A council member proposes one car-free Sunday a month on Main Street. A rival answers: "So you would ban cars and close every shop in town." Which fallacy is the rival committing?Answer: Straw man. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fallacies, "Straw man". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
A flyer argues: "Either the city bans cars from downtown, or it accepts that its air will never be clean." Which flaw should a reader name?Answer: False dichotomy. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fallacies, "False dichotomy". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
A fundraising letter for a food bank opens with one family's evening at an empty table and gives no figures until the last line. Which appeal does the opening rely on?Answer: Pathos. Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab, "Aristotle's Rhetorical Situation". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
Show all 40 questions (37 more)
Testlet 218: Reading and analysis of texts, continued
A graduation speaker ties her whole argument to the day itself, the stadium and the storm that delayed the ceremony. Which of Aristotle's rhetorical concepts does this use of setting, time and place illustrate?Answer: Kairos. Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab, "Aristotle's Rhetorical Situation". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
A student begins a speech on water safety by noting that she has worked three summers as a certified lifeguard. Which of the rhetorical concepts is she drawing on?Answer: Ethos. Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab, "Aristotle's Rhetorical Situation". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
A student essay claims: "The new reading program is the best one available, because no other program is as good." What is wrong with the reasoning?Answer: It begs the question: the premise repeats the conclusion. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fallacies, "Begging the question". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
The Declaration of Independence says, "To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world," and then lists charges that begin "He has". What part does the list play in the argument?Answer: Evidence for the claim that the King aimed at an absolute tyranny. Source: U.S. National Archives, "Declaration of Independence: A Transcription". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
Emily Dickinson's poem begins, "Because I could not stop for Death – / He kindly stopped for me –". Which device presents Death as a courteous caller?Answer: Personification. Source: Academy of American Poets, Glossary of Poetic Terms, Personification; the poem at poets.org. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
The first-person narrator of a novel insists that he is calm and fair, while the events he reports show a man who is neither. Readers come to doubt his account. What is such a narrator called?Answer: An unreliable narrator. Source: Wikipedia, "Unreliable narrator". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
In "The Sun Rising", John Donne's speaker talks directly to the sun and scolds it for waking him. Which device is a direct address to an object or to someone not present?Answer: Apostrophe. Source: Academy of American Poets, Glossary of Poetic Terms, Apostrophe. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
In a novel, a cautious, rule-bound brother is set beside the reckless protagonist so that her daring stands out. What is the brother's role called?Answer: A foil. Source: Wikipedia, "Foil (narrative)". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
In a play, the audience has watched a servant hide the letter that the heroine is still waiting for. What is created when she tells her friend that the letter will surely come tomorrow?Answer: Dramatic irony. Source: Wikipedia, "Irony". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
In the Declaration of Independence, charge after charge against the King opens with the same two words: "He has refused", "He has forbidden", "He has dissolved". Which device is this?Answer: Anaphora. Source: Academy of American Poets, Glossary of Poetic Terms, Anaphora; the text at the U.S. National Archives. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0001
Walt Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" in 1865 about the death of Abraham Lincoln. To which form, in which a poet expresses grief or loss, traditionally in response to a death, does it belong?Answer: The elegy. Source: Academy of American Poets, Glossary of Poetic Terms, Elegy; Wikipedia, "O Captain! My Captain!". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
What part does the closing couplet usually play in a Shakespearean sonnet, according to the Academy of American Poets?Answer: A conclusion, amplification or even refutation of the three quatrains. Source: Academy of American Poets, Glossary of Poetic Terms, Sonnet. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
Which movement took shape in 1836 with the founding of a club in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by New England intellectuals who included Ralph Waldo Emerson?Answer: Transcendentalism. Source: Wikipedia, "Transcendentalism". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 218, competency 0002
Testlet 219: Writing, research and multimedia texts 14
A draft reads: "The trail was closed for repairs. We hiked it anyway." A peer suggests adding "Nevertheless," to the second sentence. What do transitions do, according to the UNC Writing Center?Answer: Set up logical connections between parts of a paper. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Transitions. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
A ninth grade teacher reads a set of short on-demand responses to see which skills, such as use of evidence, her class still needs. Which recommendation of the IES guide Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively is she following?Answer: Use assessments of student writing to inform instruction and feedback. Source: IES What Works Clearinghouse practice guide, Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively (NCEE 2017-4002), Recommendation 3. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
A student says she has revised her essay because she fixed the commas and the spelling. How does the UNC Writing Center handout on revising drafts answer?Answer: That is proofreading; revision means seeing the paper again with a fresh, critical eye. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Revising Drafts. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
A student will show part of a copyrighted documentary in a presentation. Which uses does Section 107 of the Copyright Act give as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use?Answer: Criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research. Source: U.S. Copyright Office, "U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0002
A student's conclusion repeats the thesis in one short sentence and stops. Which advice does the UNC Writing Center give for conclusions?Answer: Synthesize, don't summarize. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Conclusions. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
A student's presentation combines spoken narration, on-screen text, photographs, a soundtrack and the placement of items on each slide. Which term describes communication in terms of such textual, aural, linguistic, spatial and visual resources?Answer: Multimodality. Source: Wikipedia, "Multimodality". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0002
A student's research paper on a novel holds six long block quotations in four pages. What does the UNC Writing Center handout on quotations advise?Answer: Use block quotations sparingly. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Quotations. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0002
A student's story says, "Marcus was nervous." Her teacher suggests, "Marcus wiped his palms on his jeans and read the first line twice." Which narrative technique is the teacher teaching?Answer: Show, don't tell. Source: Wikipedia, "Show, don't tell". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
According to the UNC Writing Center handout on evaluating print sources, by which three criteria should a researcher analyze a text?Answer: The author, the publisher and the date of publication. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Evaluating Print Sources. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0002
An eleventh grader's argument for a later curfew never mentions why anyone might disagree. According to the UNC Writing Center handout on argument, what would strengthen it?Answer: Anticipating and addressing counterarguments. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Argument, "Counterargument". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
By the UNC Writing Center's description of a thesis statement, which sentence could serve as the thesis of an argumentative essay?Answer: High schools should start after 8:30 a.m. because later starts raise attendance. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Thesis Statements. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
For a research paper on the Harlem Renaissance, which of these would be a primary source?Answer: A poem printed in a Harlem magazine in 1925. Source: Wikipedia, "Primary source" and "Harlem Renaissance". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0002
On an MLA Works Cited page, how are the second and later lines of each entry set, according to the Purdue OWL?Answer: Indented half an inch, as a hanging indent. Source: Purdue Online Writing Lab, "MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0002
Which sentence is a passive construction as the UNC Writing Center defines it?Answer: The petition was signed by four hundred students. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Passive Voice. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 219, competency 0001
Testlet 220: Language, speaking and listening 10
A debate student uses formal standard English at the podium and his neighborhood dialect with teammates afterwards. What do linguists call this shift from one code to another by social setting?Answer: Code-switching. Source: Wikipedia, "Code-switching". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0002
A history teacher shows tenth graders how to ask themselves questions while they read a primary source, explains when the strategy helps, and has them try it on a new text. Which recommendation of the IES guide Improving Adolescent Literacy is this?Answer: Provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction. Source: IES practice guide, Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices (NCEE 2008-4027), Recommendation 2. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0001
A linguist observes and records how the students of one school actually use "like" in speech, and passes no judgment on it. Which approach to language is this?Answer: Descriptive. Source: Wikipedia, "Linguistic prescription". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0002
A reader meets the unknown word "parched" in the sentence "After three days without rain the parched field cracked." She works out its meaning from the words around it. What is she using?Answer: Context clues. Source: Wikipedia, "Clue (information)". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0001
A student asks why "bite" and "meet" are not spelled the way they sound. Which change in the history of English is the major reason that spellings often differ from pronunciations?Answer: The Great Vowel Shift. Source: Wikipedia, "Great Vowel Shift". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0002
Beowulf, an epic of more than 3,000 alliterative lines, was composed in the earliest attested form of the English language. What is that form called?Answer: Old English. Source: Wikipedia, "Old English" and "Beowulf". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0002
During a class discussion one student says, "So you are saying that the narrator cannot be trusted. Is that right?" before adding her own point. Which active listening move is this?Answer: Paraphrasing. Source: Wikipedia, "Active listening". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0002
In which word does a derivational suffix change the part of speech of the base?Answer: Teacher. Source: Wikipedia, "Morpheme". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0001
"Thrifty" and "stingy" both describe a person who spends little, yet one praises and the other blames. What is the difference between the two words a difference of?Answer: Connotation. Source: Wikipedia, "Connotation". Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0001
Why must a speech be well organized and easy to follow, according to the UNC Writing Center handout on speeches?Answer: Listeners have only one chance to comprehend it. Source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Speeches. Written to GACE English (713) testlet 220, competency 0002
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the competencies of the GACE English (6–12) assessment, test code 713, as its Assessment Design and Framework prints them on the GACE website of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and Evaluation Systems, Pearson (https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/studyguide/framework/713 and https://www.gace.es.pearson.com/test/713, read 2026-10-15): testlet 218 Reading and Analysis of Texts (6–12), about 40 selected-response questions, two competencies of 50%; testlet 219 Writing, Research, and Multimedia Texts (6–12), about 35, competencies of 57% and 43%; testlet 220 Language, Speaking, and Listening (6–12), about 25, competencies of 40% and 60%. This bank holds 16, 14 and 10, split 8/8, 8/6 and 4/6. Every fact was read on 2026-10-15 on the page named under its question: handouts of the Writing Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Purdue Online Writing Lab, the glossary of the Academy of American Poets, the National Archives transcription of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Copyright Office, two practice guides of the Institute of Education Sciences and Wikipedia articles. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This online study guide for GACE high school English is a free practice test: 40 questions of our own on the testlets of English (6–12), test 713. It is unofficial, not affiliated with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission or Pearson.
Read the full guide
What GACE English covers
Testlet 218, Reading and Analysis of Texts, has about 40 questions, half on informational and argumentative texts and half on literary texts. Testlet 219, Writing, Research, and Multimedia Texts, has about 35. Testlet 220, Language, Speaking, and Listening, has about 25. That is the framework at gace.es.pearson.com, read October 15, 2026.
Timing
The real testlets allow 60, 45 and 30 minutes. At that pace the 40 questions here take 54 minutes.
Where the answers come from
Each explanation names the page its fact was read on: the UNC Writing Center, the Purdue OWL, the Academy of American Poets glossary, the National Archives, the U.S. Copyright Office, two IES practice guides or Wikipedia.
Half of testlet 218 is literary texts, so poetic forms, devices and narrative terms repay review.
The framework ties each competency to the NCTE standards and to GaPSC Rule 505-3-.24.
Questions and answers
Is there an online study guide for GACE high school English?
Yes. The GACE website publishes a study guide for English (6–12), test 713: what the assessment covers, how it is built, and a sample item for each objective. This page adds 40 practice questions of our own, sorted by the same three testlets.
Is this free practice for GACE English Test II (021)?
It follows English (6–12), test 713, which is one assessment of three testlets: 218, 219 and 220. On October 15, 2026 the GACE site listed no English test numbered 021 and no Test II.
How many questions are on the GACE English test?
It has 100 selected-response questions across its three testlets. The three clocks add up to 2 hours 15 minutes, and each session adds 15 minutes for a tutorial and a nondisclosure agreement.
What is a passing score on the GACE English test?
An assessment-level score of 220 or higher on a scale of 100 to 300, with the floor, a minimum score, met on every testlet. A number right on this page cannot be turned into that scale.
Can I take the GACE English testlets on different days?
Yes. In one session you may register for any combination of the three. Each scored testlet is banked toward your cumulative score, and if you have not passed after all three, you choose which to retake.