B, D	16	B (a label is not yet analysis)
7	B (real topic sentence)	17	Summary→restate / Analysis→how it persuades / Agreement→your stance / Claim→the main point
8	C (conclusion synthesizes)	18	C (steel-man, then answer)
9	C (however — contrast)	19	C (false dilemma)
10	B (arguable = a reasonable person could disagree)	20	A, B, D

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Quality gate (self-checked)

• Mirror check: 20 items, coverage Obj 1 = 3 · Obj 2 = 3 · Obj 3 = 6 · Obj 4 = 8 — matches the midterm blueprint's emphasis and item-type mix (15 multiple-choice + 2 matching + 2 multiple-answer + 1 true/false).
• Single-answer integrity: every multiple-choice and true/false item (Q1–Q5, Q7–Q10, Q12–Q16, Q18, Q19) has exactly one correct option; the two matching items (Q11 — five pairs; Q17 — four pairs) pair one-to-one; the two multiple-answer items (Q6, Q20) key A, B, D (each requiring C and E left unselected).
• Citation-integrity + correct-conventions gate: PASS. Every example sentence, passage, and scenario is the instructor's own illustration, attributed to no one — there are no quotations from any real author, speech, or essay, no named sources, and no citations anywhere, so there is nothing to fabricate or misattribute. The grammar/usage in every option is correct; every "showing"/"telling," narration/exposition, and concrete/abstract model is a correct instance of what it claims to be. The false-dilemma identification (Q19) and the appeal/move definitions (Q15, Q17) are the standard, correct ones, cross-checked against the linked Purdue OWL and Excelsior OWL pages. There is no computation in this course.
• Factual/conventions accuracy: the appeals (ethos/pathos/logos/kairos), the Toulmin counterargument/rebuttal move, summary vs. analysis vs. agreement, and the fallacy named all match the Weeks 1–7 course definitions.
• QTI parse confirmation: O-practice-exam-week-08-qti.xml parses as imsqti_xmlv1p2 with 20 items; every single-answer respcondition sets SCORE = 100 on exactly one option. (In Canvas the placement makes it ungraded with feedback on; the engine still scores attempts so students see what they missed.)
• Integrity vs. the live exam: 0 items are shared with L-midterm-week-08.md — verified by full stem comparison. Where a concept slot overlaps the midterm, this form uses a different scenario (e.g., the midterm's ethos item uses a family physician before a council → here Q15 is a kairos item with a roofing company after a hailstorm; the midterm's claim/warrant item uses an overnight-library argument → here the argument items are a study-abroad false dilemma (Q19) and a counterargument/rebuttal definition (Q18); the midterm's summary/response items use a bike-lane article → here Q4 uses a different evaluated argument and Q6 lists the traits of a summary rather than its contents).

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Item-bank & coverage note

All 20 items are fresh variants assembled from the Week 1–7 item banks, preferring items not used on the live midterm and authoring fresh scenarios where a concept overlaps. Tagged course=ENGL1A · form=practice-midterm · weeks=1–7 · objectives=1–4 and deposited back into the banks for future per-term ($39) regenerations. Each term's update regenerates fresh practice variants alongside the midterm and continues to share none of the live items.

Canvas placement block

canvas_object             = Quizzes::Quiz
title                     = "Midterm Practice Exam (ungraded)"
assignment_group          = "Practice exercises"
points_possible           = 0
grading_type              = not_graded
allowed_attempts          = unlimited
show_feedback             = true        # released after submission
available_from_offset_days = -3        # opens 3 days before the exam window
due_offset_days           = 6         # on or before the exam due date
published                 = true
shuffle_answers           = true
provenance                = "~ Prof. Lindgren's edition · Fall 2026 · built with thecoursemaker.com"