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CSET English Practice Test Subtest 3

Unofficial practice for CSET: English Subtest III: essay prompts on literary and nonliterary texts, with a warm-up on the terms.

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In "My neighbor's dog, a restless terrier, barks at every bus," what is the phrase between the commas?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing or Pearson. Bank checked October 9, 2026.

Essay prompts to print 4 lines, made to print

Subtest III extended-response practice

Name ____ Date ____

Pick one prompt and write a full essay on your own paper or screen; the lines are for a plan. Unofficial practice prompts; none is from the real test.

Literary text

  • Prompt 1. "That time of year thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, / Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang." William Shakespeare, Sonnet 73 (1609) Identify a theme of these lines and explain how the poet's images and word choice develop it. Support each point with words from the text.
  • Prompt 2. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity." Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) Explain what the structure of this opening sentence tells a reader about the age the novel describes, and how its repetition shapes the tone.

Nonliterary text

  • Prompt 3. "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863) State the speaker's purpose in this sentence and analyze how its contrast between saying and doing advances that purpose for his audience.
  • Prompt 4. "You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man." Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) Explain the claim the writer makes about himself here, and how the reversed wording of the two halves gives the claim its force.

Source: Own prompts. The real subtest has 2 extended constructed-response questions, 1 based on a literary text and 1 on a nonliterary text (https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/CA_SG_obj_105.htm); the tasks follow the subject matter requirements of Subtest III (https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/content/docs/CSET_Prep/CS_107subtestdescription.pdf), both read 2026-10-09. Quoted texts are in the public domain: Shakespeare's Sonnets and A Tale of Two Cities (Project Gutenberg), the Gettysburg Address (National Park Service), Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Project Gutenberg). Checked October 9, 2026.

How written answers are scored 6 lines, made to print

What scorers look for in a written answer

The program names these performance characteristics for constructed-response answers. The wording of each line is ours. Unofficial; not a scoring guide of the real test.

Performance characteristics

  • Purpose Does the answer do what the assignment asks, in the terms of the subject matter being tested?
  • Subject matter knowledge Is the knowledge of the subject accurate, and is it applied to the question and not only recited?
  • Support Is each point backed by fitting evidence of good quality: a quotation, an example, a fact, a step of reasoning?
  • Depth and breadth of understanding Named for some assignments only: how fully the answer shows an understanding of the subject.

How the scoring is done

  • Each written answer is scored by at least two California educators.
  • A subtest's passing score is a scaled score of 220 on a scale of 100 to 300.

Source: The performance characteristics are named in the program's Test Results Report Information (https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/content/docs/CS_ScoreReport_Insert.pdf), read 2026-10-09. The real Subtest III is scored on written answers alone. Checked October 9, 2026.

Next step More on writing: CLEP College CompositionA mixed set: NES English Language Arts

All 50 questions

Composition and rhetoric 16

  • A student condenses a ten-page article into one paragraph in her own words, keeping only its main points. What has she written? Purdue OWL, Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0001 Writing Processes (SMR 3.1).
  • A student puts a passage from a source into her own words, at about the same length. What must she still do? Purdue OWL, Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0001 Writing Processes (SMR 3.1).
  • A writer revises "Homework improves grades" to "Homework improves grades for many students." In Toulmin's terms, what was added? Purdue OWL, Toulmin Argument (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).
  • "All sonnets have fourteen lines. This poem is a sonnet. So this poem has fourteen lines." What is this three-step sequence called? Purdue OWL, Using Logic (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).
Show all 50 questions (46 more)

Composition and rhetoric, continued

  • An editorial urges readers to write to the council "this week, before the vote." Which classical appeal rests on timing? Purdue OWL, Classical Argument (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).
  • Before arguing for a staffing rule, a speaker mentions her twenty years as a hospital nurse. Which appeal is she building? Purdue OWL, Classical Argument (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).
  • "The bell rang, the students left." Which revision joins the two independent clauses correctly? Purdue OWL, Independent and Dependent Clauses (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0004 Conventions of Oral and Written Language (SMR 3.4).
  • In "Although the draft was late, the editor accepted it," what does the word "although" do? Purdue OWL, Independent and Dependent Clauses (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0003 Production and Distribution of Writing (SMR 3.3).
  • In "My neighbor's dog, a restless terrier, barks at every bus," what is the phrase between the commas? Purdue OWL, Appositives (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0003 Production and Distribution of Writing (SMR 3.3).
  • In "Revising takes patience," what is the word "Revising"? Purdue OWL, Gerunds (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0004 Conventions of Oral and Written Language (SMR 3.4).
  • In the Toulmin method of argument, what is the warrant? Purdue OWL, Toulmin Argument (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).
  • In which sentence do the three items of the list share one grammatical form? Purdue OWL, Parallel Structure (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0004 Conventions of Oral and Written Language (SMR 3.4).
  • In which sentence is the action performed upon the subject, not by it? Purdue OWL, Active Versus Passive Voice (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0003 Production and Distribution of Writing (SMR 3.3).
  • "Walking to the bus stop, the rain soaked my notes." What is the error? Purdue OWL, Participles (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0003 Production and Distribution of Writing (SMR 3.3).
  • Which aim sets a Rogerian argument apart from a classical one? Purdue OWL, Rogerian Argument (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).
  • Which of these is the thesis of an argumentative paper, not an expository one? Purdue OWL, Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Composition and Rhetoric 0002 Text Types and Purposes (SMR 3.2).

Reading literature 22

  • A fourteen-line poem rhymes abab cdcd efef gg. Which form is it? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Sonnet (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • A narrator who takes no part in the events tells the story using "he," "she" and "they." What is the point of view? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • A novel follows an orphan from childhood to adulthood and centers on his moral and psychological growth. Which term fits it? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0005 Reading Literature (SMR 1.1).
  • A novel is told entirely through letters that its characters send and receive. Which term names it? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • A poem has five tercets and a closing quatrain, and two of its lines return as refrains. What is the form? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Villanelle (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • A sentence in a poem runs past the end of one line and finishes in the next, with no pause at the line break. What is this called? Purdue OWL, Poetry: Close Reading (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • "All hands on deck" uses "hands" to mean sailors. Which device puts a part in place of the whole? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • An epic opens in the tenth year of a war and fills in the earlier years later. What is this way of beginning called? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • "Hope is the thing with feathers / That perches in the soul" (Emily Dickinson). Which figure of speech carries these lines? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • In a Petrarchan sonnet, where does the turn, or volta, fall? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Sonnet (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • In a plot, what is the denouement? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • In a poem, the poet speaks throughout in the voice of an invented duke addressing a silent visitor. What is the form? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Persona Poem (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • In the last scene of a play, a god is lowered onto the stage and settles every quarrel at a stroke. Which term names this device? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness" (Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859). Which device is the repeated opening "it was"? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Anaphora (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • "O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done" (Walt Whitman, 1865) speaks to a leader who has died. Which figure of speech is this direct address? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • Swift's "A Modest Proposal" (1729) calmly recommends that poor families sell their infants as food. In which mode is Swift writing? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0005 Reading Literature (SMR 1.1).
  • Travelers on a pilgrimage agree to tell one another stories, and the stories make up most of the book. What is the pilgrimage, structurally? Purdue OWL, Literary Terms (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • Verse that does not rhyme but keeps a regular meter, most often iambic pentameter, is called what? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Blank Verse (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • Which early twentieth-century movement reacted against Romantic and Victorian verse with short poems built on exact visual images? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), A Brief Guide to Imagism (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0005 Reading Literature (SMR 1.1).
  • Which kind of poem expresses grief or loss, traditionally in response to a death? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), glossary: Elegy (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0006 Craft and Structure of Literature (SMR 1.2).
  • Which movement set individual feeling, the natural world and the supernatural against neoclassical order and rationality? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), A Brief Guide to Romanticism (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0005 Reading Literature (SMR 1.1).
  • Which movement's poetry drew its lyricism from blues and jazz and asserted an independent African American identity? Academy of American Poets (poets.org), A Brief Guide to the Harlem Renaissance (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0005 Reading Literature (SMR 1.1).

Reading informational texts 12

  • A columnist reduces an opponent's detailed budget plan to "they just want to waste money" and then attacks that. Which fallacy is this? Purdue OWL, Logical Fallacies (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0008 Craft and Structure of Informational Texts (SMR 1.4).
  • A reviewer reads one chapter of one novel and writes, "Every book by this author is dull." Which fallacy is this? Purdue OWL, Logical Fallacies (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0008 Craft and Structure of Informational Texts (SMR 1.4).
  • An op-ed says: "Either we ban cars downtown or we accept filthy air forever." Which fallacy is this? Purdue OWL, Logical Fallacies (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0008 Craft and Structure of Informational Texts (SMR 1.4).
  • Asked whether a new stadium costs too much, the mayor replies, "Think how proud our children will be of the home team." Which fallacy is this? Purdue OWL, Logical Fallacies (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0008 Craft and Structure of Informational Texts (SMR 1.4).
  • The declaration adopted at Seneca Falls in 1848 says "all men and women are created equal" and otherwise keeps a famous sentence word for word. What does that choice do? National Park Service, Declaration of Sentiments (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0009 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas in Informational Texts (SMR 1.5).
  • "Her bridge study can't be trusted; she was once fined for speeding." Which fallacy is this? Purdue OWL, Logical Fallacies (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0008 Craft and Structure of Informational Texts (SMR 1.4).
  • In Federalist No. 10 (1787), Madison writes of citizens "united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest" adverse to the rights of others. What does he call such a group? Yale Law School, Avalon Project, The Federalist Papers: No. 10 (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0009 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas in Informational Texts (SMR 1.5).
  • In his Farewell Address (1796), what does Washington warn his readers against "in the most solemn manner"? Yale Law School, Avalon Project, Washington's Farewell Address 1796 (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0009 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas in Informational Texts (SMR 1.5).
  • Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863) says the nation was "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Which document supplies that phrase? National Archives, Declaration of Independence: A Transcription (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0009 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas in Informational Texts (SMR 1.5).
  • Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (March 4, 1865) ends: "With malice toward none with charity for all ... to bind up the nation's wounds." What is the purpose of this close? National Park Service, Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0007 Reading Informational Texts (SMR 1.3).
  • The long middle of the Declaration of Independence (1776) is a list of sentences that begin "He has." What work does the list do in the argument? National Archives, Declaration of Independence: A Transcription (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0009 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas in Informational Texts (SMR 1.5).
  • "The town put up new streetlights in May and burglaries fell in June, so the lights stopped the burglars." Which fallacy weakens this reasoning? Purdue OWL, Logical Fallacies (read 2026-10-09). Outline: CSET: English Subtest III subject matter requirements, Reading 0008 Craft and Structure of Informational Texts (SMR 1.4).

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the published subject matter requirements of CSET: English Subtest III, test code 107, read 2026-10-09 on the program site of the California Educator Credentialing Assessments (test page https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/CA_CSET105_TestPage.html; test structure https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/CA_SG_obj_105.htm; subtest description https://www.ctcexams.nesinc.com/content/docs/CSET_Prep/CS_107subtestdescription.pdf). The real subtest has no multiple-choice questions: it is 2 extended constructed-response questions, 1 on a literary text and 1 on a nonliterary text, in the domains Composition and Rhetoric and Reading Literature and Informational Texts. This bank is a warm-up on the terms those domains name: 16 questions on composition and rhetoric, 22 on reading literature and 12 on reading informational texts. Terms were read in the Purdue Online Writing Lab and the glossary and guides of the Academy of American Poets; quoted lines in Project Gutenberg, the National Archives, the National Park Service and the Avalon Project of Yale Law School. Each question names its page and the day it was read. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

The real CSET English Subtest 3 is two essays, with no multiple-choice questions. This free practice test gives four essay prompts of our own and 50 warm-up questions. It is unofficial and not affiliated with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing or Pearson.

Read the full guide

What Subtest III asks

Subtest III of CSET: English is test code 107. By the test structure read October 9, 2026, it is two extended constructed-response questions, one based on a literary text and one on a nonliterary text, in the domains Composition and Rhetoric and Reading Literature and Informational Texts.

How to use this page

Print the essay prompts and write one full answer against the clock. A second sheet lists what the program's scorers look for. The questions warm up the terms an essay needs: appeals, fallacies, verse forms, figures of speech.

Where the answers come from

Each question names its source: the Purdue Online Writing Lab, the Academy of American Poets, the National Archives, the National Park Service or the Avalon Project. Quoted lines were checked in Project Gutenberg.

  • Each prompt quotes a text in the public domain, named with its author and year, so you can read the whole work before you write.

Questions and answers

Is this CSET English Subtest 3 practice test the real exam?

No. The four prompts and the 50 questions are ours, written from the published subject matter requirements and public sources. Nothing comes from the real subtest or its sample questions, and nothing here predicts a score.

Is CSET English Subtest 3 multiple choice?

No. The test page lists 2 constructed-response questions for Subtest III and no multiple-choice questions. Subtests I and II of CSET: English are the multiple-choice subtests, with 50 questions each.

How long is CSET English Subtest 3?

2 hours, by the test page, plus 15 minutes for a nondisclosure agreement and tutorial. The two essays share that time.

What is the passing score for CSET English Subtest 3?

220 per subtest, the test page says. On Subtest III the whole score comes from the two written answers, so this page marks only its warm-up questions and gives no verdict.

Can you take CSET English Subtest 3 online?

Yes. The test page lists online proctoring for CSET: English as well as testing at a test center. With an online proctor each subtest is its own session, registered for separately.

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