Free DSST Advanced English Composition Practice Test (2026)

Question 1

How does a summary differ from a paraphrase?

Accepted Answer

A summary condenses the main ideas of a longer passage into fewer words.

Answer

A summary repeats the source's exact wording within quotation marks.

Answer

A summary does not need a citation because it is in the writer's words.

Answer

A summary adds the writer's own opinion about each of the source's points.

Question 2

Which sentence is a comma splice?

Accepted Answer

The library closes at nine, students must leave by then.

Answer

The library closes at nine; students must leave by then.

Answer

The library closes at nine, so students must leave by then.

Answer

Because the library closes at nine, students must leave by then.

Question 3

Claim: The city should extend library hours. Data: Surveys show 60% of students cannot visit before 6 p.m. In the Toulmin model, which statement serves as the warrant?

Accepted Answer

Public libraries should be open when the people they serve are able to use them.

Answer

Sixty percent of surveyed students cannot reach the library before 6 p.m.

Answer

Students should spend more of their evenings studying in quiet places.

Answer

Several nearby cities have already extended their own library hours.

Question 4

Which activity is part of proofreading rather than revising?

Accepted Answer

Correcting spelling errors and typos in the final draft

Answer

Reorganizing paragraphs so the argument builds more logically

Answer

Adding a new example to support a weak main point

Answer

Narrowing the thesis after realizing the topic is too broad

Question 5

A student writing about current smartphone security threats finds a source published in 2009. Which evaluation criterion most calls this source into question?

Accepted Answer

Currency

Answer

Relevance of the topic

Answer

Authority of the publisher

Answer

Length of the source

Question 6

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

Accepted Answer

Walking into the lab, the smell of chemicals was overwhelming.

Answer

Walking into the lab, I noticed an overwhelming smell of chemicals.

Answer

As I walked into the lab, the smell of chemicals overwhelmed me.

Answer

The smell of chemicals overwhelmed me as I walked into the lab.

Question 7

In an argument for a ban on single-use plastic bags, which sentence is a rebuttal?

Accepted Answer

Some say the ban burdens shoppers, but reusable bags are cheap and many stores offer them free.

Answer

Plastic bags are made from petroleum products and take centuries to break down.

Answer

The city council will vote on the proposed bag ban at its meeting next month.

Answer

Many coastal cities have banned single-use plastic bags in recent years.

Question 8

Which feature most reliably marks an article as a scholarly source rather than a popular one?

Accepted Answer

It went through peer review and includes a list of cited references.

Answer

It appears in a magazine with many color photographs.

Answer

It is written in a friendly tone for general readers.

Answer

It was published online within the last week or two.

Question 9

'My two roommates from Ohio are both night owls, so people from Ohio prefer to stay up late.' This argument commits which fallacy?

Accepted Answer

Hasty generalization

Answer

False dilemma

Answer

Ad hominem attack

Answer

Slippery slope argument

Question 10

A writer is preparing a report on a new water-treatment method for city council members who have no science background. Which choice best suits this audience?

Accepted Answer

Define technical terms briefly and focus on costs, benefits and effects on residents

Answer

Use specialized chemical terms without definitions to sound authoritative

Answer

Include every equation from the lab study so nothing is left out

Answer

Write in a casual, joking tone so the report feels friendly and light

Question 11

A writer arguing for later school start times opens with the story of one exhausted teenager who fell asleep while driving to an early class. How is this anecdote best used in the argument?

Accepted Answer

To engage readers' emotions, while broader evidence such as sleep studies supports the claim

Answer

As enough proof by itself that every teenager is harmed by early start times

Answer

As a way to avoid discussing any research about adolescent sleep

Answer

To show that the writer has no personal interest in the issue

Question 12

A student writes nonstop for ten minutes about a broad topic without stopping to correct grammar, to discover what she thinks. This invention strategy is called

Accepted Answer

freewriting

Answer

clustering

Answer

outlining

Answer

asking the journalists' questions

Question 13

For a research paper on the effects of social media on teenagers' sleep, which source is generally the most credible?

Accepted Answer

A peer-reviewed article in a journal of adolescent health

Answer

An anonymous blog post that has been widely shared

Answer

A social media influencer's video about her own habits

Answer

A sponsored post published by a mattress company

Question 14

(1) Planting trees along city streets lowers summer temperatures. (2) Shade from mature trees can cool sidewalks by several degrees. (3) The city's annual tree festival features music and food trucks. (4) Trees also release water vapor, which cools the surrounding air. Which sentence breaks the unity of this paragraph?

Accepted Answer

Sentence 3

Answer

Sentence 1

Answer

Sentence 2

Answer

Sentence 4

Question 15

A student writing about nursing in the 1918 flu pandemic needs a primary source. Which source qualifies?

Accepted Answer

A diary kept by a nurse during the pandemic

Answer

A 2019 history textbook chapter on the pandemic

Answer

A documentary film made in 2018 about the pandemic

Answer

An encyclopedia article summarizing the pandemic's effects

Question 16

Choose the best word to join these sentences: 'The new policy reduced costs. ____, it lowered employee morale.'

Accepted Answer

However

Answer

Therefore

Answer

For example

Answer

Similarly

Question 17

Which in-text citation correctly follows MLA style for a quotation from page 42 of a book by Ana Lopez?

Accepted Answer

(Lopez 42)

Answer

(Lopez, 2020, p. 42)

Answer

(Lopez, pg. 42)

Answer

(42 Lopez)

Question 18

An essay recounts, in time order, the day the writer's family lost their farm, using scene, dialogue and the writer's memories. Which mode of writing does it mainly use?

Accepted Answer

Narration

Answer

Argumentation

Answer

Classification

Answer

Process analysis

Question 19

A random survey of 1,000 adults in one state found that 62% support a new transit tax. Which conclusion is best supported?

Accepted Answer

A majority of adults in that state probably support the tax.

Answer

A majority of adults in every state support transit taxes.

Answer

The transit tax will certainly pass if it goes to a vote.

Answer

The tax will reduce traffic in the state's largest cities.

Question 20

Which in-text citation correctly follows APA style for a 2021 article by Chen and Ortiz?

Accepted Answer

(Chen & Ortiz, 2021)

Answer

(Chen and Ortiz 2021)

Answer

(Chen, Ortiz: 2021)

Answer

(2021, Chen & Ortiz)

Question 21

A writer asks of her own draft, 'Is this really true, and how could I check it?' Which standard of critical thinking is she applying?

Accepted Answer

Accuracy

Answer

Clarity

Answer

Breadth

Answer

Relevance

Question 22

Which is the strongest thesis statement for an argumentative essay?

Accepted Answer

Elementary schools should restore daily recess because unstructured play improves attention and social skills.

Answer

Recess is something that many elementary schools offer their students every day and others do not.

Answer

This essay will discuss several different opinions that parents and teachers hold about school recess.

Answer

Recess was common in American elementary schools during the 1980s, but fewer schools offer it now.

Question 23

When is a direct quotation usually the best choice instead of a paraphrase?

Accepted Answer

When the source's exact wording is memorable or is being analyzed

Answer

Whenever the writer wants to make the paper noticeably longer

Answer

Whenever the source contains any statistics or other numbers

Answer

Whenever the writer agrees with the source's main point

Question 24

Senator A proposes modest limits on campaign donations. Senator B replies, 'My opponent wants to ban all political speech.' Senator B's reply is an example of

Accepted Answer

a straw man

Answer

a red herring

Answer

begging the question

Answer

an appeal to authority

Question 25

Original: 'Urban gardens provide fresh produce in neighborhoods that lack grocery stores.' (Ramos, p. 14) Which is an acceptable paraphrase in MLA style?

Accepted Answer

Community gardens can supply fresh food to areas with no nearby supermarkets (Ramos 14).

Answer

Urban gardens provide fresh produce in neighborhoods that lack grocery stores (Ramos 14).

Answer

Community gardens can supply fresh food to areas with no nearby supermarkets.

Answer

Urban gardens give fresh produce in neighborhoods lacking grocery stores (Ramos 14).

Free DSST Advanced English Composition Practice Test (2026)

The practice test

Create a free account to see your score and every explanation

How you did on the Principles of Advanced English Composition practice test

By topic

Every question, with the explanation

Ready for the real exam?

More free DSST practice tests 37

Not sure where to start?