Write a clear thesis statement
Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
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.
Ari reads a draft essay. Which sentence is the thesis?
- The Pine Hill library should stay open until eight o'clock on weekdays so that students and working families can use it.
- Imagine finishing a soccer practice at six o'clock and finding the library already dark and locked for the night.
- 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.
- A survey of 140 seventh graders found that 96 of them have an activity after school on at least three weekdays each week.
Bo checks the draft. What job does sentence [4] do in the essay?
- It states the position that the whole essay argues for.
- It names the first reason that supports the thesis.
- It supplies a number that shows how many students are busy.
- It gives background about when the library opens and closes.
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.
- 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.
- Libraries are important to a town and should do more to serve each kind of resident, so towns should fund them well.
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.
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.
Luz checks the draft. What job does sentence [6] do in the essay?
- It states the position that the whole essay argues for.
- It supplies a number that shows the cost of hauling.
- It names the second reason that supports the thesis.
- It gives background about how the cafeteria scraps are hauled.
Milo wants to reword thesis [3]. Which version still fits all three body paragraphs?
- Maple Grove should ask students to bring lunches in reusable containers instead of paper bags, because it cuts the waste.
- Maple Grove should buy a composting bin and place it beside the cafeteria door, because the bin is the first step.
- Maple Grove should compost its cafeteria scraps, because it would reduce trash, lower hauling costs and supply soil for the garden.
- Schools should do more to protect the planet through recycling, energy saving and gardening, because students can lead.
Noah lists sentences for a new essay about the garden club. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?
- The garden club should run a weekly compost sale to pay for its spring planting each year.
- The garden club buys four bags of soil each spring at ten dollars a bag for its beds.
- This essay is about the garden club and the soil it needs for each planting season at school.
- Did you know that a garden can grow in soil that was made from leftover lunch scraps?
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.
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.
Tala wants to reword thesis [3]. Which version still fits all three body paragraphs?
- The Riverton Park Board should restore the skate ramp that it voted to remove last spring, because students used it often.
- Young people deserve more influence in each part of town government, not just in the parks, because they are future voters.
- The Riverton Park Board should hold its meetings on weekends instead of on Tuesday afternoons, because students are free then.
- The Riverton Park Board should add a student voting seat, because young people use parks, notice problems and learn civic habits.
Zee lists sentences for a new essay about the park. Which one could be a thesis, not just a topic?
- What would you do if your favorite place to skate suddenly disappeared one spring without any warning?
- The skate ramp was removed from Lincoln Park by a vote of the board last spring, according to the minutes.
- Lincoln Park should replace its skate ramp with a new one built from designs that students submit.
- This essay is about the skate ramp and the people who used it at Lincoln Park until last spring.
