IEC MIDTERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE 2026 –
COMPLETE COURSE REVIEW &
PREPARATION MATERIAL
English & Literature (25 Questions)
1. What is the primary theme of George Orwell's Animal Farm?
a) The importance of treating animals humanely
b) The corruption of ideals by power and tyranny
c) The benefits of a socialist utopia
d) The history of the Russian Revolution
Answer: b) The corruption of ideals by power and tyranny
2. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the phrase "where civil blood makes civil hands
unclean" is an example of what literary device?
a) Simile
b) Alliteration
c) Oxymoron
d) Personification
Answer: b) Alliteration
3. Which of these is a complex sentence?
a) The dog barked, and the cat ran.
b) Barking loudly, the dog scared the cat.
c) After the dog barked, the cat ran away.
d) The dog barked. The cat ran.
Answer: c) After the dog barked, the cat ran away.
4. The author's attitude toward a subject, as revealed through word choice, is known as:
a) Mood
b) Tone
c) Theme
d) Setting
Answer: b) Tone
5. In To Kill a Mockingbird, what does the mockingbird symbolize?
a) Fear and prejudice
,b) Justice and the legal system
c) Innocence and harmless beings
d) Childhood and growth
Answer: c) Innocence and harmless beings
6. Which sentence is written in the passive voice?
a) The committee approved the new policy.
b) The new policy was approved by the committee.
c) They approved the new policy yesterday.
d) Will the committee approve the new policy?
Answer: b) The new policy was approved by the committee.
7. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is primarily a critique of:
a) The Southern aristocracy
b) The American Frontier
c) The American Dream
d) The Prohibition era
Answer: c) The American Dream
8. "The wind whispered through the trees" is an example of:
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Personification
d) Hyperbole
Answer: c) Personification
9. What is the main conflict in Homer's The Odyssey?
a) Man vs. Society
b) Man vs. Nature
c) Man vs. Self
d) Man vs. God
Answer: b) Man vs. Nature
10. Which word is the antecedent for the pronoun "it" in this sentence: "The book was lost,
and it was never found."?
a) lost
b) and
c) book
d) found
Answer: c) book
,11. A story told from the perspective of "I" and "me" uses which point of view?
a) Third-person omniscient
b) Third-person limited
c) Second-person
d) First-person
Answer: d) First-person
12. The emotional atmosphere of a literary work is called the:
a) Plot
b) Mood
c) Tone
d) Conflict
Answer: b) Mood
13. In poetry, a group of lines forming a unit is called a:
a) Stanza
b) Verse
c) Meter
d) Rhyme
Answer: a) Stanza
14. Which of these is a correct example of the possessive form?
a) The dogs bowl is empty.
b) The dog's bowl is empty.
c) The dogs' bowl is empty. (if there are multiple dogs)
d) Both b and c are correct.
Answer: d) Both b and c are correct.
15. The central idea or message of a story is its:
a) Plot
b) Theme
c) Setting
d) Characterization
Answer: b) Theme
16. "He was as brave as a lion" is a common example of a:
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Hyperbole
, d) Allusion
Answer: b) Simile
17. Which literary genre is characterized by its brevity, often delivering a single emotional
effect?
a) Novel
b) Epic Poem
c) Short Story
d) Biography
Answer: c) Short Story
18. In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Mississippi River primarily
symbolizes:
a) The destructive power of nature
b) Freedom and escape from society
c) The path to wealth and prosperity
d) A dangerous and unpredictable obstacle
Answer: b) Freedom and escape from society
19. Which of these sentences contains a dangling modifier?
a) Running quickly, the finish line was crossed.
b) She saw a deer driving down the highway.
c) After reading the book, the movie was disappointing.
d) All of the above.
Answer: d) All of the above.
20. The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story is called:
a) Flashback
b) Foreshadowing
c) Irony
d) Suspense
Answer: b) Foreshadowing
21. Which of the following is a coordinating conjunction?
a) However
b) Because
c) And
d) Although
Answer: c) And
COMPLETE COURSE REVIEW &
PREPARATION MATERIAL
English & Literature (25 Questions)
1. What is the primary theme of George Orwell's Animal Farm?
a) The importance of treating animals humanely
b) The corruption of ideals by power and tyranny
c) The benefits of a socialist utopia
d) The history of the Russian Revolution
Answer: b) The corruption of ideals by power and tyranny
2. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the phrase "where civil blood makes civil hands
unclean" is an example of what literary device?
a) Simile
b) Alliteration
c) Oxymoron
d) Personification
Answer: b) Alliteration
3. Which of these is a complex sentence?
a) The dog barked, and the cat ran.
b) Barking loudly, the dog scared the cat.
c) After the dog barked, the cat ran away.
d) The dog barked. The cat ran.
Answer: c) After the dog barked, the cat ran away.
4. The author's attitude toward a subject, as revealed through word choice, is known as:
a) Mood
b) Tone
c) Theme
d) Setting
Answer: b) Tone
5. In To Kill a Mockingbird, what does the mockingbird symbolize?
a) Fear and prejudice
,b) Justice and the legal system
c) Innocence and harmless beings
d) Childhood and growth
Answer: c) Innocence and harmless beings
6. Which sentence is written in the passive voice?
a) The committee approved the new policy.
b) The new policy was approved by the committee.
c) They approved the new policy yesterday.
d) Will the committee approve the new policy?
Answer: b) The new policy was approved by the committee.
7. F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby is primarily a critique of:
a) The Southern aristocracy
b) The American Frontier
c) The American Dream
d) The Prohibition era
Answer: c) The American Dream
8. "The wind whispered through the trees" is an example of:
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Personification
d) Hyperbole
Answer: c) Personification
9. What is the main conflict in Homer's The Odyssey?
a) Man vs. Society
b) Man vs. Nature
c) Man vs. Self
d) Man vs. God
Answer: b) Man vs. Nature
10. Which word is the antecedent for the pronoun "it" in this sentence: "The book was lost,
and it was never found."?
a) lost
b) and
c) book
d) found
Answer: c) book
,11. A story told from the perspective of "I" and "me" uses which point of view?
a) Third-person omniscient
b) Third-person limited
c) Second-person
d) First-person
Answer: d) First-person
12. The emotional atmosphere of a literary work is called the:
a) Plot
b) Mood
c) Tone
d) Conflict
Answer: b) Mood
13. In poetry, a group of lines forming a unit is called a:
a) Stanza
b) Verse
c) Meter
d) Rhyme
Answer: a) Stanza
14. Which of these is a correct example of the possessive form?
a) The dogs bowl is empty.
b) The dog's bowl is empty.
c) The dogs' bowl is empty. (if there are multiple dogs)
d) Both b and c are correct.
Answer: d) Both b and c are correct.
15. The central idea or message of a story is its:
a) Plot
b) Theme
c) Setting
d) Characterization
Answer: b) Theme
16. "He was as brave as a lion" is a common example of a:
a) Metaphor
b) Simile
c) Hyperbole
, d) Allusion
Answer: b) Simile
17. Which literary genre is characterized by its brevity, often delivering a single emotional
effect?
a) Novel
b) Epic Poem
c) Short Story
d) Biography
Answer: c) Short Story
18. In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the Mississippi River primarily
symbolizes:
a) The destructive power of nature
b) Freedom and escape from society
c) The path to wealth and prosperity
d) A dangerous and unpredictable obstacle
Answer: b) Freedom and escape from society
19. Which of these sentences contains a dangling modifier?
a) Running quickly, the finish line was crossed.
b) She saw a deer driving down the highway.
c) After reading the book, the movie was disappointing.
d) All of the above.
Answer: d) All of the above.
20. The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story is called:
a) Flashback
b) Foreshadowing
c) Irony
d) Suspense
Answer: b) Foreshadowing
21. Which of the following is a coordinating conjunction?
a) However
b) Because
c) And
d) Although
Answer: c) And
