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Writing: The Argumentative Essay — High School English Literature practice questions

12 multiple-choice questions and 4 flashcards on Writing: The Argumentative Essay, about 8% of the High School English Literature bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by the CoStudy team · last updated 2026-10-12 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Writing: The Argumentative Essay is one of 12 chapters in CoStudy's High School English Literature bank, and it holds 12 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 8% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Writing: The Argumentative Essay practice questions

3 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

The sentence that states a body paragraph's main point is the:

  1. thesis statement
  2. topic sentence
  3. concluding sentence
  4. citation

Answer: B — topic sentence

B) Correct — It usually opens the paragraph. A) States the whole essay's claim. C) Wraps up the paragraph. D) Credits a source.

Which is the strongest thesis for an argumentative essay?

  1. Schools should start later because teens need more sleep
  2. School start times are a topic many people discuss
  3. Many schools start at 7:30 a.m.
  4. This essay will talk about sleep

Answer: A — Schools should start later because teens need more sleep

A) Correct — It is specific, arguable, and gives a reason. B) States a topic, not a claim. C) Is a fact, not an argument. D) Announces a topic.

Concluding "All teens hate reading" after talking to three friends is a:

  1. hasty generalization
  2. false dilemma
  3. straw man
  4. valid inference

Answer: A — hasty generalization

A) Correct — The sample is too small. B) Offers only two choices. C) Distorts an argument. D) The evidence is too thin.

Writing: The Argumentative Essay flashcards

1 cards from the 4 in this chapter.

What is a thesis statement?

A clear, specific sentence (usually at the end of the introduction) stating the main argument or claim of an essay.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Writing: The Argumentative Essay chapter runs 16 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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