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US Common Core · Common Core · English Language Arts

Free US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts
Practice Paper

8 mixed-difficulty practice questions in the style of real US Common Core Common Core papers — answers, mark-scheme-style explanations, and the official exam structure all on one page.

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What the real US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts paper looks like

Paper 1
Objective and short-answer questions covering the breadth of the specification.
Paper 2
Structured and extended-response questions testing depth of understanding.
Total exam time varies by board and tier — typically 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
Grading: See the official board specification for the current grading scale.

Mini practice paper: 8 questions

Mixed-difficulty questions from across the English Language Arts syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.

Q1 · Difficulty 1/3

What does it mean to "cite textual evidence"?

  1. Use specific words, phrases, or passages from the text to support your analysis
  2. Summarize the whole text
  3. Give your personal opinion
  4. Make up quotes
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Use specific words, phrases, or passages from the text to support your analysis
Citing textual evidence means pointing to specific parts of the text (quotes, data, examples) that directly support the claim or argument you are making.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3

What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?

  1. Primary sources are shorter
  2. Primary sources are original firsthand accounts; secondary sources analyze or interpret primary sources
  3. Secondary sources are always better
  4. Primary sources are always books
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — Primary sources are original firsthand accounts; secondary sources analyze or interpret primary sources
Primary sources include diaries, speeches, interviews, original research. Secondary sources include textbooks, reviews, analyses that discuss or interpret primary material.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3

What is an author's purpose?

  1. The tone of the text
  2. The genre of the text
  3. The setting of the story
  4. The reason the author wrote the text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — The reason the author wrote the text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain
Author's purpose is why the text was written. Common purposes include: to inform (news article), to persuade (editorial), to entertain (novel), or to explain (textbook).
Q4 · Difficulty 2/3

What is the structure of an argument?

  1. Chronological order
  2. Introduction, body, conclusion only
  3. Claim, evidence, reasoning, and counterclaim
  4. Topic sentence and details
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — Claim, evidence, reasoning, and counterclaim
A well-structured argument includes a clear claim (thesis), evidence to support it, reasoning explaining how the evidence connects, and acknowledgment of counterclaims.
Q5 · Difficulty 2/3

What is bias in a text?

  1. A tendency to favor one perspective unfairly over others
  2. Quoting statistics
  3. Writing in the past tense
  4. Using formal language
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — A tendency to favor one perspective unfairly over others
Bias is when an author presents information in a way that unfairly favors one side. It can appear through word choice, omission of facts, or selective evidence.
Q6 · Difficulty 2/3

In "The Great Gatsby," what does the green light symbolize?

  1. The ocean
  2. Nick's admiration for Gatsby
  3. Money and wealth
  4. Gatsby's hopes and dreams, especially his desire to reunite with Daisy
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: D — Gatsby's hopes and dreams, especially his desire to reunite with Daisy
The green light at the end of Daisy's dock symbolises Gatsby's longing, his dreams of recapturing the past, and the broader American Dream — always visible but just out of reach.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3

What is foreshadowing?

  1. Hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story
  2. The climax of the story
  3. The resolution of a conflict
  4. A flashback to earlier events
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story
Foreshadowing is a literary device where the author gives advance hints of what is to come later in the story, building suspense and preparing the reader.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3

What is the difference between first person and third person narration?

  1. First person uses "he/she"; third person uses "I"
  2. First person uses "I/we"; third person uses "he/she/they"
  3. There is no difference
  4. Third person is always omniscient
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: B — First person uses "I/we"; third person uses "he/she/they"
First person narration uses "I" — the narrator is a character in the story. Third person uses "he/she/they" — the narrator is outside the story. Third person can be limited or omniscient.
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US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts FAQ

What does the US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts exam look like?
The US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts exam is structured across 2 components. Paper 1: Objective and short-answer questions covering the breadth of the specification. Paper 2: Structured and extended-response questions testing depth of understanding. Total exam time varies by board and tier — typically 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
Can I download a free US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts past paper?
Real US Common Core past papers are published directly by US Common Core on their official website. Kramizo doesn't redistribute copyrighted past papers, but we do generate free AI-written practice papers in the exact same style — same command words, same difficulty tier, same mark conventions. Use this practice paper as warm-up, then time yourself on official past papers before exam day.
How is US Common Core Common Core English Language Arts graded?
See the official board specification for the current grading scale. Kramizo's practice questions are tagged with difficulty 1-3 mapping roughly to the lower, middle, and top grade boundaries you'll encounter in the real exam.