Year 12 ICAS English 5-Question Sample

Question 1 of 5 Syntax

In a language-conventions check during revision, which option keeps the sentence parallel: "The role involves planning events, managing budgets, and ____ staff."

Standard English usage

Item	Task
The role involves planning events, managing budgets, and ____ staff.	choose the correct standard English

A to train B trained C trains D training

Question 2 of 5 Syntax

During a proofreading task during revision, which continuation avoids a dangling modifier: "After reviewing the data, ____"

Standard English usage

Item	Task
After reviewing the data, ____	choose the correct standard English

A the model was revised. B the analyst revised the model. C several errors appeared. D it was clear.

Question 3 of 5 Vocabulary

In an editing warm-up during revision, which choice is the most concise and correct completion: "The results were ____"

Standard English usage

Item	Task
The results were ____	choose the correct standard English

A unexpected and not what we expected. B unexpected. C a surprise that was unexpected. D not expected and unexpected.

Question 4 of 5 Voice

For a grammar practice item during revision, which choice best suits the formal register: "The minutes should ____ the objection that was raised."

Standard English usage

Item	Task
The minutes should ____ the objection that was raised.	choose the correct standard English

A jot down B record C scribble in D stick in

Question 5 of 5 Structure

When checking the evidence, which statement best describes the main purpose of "The Second Ambulance"?

Commentary

The Second Ambulance

The service reports a median response of eight minutes and treats that figure as the headline. Half of all calls are answered faster, which is true and reassuring, and it is also the least interesting number in the report. The distribution has a long tail: in the outer district, one call in twenty waited more than twenty-six minutes, and those calls are not randomly distributed across the map. A short note beside the second ambulance entry draws attention to the cautious final comment before choosing.

A median cannot show this because it is designed not to. It is chosen precisely for its indifference to extremes, which is a virtue when extremes are noise and a defect when the extremes are the point. The tail here is concentrated in three postcodes, and the same three appear in the previous two annual reports.

None of this makes the median dishonest. It makes it insufficient. A service that improved its median while lengthening its tail would be reported as improving, and the people who waited twenty-six minutes would have no number of their own in the summary.

A to argue that a technical-looking boundary is in fact a value judgement B to trace a character discovering that preparation had become its own reward C to argue that a summary statistic conceals the outcomes that matter most D to show a character whose motive is repeatedly replaced by more convenient explanations

Year 12 English sample

Answer the sample questions

In a language-conventions check during revision, which option keeps the sentence parallel: "The role involves planning events, managing budgets, and ____ staff."

During a proofreading task during revision, which continuation avoids a dangling modifier: "After reviewing the data, ____"

In an editing warm-up during revision, which choice is the most concise and correct completion: "The results were ____"

For a grammar practice item during revision, which choice best suits the formal register: "The minutes should ____ the objection that was raised."

When checking the evidence, which statement best describes the main purpose of "The Second Ambulance"?