10 questions · Shuffled order · Progress saved locally when available
Work through the set before checking solutions. Note the evidence for each answer and why the nearest alternative fails. Question numbers follow the shuffled order; Guide question labels match the guide references.
Guide question labels stay the same when the order changes. Check answers when you are ready to review.
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Work untimed. Choose one answer per question and mark your confidence. For each choice, underline or copy the smallest phrase that supports it. Do not check explanations until you finish.
Diagnostic items
Foundation to revisit
D01-D02
1. Understanding Sentence Structure
D03-D04
2. Unpacking Difficult Sentences
D05-D06
3. Following an Argument
D07-D08
4. Reading Precisely
D09-D10
5. Building Vocabulary
Use errors to choose your next step
Two items per chapter provide only a starting signal. Review a chapter when either answer is wrong, uncertain, or unsupported by a clear explanation. Even two correct answers do not demonstrate mastery; the chapter practice tests the skill more broadly.
Check your reasoning
A correct answer is only part of the task. Compare the evidence you used with the explanation. When you chose incorrectly, name the specific error: structure, reference, logical relationship, scope, or word meaning.
The drill
Your practice is saved on this device.
Question 1
Guide question D01
Foundation
The collection of letters that the archivists recovered from two sealed boxes offers a different account of the expedition.
Which pair gives the subject head and the main verb of the sentence?
Why this answer
1 | Subject and main verb
Correct choice: collection / offers
The main statement is that the collection offers an account. Collection is the head of the subject phrase; offers is its main verb. The relative clause explains which letters are meant.
A: This pair belongs to the embedded relative clause, not the main clause.
C: Letters is inside the of-phrase; it is not the subject of offers.
D: Boxes is the object of from, not the subject of recovered.
If you missed it: Bracket the of-phrase and the that-clause, then read the remaining main statement.
Although repairs made the old telescope more reliable, they did not increase the amount of light it could gather, which remained limited by the size of its mirror.
Which choice best restates the sentence?
Why this answer
2 | Qualification in a paraphrase
Correct choice: The telescope worked more dependably, but its light-gathering capacity did not increase.
The sentence separates two outcomes: reliability improved, whereas light-gathering capacity did not increase. The mirror still constrained that capacity. The sentence does not specify an exact measurement before and after repair.
B: It changes did not increase into an increase.
C: A limitation caused by size does not mean the size decreased.
D: It reverses the stated improvement and invents a loss of light.
If you missed it: Keep the improvement in reliability and the absence of an increase in light-gathering capacity separate.
Several critics describe a novelist's brief chapters as evidence of superficial treatment. Yet the chapters repeatedly revisit the same event from conflicting perspectives, requiring readers to revise their initial judgments.
Which statement best reflects the passage's response to the critics?
Why this answer
3 | Author and cited view
Correct choice: The chapters' brevity can coexist with demanding interpretive work.
The sentence after yet challenges the equation of brief chapters with superficial treatment. Repeated perspective changes require interpretive effort.
A: The passage gives no such preference.
C: It explicitly says the chapters revisit the same event.
D: Revising judgments is inconsistent with an immediate settled interpretation.
If you missed it: Label the first view Critics and the response Passage.
A survey found that residents who used a neighborhood reading room reported greater satisfaction with local services than residents who did not use it. The survey did not measure their satisfaction before the reading room opened.
Which conclusion is best supported?
Why this answer
3 | Evidence and causal restraint
Correct choice: Use of the reading room was associated with higher reported satisfaction, but the survey does not establish that use caused the difference.
The survey reports an association. Without prior satisfaction or another basis for ruling out competing explanations, the causal claim is not established.
A: It adds causation and every resident.
B: A difference between groups does not imply no exceptions.
C: Failure to establish an effect does not establish no effect.
If you missed it: Write the observed relationship first; then ask what evidence would justify a causal claim.
The team welcomed criticism that identified specific weaknesses and suggested feasible repairs. It found such feedback ______ because it could guide the next revision.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Why this answer
5 | Precision among related words
Correct choice: constructive
Specific weaknesses, feasible repairs, and guidance for revision point to feedback that helps improve the work: constructive.
A: Feedback that guides revision need not settle an issue conclusively.
B: Deferential means respectfully yielding to someone; usefulness is the focus here.
C: Incidental means secondary or occurring as a minor accompaniment, which conflicts with its stated guiding role.
If you missed it: Predict a plain phrase such as useful for improvement before comparing choices.