Free CLEP College Composition Modular Practice Test (2026)

Question 1

Which revision puts this sentence in the active voice? "The decision to close the pool was made by the council after complaints were received from residents."

Accepted Answer

The council decided to close the pool after residents complained.

Answer

The pool was closed by the council after complaints from residents.

Answer

After complaints were received, the decision to close the pool was made.

Answer

Closing the pool was decided on by the council after residents complained.

Answer

The decision was made by the council, and the pool was closed after complaints.

Question 2

Read this draft: (1) ____ (2) Walking or biking even part of the way to work adds daily exercise without a gym membership. (3) Taking the bus or train leaves time to read instead of sitting in traffic. (4) Leaving the car at home also saves money on gas and parking. Which sentence would work best as the topic sentence in position 1?

Accepted Answer

Commuting without a car offers real personal benefits.

Answer

Many families in the suburbs now own two or more cars.

Answer

Traffic in large cities seems to get worse every single year.

Answer

Some people enjoy driving to work with the radio turned up.

Answer

Bicycles come in many different sizes, styles and colors.

Question 3

A student is writing about whether her city should add bus lanes. Source 1, a city survey, finds that 62 percent of riders name slow buses as their biggest complaint. Source 2, an interview with a transit planner, reports that bus lanes in two nearby cities cut travel times by about 15 percent. Which sentence best synthesizes the two sources?

Accepted Answer

Riders' top complaint is slow buses, and nearby cities show bus lanes can ease that.

Answer

In a recent city survey, 62 percent of local bus riders said slow buses were their biggest complaint.

Answer

A transit planner was interviewed about bus lanes and how they have worked in other cities nearby.

Answer

Source 1 is a survey of city bus riders, and Source 2 is an interview with a transit planner.

Answer

Bus lanes will certainly make every rider in the city happy within a year of being installed.

Question 4

Read this draft: "The storm hit at noon. The wind bent the trees. The power went out. We lit candles." Which revision best improves sentence variety while keeping the meaning?

Accepted Answer

When the storm hit at noon, the wind bent the trees, and after the power went out, we lit candles.

Answer

The storm hit at noon and the wind bent the trees and the power went out and then we lit candles.

Answer

The storm hit. It was noon. The wind bent the trees. The power went out. We lit our candles.

Answer

At noon the storm hit. At noon the wind bent the trees. At noon the power went out and we lit candles.

Answer

We lit candles. The power went out. The wind bent the trees. The storm hit at noon that day.

Question 5

In APA style (7th edition), which is the correct parenthetical citation for a 2022 journal article by four authors whose first author is Maria Lopez?

Accepted Answer

(Lopez et al., 2022)

Answer

(Lopez et al. 22)

Answer

(Lopez, Maria, 2022)

Answer

(Lopez and others 2022)

Answer

(Lopez, 2022, et al.)

Question 6

A student wants to trace how the meaning of the word "nice" has changed since the Middle Ages, with dated example quotations. Which reference work is best suited to this task?

Accepted Answer

the Oxford English Dictionary

Answer

a thesaurus of English synonyms and antonyms

Answer

a world atlas

Answer

a yearly almanac of facts and figures

Answer

a style manual such as the Chicago Manual of Style

Question 7

Read this draft: (1) The trail to the summit is steep, rocky and unshaded. (2) ____, hikers are urged to start early and carry at least two liters of water. Which transition best fills the blank?

Accepted Answer

For this reason

Answer

In contrast

Answer

For example

Answer

Nevertheless

Answer

Meanwhile

Question 8

A writer wants to stress that every resident was rescued. Which version of the sentence does this best?

Accepted Answer

Though the fire spread through three floors in minutes, the firefighters saved every resident.

Answer

Though the firefighters saved every resident, the fire spread through three floors in minutes.

Answer

In just a few minutes, the fire spread through all three floors of the old apartment building.

Answer

The fire, which spread through three floors in minutes, was one of the largest in years.

Answer

Every resident was saved, and the fire spread through three floors of the building in minutes.

Question 9

"If we let students use calculators on this quiz, soon they will use them for every assignment, and before long no one will be able to add two numbers without a machine." This argument is an example of

Accepted Answer

a slippery slope

Answer

a red herring

Answer

circular reasoning

Answer

an appeal to tradition

Answer

a bandwagon appeal

Question 10

Read this passage: "Last winter, Sam did his homework by flashlight because his family could not pay the electric bill. No child should have to choose between staying warm and finishing his math." The passage mainly appeals to

Accepted Answer

pathos, through a moving personal story

Answer

logos, through statistics and other data

Answer

ethos, through the writer's credentials

Answer

authority, by quoting a recognized expert

Answer

humor, to lighten a serious subject

Question 11

Read this draft paragraph: (1) Public libraries now offer far more than books. (2) Many lend laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots to people who lack internet access at home. (3) My grandmother kept her old paperbacks in a cedar chest. (4) Others host job-search workshops and free tax help. Which sentence should be deleted to improve the paragraph's focus?

Accepted Answer

Sentence 3

Answer

Sentence 1

Answer

Sentence 2

Answer

Sentence 4

Answer

None, because every sentence supports the main idea

Question 12

Which sentence uses the colon correctly?

Accepted Answer

The recipe needs only three ingredients: flour, water, and salt.

Answer

The recipe needs: flour, water, and salt, along with a little time.

Answer

The recipe needs only three ingredients, flour: water, and salt.

Answer

The recipe: needs only three ingredients, flour, water, and salt.

Answer

The recipe needs a few basic ingredients such as: flour, water, and salt.

Question 13

A guest writes in a hotel review: "The room was a bit damp. Water dripped from the ceiling all night, and by morning my suitcase was floating." The first sentence uses

Accepted Answer

understatement for comic effect

Answer

hyperbole to exaggerate the problem

Answer

a simile comparing the room to a pool

Answer

a rhetorical question to involve the reader

Answer

an appeal to the authority of the hotel

Question 14

Which verb best completes the sentence? "By the time we reached the classroom, the bell ____."

Accepted Answer

had rung

Answer

had rang

Answer

has rung

Answer

rings

Answer

will ring

Question 15

Which sentence would be the most effective thesis for an essay about social media and sleep?

Accepted Answer

Late-night social media use cuts into teenagers' sleep, so families should set a phones-off time.

Answer

Social media is a very interesting topic that affects the lives of many different people in many ways.

Answer

This essay will talk about social media and sleep and the ways the two are related to each other.

Answer

Sleep is important for everyone, and most doctors say that people should try to get more of it.

Answer

Some people say social media affects sleep, while other people say that it does not affect it at all.

Question 16

Read this passage: "Before you sign a lease, walk through the apartment with the landlord and record a video of every room. Note any stains, cracks or broken fixtures in writing, and keep a copy. If you are charged for damage when you move out, this record can protect your deposit." The main purpose of the passage is to

Accepted Answer

advise renters on how to protect their deposits

Answer

persuade landlords to lower the rents they charge

Answer

entertain readers with a funny story about moving

Answer

compare the costs of renting and buying a home

Answer

describe the history of laws about renting homes

Question 17

When quoting a source that contains a spelling or factual error, a writer places which word in brackets right after the error to show that it appeared in the original?

Accepted Answer

sic

Answer

ibid.

Answer

cf.

Answer

passim

Answer

viz.

Question 18

A writer quotes this sentence from a news article: "They voted to extend library hours through the summer." In the writer's paper, it is not clear who "They" refers to. Which is the best way to make the quotation clear?

Accepted Answer

"[The city council members] voted to extend library hours through the summer."

Answer

"(The city council members) voted to extend library hours through the summer."

Answer

"They [sic] voted to extend library hours through the summer."

Answer

"They voted to extend library hours through the summer [sic]."

Answer

"The city council members voted to extend library hours through the summer."

Question 19

A student is writing an email to new first-year students explaining how to pay tuition. The draft says: "Just hit the bursar portal in the SIS and push your remittance through before term lock." Which revision is best for this audience?

Accepted Answer

Log in to the student website, open the Billing page and pay by the deadline.

Answer

Hit the bursar portal in the SIS and remit your payment before term lock.

Answer

Push your remittance through the bursar portal in the SIS, which is obviously easy.

Answer

Payment of tuition shall be remitted via the bursar portal prior to term lock.

Answer

Pay your stuff online before it's too late, or you'll be sorry you didn't.

Question 20

Which choice is a complete sentence?

Accepted Answer

Although the museum was crowded, we saw every exhibit.

Answer

Although the museum was crowded and we had to wait in line.

Answer

Because the museum, which opened in 1998, was so crowded.

Answer

The museum, crowded with visitors on a rainy Saturday.

Answer

Seeing every exhibit despite the crowds at the museum.

Question 21

At a town meeting, a resident asks why the library's budget was cut. The mayor replies: "Let me remind everyone that our new park has the finest playground in the county." The mayor's reply is best described as

Accepted Answer

a red herring

Answer

a slippery slope

Answer

a false dilemma

Answer

an appeal to ethos

Answer

a valid rebuttal

Question 22

"We came to this city with nothing; we leave it with everything that matters." The sentence relies mainly on

Accepted Answer

antithesis, setting opposites side by side in balanced phrases

Answer

onomatopoeia, using words that imitate the sounds they name

Answer

personification, giving the city human thoughts and feelings

Answer

a mixed metaphor, combining two images that do not fit together

Answer

an allusion to a well-known story from history or myth

Question 23

Which revision makes the pronoun reference clear? "Ana told Rosa that she had left her keys in the car."

Accepted Answer

Ana told Rosa, "I left my keys in the car."

Answer

Ana told Rosa that she had left them in the car.

Answer

Ana told Rosa that her keys had been left there by her.

Answer

She told Rosa that Ana had left her keys in the car.

Answer

Ana told Rosa that she, had left her keys, in the car.

Question 24

Which choice best combines these sentences so that the second idea receives the most emphasis? "The festival lost money this year. The organizers plan to hold it again next summer."

Accepted Answer

Although the festival lost money this year, the organizers plan to hold it again next summer.

Answer

The festival lost money this year, and the organizers plan to hold it again next summer.

Answer

Because the festival lost money this year, the organizers plan to hold it again next summer.

Answer

The festival lost money this year, so the organizers plan to hold it again next summer.

Answer

Although the organizers plan to hold it again next summer, the festival lost money this year.

Question 25

A student writing in 2026 about current best practices for protecting personal data online is choosing among sources. Which source is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

a 2026 guide from a university's information security office

Answer

a 2009 blog post by a well-known and widely read technology writer

Answer

a 2012 textbook chapter on how computer networks are designed

Answer

an anonymous forum post with no date and no named author

Answer

a 2015 magazine article about trends in social media use

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