AP Lang Unit 1 Progress Check: Everything You Need
Unit 1 is Rhetorical Situation, Claims, and Evidence. The Progress Check MCQ tests whether you can identify exigence, audience, and purpose in a passage, tell a claim apart from evidence, and evaluate how writers build arguments. Below: the concepts, practice questions with explanations, and a rhetorical situation reference you can use on every unit after this.
~15
MCQ Questions
3
Topics Tested
1.1-1.3
Skill Range
100%
Foundation for Course
Practice Questions
Original questions testing the same skills as the Progress Check. Pick an answer to see the explanation. Skip to concepts
Q1Identifying Exigence
A university president publishes an open letter in the campus newspaper the day after the school board votes to cut funding for the arts department by 60%. The letter argues that arts education develops critical thinking skills that benefit every field of study.
What is the exigence for this text?
Q2Identifying Audience
"Parents, I know the homework load feels overwhelming this semester. I've heard your concerns at every conference. But before we talk about reducing assignments, I want to show you the data on how structured practice outside class connects to the reading gains we've measured in third-graders this year."
Who is the intended audience of this passage?
Q3Identifying Purpose
A local newspaper editorial opens: "The city council approved a $4.2 million bike lane project last Tuesday. Supporters call it an investment in public health. But the council voted 4-3, and the three dissenting members raised a point worth hearing: the project diverts funds from pothole repairs that 78% of residents ranked as their top infrastructure priority in last year's survey."
What is the writer's primary purpose?
Q4Claims vs. Evidence
"(1) Schools that start before 8:00 AM are working against adolescent biology. (2) A University of Washington study tracked high school students and found that when start times shifted from 7:50 to 8:45 AM, students slept an average of 34 more minutes per night. (3) More sleep meant better focus: the same students saw a 4.5% increase in median grades. (4) If the goal of school is learning, then schedules should reflect how teenage brains actually work."
Which sentence is the writer's central claim?
Q5Evidence Types
"My grandmother taught English for 38 years in the same school district. She used to say that the best lessons weren't the ones she planned. They were the ones where a student's question took the class somewhere unexpected. I think about that every time someone argues for rigid, scripted curricula."
What type of evidence does the writer primarily use?
Q6Context Shaping Rhetoric
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while imprisoned for participating in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter was a direct response to eight Alabama clergymen who published a statement calling the protests "unwise and untimely."
How does the context of this text most significantly shape its rhetorical strategy?
Q7Writer's Rhetorical Choices
A student writes in a college application essay: "I didn't cure cancer or start a nonprofit. I spent my summers scooping ice cream at a shop on Route 9, learning that people are nicer when you remember their usual order."
Why does the writer open with 'I didn't cure cancer or start a nonprofit'?
What the Progress Check Actually Tests
Three topics. The first one is the foundation for the entire AP Lang course. The other two build directly on it.
Topic 1.1Skill: RHS-1.A
Rhetorical Situation
Identify all six components: exigence, audience, writer, purpose, context, message
- Every text has all six components, even when some aren't stated outright. You still need to infer them.
- Exigence is never the general topic. It's the specific event that made someone write. Name the event.
- Purpose isn't 'what the text is about.' It's what the writer wants you to think, feel, or do after reading.
- Context means time, place, publication venue, and what was happening in the world. All of it matters.
- The whole point: the rhetorical situation explains why the writer made the choices they made.
Topic 1.2Skill: CLE-3.A
Claims and Evidence
Distinguish between claims, evidence, and reasoning in an argument
- If nobody could disagree with it, it's a fact. If they could, it's a claim. That's the test.
- Five evidence types to know cold: facts/statistics, expert testimony, anecdotes, examples, analogies.
- Not all evidence pulls the same weight. A statistic beats an anecdote in most arguments.
- Reasoning is the glue. It's the sentence that explains why your evidence actually proves your claim.
- The Progress Check doesn't just ask 'what's the main idea.' It asks you to label which part is the claim, which is the evidence, and which is the reasoning.
Topic 1.3Skill: CLE-4.A
Writing Claims and Evidence
Write a paragraph with a defendable claim supported by evidence
- Your claim needs to be something someone could push back on. 'The sky is blue' isn't a claim.
- Don't just drop a quote in and move on. Embed it, then explain what it proves.
- The sentence after your evidence is the most important one. That's where you connect it to your claim.
- You're writing one paragraph here, not a full essay. Think of it as training wheels for the synthesis essay.
- The Unit 1 FRQ is short. If you can write a clear claim + embedded evidence + explanation, you're set.
The 6 Parts of the Rhetorical Situation
This is the framework you'll use on every passage for the rest of the course. Learn it once. Use it forever.
Evidence Types You Need to Know
The Progress Check asks what type of evidence a writer uses and whether it actually supports the claim. Know these cold.
| Type | What It Is | Strength | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facts / Statistics | Verifiable data and numbers | Strong | "34 more minutes of sleep per night" |
| Expert Testimony | Statements from credible authorities | Strong | "Dr. Chen, a sleep researcher at Stanford, found..." |
| Anecdotal Evidence | Personal stories and individual experiences | Moderate | "My grandmother taught English for 38 years..." |
| Analogies | Comparisons to something the audience already understands | Moderate | "Cutting arts is like removing the engine and calling the car lighter" |
| Examples | Specific instances that illustrate a broader point | Moderate | "At Jefferson High, test scores rose 12% after adding art electives" |
Mistakes That Cost Points
What students get wrong
- Confuse exigence with topic ("the exigence is education" instead of naming the specific event)
- Say the purpose is "to inform" when the writer is clearly trying to persuade
- Mix up message (what the writer says) and purpose (why they say it)
- Identify audience as "everyone" instead of the specific group the writer targets
- Call a fact a "claim" because it appears in the first sentence
What top scorers do instead
- Name the specific event that triggered the writing, not the general subject
- Ask "what does the writer want me to DO after reading this?" to find true purpose
- Separate the content of the argument from the writer's goal
- Look for who the writer directly addresses and what concerns they acknowledge
- Test for claims by asking: could someone disagree with this? If yes, it's a claim
Study Plan for Unit 1 (30 Minutes)
1
Learn the 6 Components (10 min)
- Read the rhetorical situation reference above
- Pick something you read this week and fill in all six components
- If you can do that, you know the framework
2
Claims vs. Evidence Drill (10 min)
- Read any op-ed. Underline the central claim.
- Circle each piece of evidence and name its type
- Can't find the claim? It might be implied. That's worth noticing.
3
Take the Practice Quiz (10 min)
- Scroll up and work through all 7 questions
- Read every explanation, even on the ones you get right
- The explanations teach the reasoning pattern, not just the answer
Distinctions That Show Up Every Time
The Progress Check loves testing whether you know the difference between terms that sound similar. These two pairs trip up most students.
Exigence vs. Topic
| Concept | What It Is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Topic | The general subject of the text | School funding |
| Exigence | The specific event that triggered the writing | The school board voted to cut arts funding by 60% last Tuesday |
Purpose vs. Message
| Concept | What It Is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Message | WHAT the writer says (content) | School start times affect student health |
| Purpose | WHY the writer says it (intent) | To persuade the school board to delay start times to 8:45 AM |
Claim vs. Fact
| Concept | What It Is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fact | Verifiable. No one can reasonably disagree. | The school day begins at 7:30 AM |
| Claim | Arguable. Someone could push back. | Starting school at 7:30 AM harms student performance |