Unit 2: Claims & Evidence
English Lang · Unit 2 · Paper 2

Claims & Evidence unit test

A test on this unit alone, marked as a percentage and a letter grade — for the test your class is actually sitting, rather than for May. Answer everything, then submit once: seeing the answer to question 3 before attempting question 4 makes the final percentage meaningless.

Paper 1Paper 2Paper 3
Each paper is built from this unit’s 29 terms and is the same for everyone, so a teacher can assign “Unit 2, Paper 2” and every student sits the identical test. Multiple choice is marked objectively; the written sections you mark yourself against the model answer and rubric.
Suggested time 33 min 30 points0/17 attempted
1

Counterargument

2

Evidence a writer chose not to use

3

Evidence

4

Quantifying without misleading

5

Evidence that fits the claim type

6

Commentary

7

Analogy as evidence

8

Representative anecdote

9

Nested claims

10

Expert testimony: what makes it strong

11

Line of reasoning

12

Concession that costs something

Short answer 1. Define or explain: Thesis

3 pts

Short answer 2. Define or explain: Qualifying a claim

3 pts

Short answer 3. Define or explain: Credibility of a source

3 pts

Short answer 4. Define or explain: Historical analogy

3 pts

Free response

6 pts

ARGUMENT ESSAY (6 points). In his 1859 essay On Liberty, the philosopher John Stuart Mill argues that even an opinion that is wholly false serves a purpose: without the challenge it presents, a true opinion is held as dead dogma rather than as living truth, and those who hold it lose their grasp of the reasons for it. Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which encountering opposing views is necessary for holding a belief well. In your response you should: respond to the prompt with a thesis that presents a defensible position; provide evidence to support your line of reasoning; explain how the evidence supports your line of reasoning; and use appropriate grammar and punctuation in communicating your argument.