Worksheet

Write a clear thesis statement

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    Open Later at the Library (draft essay)

    [1] Imagine finishing a soccer practice at six o'clock and finding the library already dark and locked for the night. [2] The Pine Hill library now closes at five o'clock on weekdays and opens at nine on Saturdays, a schedule it has kept for twelve years. [3] The Pine Hill library should stay open until eight o'clock on weekdays so that students and working families can use it.

    [4] First, most students cannot reach the library before five. [5] A survey of 140 seventh graders found that 96 of them have an activity after school on at least three weekdays each week. [6] Second, working parents need evening hours as well. [7] The library's sign-in sheet shows that the busiest hour on Saturdays is the first hour after opening, which suggests that many families are waiting for a free time to come.

    [8] Third, longer hours would reduce crowding at the computers. [9] On a typical Saturday, patrons wait up to forty minutes for one of the eight computers in the reading room. [10] For these reasons, the Pine Hill library should extend its weekday hours until eight o'clock.

  2. Ari reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?

    • Imagine finishing a soccer practice at six o'clock and finding the library already dark and locked for the night.
    • The Pine Hill library should stay open until eight o'clock on weekdays so that students and working families can use it.
    • A survey of 140 seventh graders found that 96 of them have an activity after school on at least three weekdays each week.
    • The Pine Hill library now closes at five o'clock on weekdays and opens at nine on Saturdays, a schedule it has kept for twelve years.

  3. Bo checks the draft. What job does sentence [4] do in the essay?

    • It supplies a number that shows how many students are busy.
    • It states the position that the whole essay argues for.
    • It names the first reason that supports the thesis.
    • It gives background about when the library opens and closes.

  4. Esme wants to reword thesis [3]. Which version still fits all three body paragraphs?

    • The Pine Hill library should lend tablets to students who lack a computer at home, because homework now needs one.
    • Libraries are important to a town and should do more to serve each kind of resident, so towns should fund them well.
    • The Pine Hill library should extend weekday hours, because students need evening access, parents work late and computers are crowded.
    • The Pine Hill library should add more computers to the reading room, because patrons wait up to forty minutes on Saturdays.

  5. Jun lists sentences for a new essay about the library. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?

    • The Pine Hill library has eight computers and two quiet study rooms in its reading room area.
    • This essay is about the hours and study rooms at the Pine Hill library near the school and downtown.
    • Have you ever tried to find a quiet place to study for a test on a Sunday afternoon?
    • The Pine Hill library should open its quiet study rooms on Sundays for students preparing for tests.

  6. Compost the Cafeteria Waste (draft essay)

    [1] On each school day, the Maple Grove cafeteria throws away about forty pounds of food scraps, from apple cores to untouched sandwich crusts. [2] Those scraps are hauled to the town landfill, which the town council says will be full within nine years. [3] Maple Grove Middle School should start composting its cafeteria scraps to cut trash, save money and feed the school garden.

    [4] First, composting would shrink the trash the school sends away. [5] The custodian estimates that about a third of the cafeteria's trash by weight is food that could be composted. [6] Second, composting would lower the school's hauling bill. [7] The district pays by the pound, and the garbage contract lists a charge of seven cents for each pound hauled away.

    [8] Third, the finished compost would feed the school garden. [9] The garden club now buys four bags of soil each spring at ten dollars a bag. [10] A composting bin by the cafeteria door would turn those scraps into a resource instead of a cost.

  7. Kira reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?

    • The district pays by the pound, and the garbage contract lists a charge of seven cents for each pound hauled away.
    • Those scraps are hauled to the town landfill, which the town council says will be full within nine years.
    • On each school day, the Maple Grove cafeteria throws away about forty pounds of food scraps, from apple cores to untouched sandwich crusts.
    • Maple Grove Middle School should start composting its cafeteria scraps to cut trash, save money and feed the school garden.

  8. Luz checks the draft. What job does sentence [6] do in the essay?

    • It gives background about how the cafeteria scraps are hauled.
    • It names the second reason that supports the thesis.
    • It supplies a number that shows the cost of hauling.
    • It states the position that the whole essay argues for.

  9. Noah lists sentences for a new essay about the garden club. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?

    • This essay is about the garden club and the soil it needs for each planting season at school.
    • The garden club buys four bags of soil each spring at ten dollars a bag for its beds.
    • The garden club should run a weekly compost sale to pay for its spring planting each year.
    • Did you know that a garden can grow in soil that was made from leftover lunch scraps?

  10. A Student Seat on the Park Board (draft essay)

    [1] Last spring, the Riverton Park Board voted to remove the skate ramp from Lincoln Park without asking a single young person who used it. [2] The board has five adult members, and its meetings take place on Tuesdays at four o'clock, when most students are still in class. [3] The Riverton Park Board should add a voting seat for a student under eighteen so that young people have a say in the parks they use.

    [4] First, young people are a large share of park users. [5] A count on a sunny Saturday found that 61 of the 118 visitors at Lincoln Park were under eighteen. [6] Second, students notice problems that adults may miss. [7] The skate ramp's rough landing area had already been reported by students in a letter that the board never answered.

    [8] Third, a student seat would teach habits of civic life. [9] Oakton, a city of similar size, has a youth seat, and its reports describe higher teen attendance at public meetings. [10] A student seat would make the board's decisions fairer and better informed.

  11. Pia reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?

    • The board has five adult members, and its meetings take place on Tuesdays at four o'clock, when most students are still in class.
    • The Riverton Park Board should add a voting seat for a student under eighteen so that young people have a say in the parks they use.
    • Last spring, the Riverton Park Board voted to remove the skate ramp from Lincoln Park without asking a single young person who used it.
    • A count on a sunny Saturday found that 61 of the 118 visitors at Lincoln Park were under eighteen.

  12. Ren checks the draft. What job does sentence [8] do in the essay?

    • It states the position that the whole essay argues for.
    • It gives background about other cities and their youth seats.
    • It supplies a report that shows teen attendance is higher.
    • It names the third reason that supports the thesis.

  13. Zee lists sentences for a new essay about the park. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?

    • This essay is about the skate ramp and the people who used it at Lincoln Park until last spring.
    • Lincoln Park should replace its skate ramp with a new one built from designs that students submit.
    • The skate ramp was removed from Lincoln Park by a vote of the board last spring, according to the minutes.
    • What would you do if your favorite place to skate suddenly disappeared one spring without any warning?
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Write a clear thesis statement

Answer Key - Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    Open Later at the Library (draft essay)

    [1] Imagine finishing a soccer practice at six o'clock and finding the library already dark and locked for the night. [2] The Pine Hill library now closes at five o'clock on weekdays and opens at nine on Saturdays, a schedule it has kept for twelve years. [3] The Pine Hill library should stay open until eight o'clock on weekdays so that students and working families can use it.

    [4] First, most students cannot reach the library before five. [5] A survey of 140 seventh graders found that 96 of them have an activity after school on at least three weekdays each week. [6] Second, working parents need evening hours as well. [7] The library's sign-in sheet shows that the busiest hour on Saturdays is the first hour after opening, which suggests that many families are waiting for a free time to come.

    [8] Third, longer hours would reduce crowding at the computers. [9] On a typical Saturday, patrons wait up to forty minutes for one of the eight computers in the reading room. [10] For these reasons, the Pine Hill library should extend its weekday hours until eight o'clock.

  2. Ari reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?

    • Imagine finishing a soccer practice at six o'clock and finding the library already dark and locked for the night.
    • The Pine Hill library should stay open until eight o'clock on weekdays so that students and working families can use it.
    • A survey of 140 seventh graders found that 96 of them have an activity after school on at least three weekdays each week.
    • The Pine Hill library now closes at five o'clock on weekdays and opens at nine on Saturdays, a schedule it has kept for twelve years.

  3. Bo checks the draft. What job does sentence [4] do in the essay?

    • It supplies a number that shows how many students are busy.
    • It states the position that the whole essay argues for.
    • It names the first reason that supports the thesis.
    • It gives background about when the library opens and closes.

  4. Esme wants to reword thesis [3]. Which version still fits all three body paragraphs?

    • The Pine Hill library should lend tablets to students who lack a computer at home, because homework now needs one.
    • Libraries are important to a town and should do more to serve each kind of resident, so towns should fund them well.
    • The Pine Hill library should extend weekday hours, because students need evening access, parents work late and computers are crowded.
    • The Pine Hill library should add more computers to the reading room, because patrons wait up to forty minutes on Saturdays.

  5. Jun lists sentences for a new essay about the library. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?

    • The Pine Hill library has eight computers and two quiet study rooms in its reading room area.
    • This essay is about the hours and study rooms at the Pine Hill library near the school and downtown.
    • Have you ever tried to find a quiet place to study for a test on a Sunday afternoon?
    • The Pine Hill library should open its quiet study rooms on Sundays for students preparing for tests.

  6. Compost the Cafeteria Waste (draft essay)

    [1] On each school day, the Maple Grove cafeteria throws away about forty pounds of food scraps, from apple cores to untouched sandwich crusts. [2] Those scraps are hauled to the town landfill, which the town council says will be full within nine years. [3] Maple Grove Middle School should start composting its cafeteria scraps to cut trash, save money and feed the school garden.

    [4] First, composting would shrink the trash the school sends away. [5] The custodian estimates that about a third of the cafeteria's trash by weight is food that could be composted. [6] Second, composting would lower the school's hauling bill. [7] The district pays by the pound, and the garbage contract lists a charge of seven cents for each pound hauled away.

    [8] Third, the finished compost would feed the school garden. [9] The garden club now buys four bags of soil each spring at ten dollars a bag. [10] A composting bin by the cafeteria door would turn those scraps into a resource instead of a cost.

  7. Kira reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?

    • The district pays by the pound, and the garbage contract lists a charge of seven cents for each pound hauled away.
    • Those scraps are hauled to the town landfill, which the town council says will be full within nine years.
    • On each school day, the Maple Grove cafeteria throws away about forty pounds of food scraps, from apple cores to untouched sandwich crusts.
    • Maple Grove Middle School should start composting its cafeteria scraps to cut trash, save money and feed the school garden.

  8. Luz checks the draft. What job does sentence [6] do in the essay?

    • It gives background about how the cafeteria scraps are hauled.
    • It names the second reason that supports the thesis.
    • It supplies a number that shows the cost of hauling.
    • It states the position that the whole essay argues for.

  9. Noah lists sentences for a new essay about the garden club. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?

    • This essay is about the garden club and the soil it needs for each planting season at school.
    • The garden club buys four bags of soil each spring at ten dollars a bag for its beds.
    • The garden club should run a weekly compost sale to pay for its spring planting each year.
    • Did you know that a garden can grow in soil that was made from leftover lunch scraps?

  10. A Student Seat on the Park Board (draft essay)

    [1] Last spring, the Riverton Park Board voted to remove the skate ramp from Lincoln Park without asking a single young person who used it. [2] The board has five adult members, and its meetings take place on Tuesdays at four o'clock, when most students are still in class. [3] The Riverton Park Board should add a voting seat for a student under eighteen so that young people have a say in the parks they use.

    [4] First, young people are a large share of park users. [5] A count on a sunny Saturday found that 61 of the 118 visitors at Lincoln Park were under eighteen. [6] Second, students notice problems that adults may miss. [7] The skate ramp's rough landing area had already been reported by students in a letter that the board never answered.

    [8] Third, a student seat would teach habits of civic life. [9] Oakton, a city of similar size, has a youth seat, and its reports describe higher teen attendance at public meetings. [10] A student seat would make the board's decisions fairer and better informed.

  11. Pia reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?

    • The board has five adult members, and its meetings take place on Tuesdays at four o'clock, when most students are still in class.
    • The Riverton Park Board should add a voting seat for a student under eighteen so that young people have a say in the parks they use.
    • Last spring, the Riverton Park Board voted to remove the skate ramp from Lincoln Park without asking a single young person who used it.
    • A count on a sunny Saturday found that 61 of the 118 visitors at Lincoln Park were under eighteen.

  12. Ren checks the draft. What job does sentence [8] do in the essay?

    • It states the position that the whole essay argues for.
    • It gives background about other cities and their youth seats.
    • It supplies a report that shows teen attendance is higher.
    • It names the third reason that supports the thesis.

  13. Zee lists sentences for a new essay about the park. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?

    • This essay is about the skate ramp and the people who used it at Lincoln Park until last spring.
    • Lincoln Park should replace its skate ramp with a new one built from designs that students submit.
    • The skate ramp was removed from Lincoln Park by a vote of the board last spring, according to the minutes.
    • What would you do if your favorite place to skate suddenly disappeared one spring without any warning?