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How to use this practice test. Read each source carefully, then answer the questions that follow. Choose the
best answer and write its letter on the answer line.
- Try each question on your own first. Every question has a Nudge — a hint about how to find and check the answer. It never gives the answer away; read it only if you get stuck.
- After each answer, write why you picked it in your own words. Naming your reason is how you catch a right answer for the wrong reason.
- Then review everything with your mentor. Accuracy and reasoning matter more than speed.
SOURCE 1The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, 1848
The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, 1848
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness… The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.”
— Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
Questions 1–5 are based on Source 1.
1.The opening sentence of this document deliberately echoes which earlier American text?
- A. The Declaration of Independence.
- B. The Monroe Doctrine.
- C. The Federalist Papers.
- D. The Northwest Ordinance.
Nudge — Read the first line and ask where you have heard that phrasing before. The authors chose it on purpose — that choice is the point of the question.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
2.What change does the opening line make to the wording it echoes?
- A. It removes the reference to a Creator.
- B. It adds “and women” to “all men”.
- C. It replaces “liberty” with “property”.
- D. It shortens the list of rights to one.
Nudge — Compare the sentence word by word with the version you know. The alteration is small and deliberate — find the added words.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
3.According to the excerpt, which specific right had women been denied?
- A. The right to own a home.
- B. The right to travel between states.
- C. The right to practise a religion.
- D. The right to vote.
Nudge — The last sentence names one right explicitly. “Elective franchise” is an older term — work out what election-related right it must mean.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
4.Why does the document use the phrase “injuries and usurpations”?
- A. To echo the grievance structure of the document it is modelled on.
- B. To describe injuries suffered during a war.
- C. To list crimes committed by a foreign government.
- D. To request compensation from Congress.
Nudge — Think about what the earlier document did after its opening lines. The authors are borrowing a structure, not just a sentence.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
5.A historian argues this document was written to make women’s exclusion look inconsistent with America’s founding principles. Which feature best supports that reading?
- A. Its date of 1848.
- B. Its use of the founding document’s own language and structure to state women’s grievances.
- C. Its reference to a Creator.
- D. Its mention of the word “tyranny”.
Nudge — To support a claim about strategy, look for the feature that does the strategic work. Ask which option explains why the borrowed wording matters.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
SOURCE 2Westward Expansion and Its Consequences
Westward Expansion and Its Consequences
Through the nineteenth century the United States expanded steadily westward. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 roughly doubled the country’s territory. Later acquisitions, treaties and wars extended the national boundary to the Pacific. Settlers were drawn by farmland, by gold and silver strikes, and by government policies that offered land at little or no cost.
The railroad transformed the pace of settlement. Track laid across the plains cut a journey of months to a matter of days, moved crops to distant markets, and made towns viable in places that could not previously support them.
Expansion came at a severe cost to Native nations, who were pushed from their lands by treaty, by purchase, and by force. Treaties were frequently broken. Herds of bison that many Plains nations depended on were destroyed. Federal policy through much of the century aimed at confining Native peoples to reservations and suppressing their languages and traditions.
Questions 6–10 are based on Source 2.
6.According to the passage, the Louisiana Purchase:
- A. Roughly doubled the country’s territory.
- B. Extended the border to the Pacific Ocean.
- C. Ended conflict with Native nations.
- D. Was funded entirely by railroad companies.
Nudge — The figure is stated plainly in the first paragraph. One option describes something the passage attributes to later acquisitions, not this one.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
7.Which of the following is NOT listed in the passage as something that drew settlers west?
- A. Farmland.
- B. Gold and silver strikes.
- C. Guaranteed factory employment.
- D. Cheap or free government land.
Nudge — Three of these appear in one sentence of the first paragraph. Locate them, and the remaining option is your answer.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
8.According to the passage, how did railroads change westward settlement?
- A. They discouraged towns from forming away from rivers.
- B. They made travel slower but safer.
- C. They replaced the need for farmland.
- D. They cut months-long journeys to days and made distant towns viable.
Nudge — The second paragraph lists several effects. The correct option should capture more than one of them, not contradict the passage’s direction.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
9.The passage indicates that treaties with Native nations were:
- A. Always honoured by the federal government.
- B. Negotiated only after 1900.
- C. Frequently broken.
- D. Never actually signed.
Nudge — One short phrase in the third paragraph answers this. Watch for absolute words like always and never — the passage is more specific than that.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
10.Which statement best captures the passage’s overall treatment of westward expansion?
- A. It was an unqualified benefit to everyone involved.
- B. It was driven entirely by railroad companies.
- C. It had no lasting effect on Native nations.
- D. It brought growth for settlers and severe loss for Native nations.
Nudge — A main-point answer must cover the whole passage, including its final paragraph. Reject any option that accounts for only one side of what is described.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
SOURCE 3Taxes, Budgets and Public Choices
Taxes, Budgets and Public Choices
Governments raise revenue mainly through taxes and spend it on public goods and services — roads, schools, defence, public health, and support for people who need it. A budget is the plan setting out how much will be raised and where it will go.
Taxes are described as progressive when higher earners pay a larger share of their income, and regressive when lower earners pay a larger share of theirs. Income tax with rising rates is generally progressive. A flat sales tax on everyday goods is generally regressive, because a person with a low income spends a greater proportion of it on those goods.
When a government spends more than it raises in a year, the difference is a deficit, and it borrows to cover the gap. Accumulated deficits form the national debt. Debate over budgets is rarely only about arithmetic: it reflects genuine disagreement about what government should do and who should pay for it.
Questions 11–15 are based on Source 3.
11.According to the passage, a budget is:
- A. A tax paid only by businesses.
- B. The total amount a government has borrowed.
- C. A plan for how much will be raised and where it will go.
- D. A limit on how much any one person may be taxed.
Nudge — The definition appears at the end of the first paragraph. Two options describe other terms defined later in the passage.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
12.A tax where higher earners pay a larger share of their income is described as:
- A. Regressive.
- B. Progressive.
- C. A deficit.
- D. A public good.
Nudge — Two terms are defined side by side. Read carefully — they are easy to swap, and one option is not a type of tax at all.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
13.Why does the passage describe a flat sales tax on everyday goods as generally regressive?
- A. Because it is collected less often than income tax.
- B. Because businesses rather than individuals pay it.
- C. Because it applies only to luxury items.
- D. Because a person with a low income spends a greater proportion of it on those goods.
Nudge — The passage gives the reason directly after the term. It concerns proportion of income, not the size of the tax itself.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
14.According to the passage, a deficit occurs when a government:
- A. Spends more in a year than it raises.
- B. Raises more than it spends.
- C. Reduces the national debt.
- D. Collects only progressive taxes.
Nudge — Read the definition in the final paragraph carefully. One option states the exact reverse of the passage.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
15.The passage suggests that budget debates are difficult mainly because:
- A. The arithmetic involved is too complex for most people.
- B. People genuinely disagree about what government should do and who should pay.
- C. Budgets are written in a language few can read.
- D. Governments are not permitted to borrow money.
Nudge — The last sentence tells you what the disagreement is really about. It explicitly rules out one of the other options.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
SOURCE 4Rights, Systems and Place — Mixed Review
Rights, Systems and Place — Mixed Review
These final questions are not tied to a single source. They review recurring social studies knowledge: constitutional rights, the structure of government, economic systems, and the relationship between geography and how people live.
Questions 16–20 review content from across this test and earlier work.
16.The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed:
- A. The abolition of slavery.
- B. The right to a jury trial.
- C. Women’s right to vote.
- D. Freedom of the press.
Nudge — Connect this to Source 1 — the grievance named there was eventually addressed by a constitutional amendment. Match the right to the remedy.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
17.In a command economy, most decisions about what to produce are made by:
- A. Individual consumers acting independently.
- B. Central government planners.
- C. Local charities.
- D. Foreign investors exclusively.
Nudge — The word “command” is a strong clue about who is giving the orders. Contrast it with a market economy, where prices coordinate decisions.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
18.Which best explains why early settlements clustered along rivers and coastlines?
- A. Rivers and coasts have the mildest winters everywhere.
- B. Only coastal land could be farmed.
- C. Rivers prevent the spread of disease.
- D. They provided water, food and a route for transporting goods.
Nudge — Ask what a settlement needs to survive and to trade. One option lists several practical advantages; the others make claims that are not generally true.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
19.The First Amendment protects all of the following EXCEPT:
- A. Freedom of speech.
- B. Freedom of religion.
- C. The right to bear arms.
- D. The right to assemble peacefully.
Nudge — Three of these belong to the same amendment. The fourth belongs to a different one — recall which amendment covers each.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
20.Which action best demonstrates a citizen holding government accountable?
- A. Contacting an elected representative about a proposed law.
- B. Moving to a different state.
- C. Avoiding news coverage of politics.
- D. Declining to register to vote.
Nudge — Look for the action that applies pressure to the process. Two options are deliberate withdrawals from it, which cannot hold anyone accountable.
My answer:
Why I picked this (in my own words):
Editing Task
21. Read the paragraph below. Rewrite it correctly on the lines. Fix any grammar, punctuation, spelling, or sentence-structure errors.
“In 1848 a group of women meets at seneca falls to demand equal rights. They wrote a declaration that borrowed its opening words from the declaration of independence, this made their argument hard to dismiss. It would take more than seventy years before women gains the right to vote nationwide.”
Nudge — Read it aloud one sentence at a time and check three things: verb tense (the paragraph describes the past throughout), capitalisation of place names and document titles, and the comma splice where two complete sentences are joined by only a comma.
Corrected paragraph:
Extended Response Writing Task
22. In a well-organized essay of 4–6 paragraphs, explain how expanding rights and expanding territory each created both gains and costs. Use specific evidence from at least two sources.
Nudge — Plan before you write. (1) State your thesis in one sentence. (2) Choose the two sources you will use and mark the exact lines before drafting. (3) Give each body paragraph one point supported by a source detail. (4) Close by restating your thesis in fresh words — no new evidence in the conclusion.
Paragraph 1 — Introduction (include your thesis statement)
Paragraph 2 — Body Paragraph (evidence from your first source)
Paragraph 3 — Body Paragraph (evidence from your second source)
Paragraph 4 — Body Paragraph (connect the two — optional)
Paragraph 5 or 6 — Conclusion (summarize your main points)
Reflection / Self-Assessment
Which part was most challenging? Which questions did you need the nudge for? Name one skill you want to practice more before your next test.
— End of Practice Test —
You did a great job practicing these important skills.