Write an argument that answers the other side

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Fresh Food at the Pantry (argument draft)

   [1] The Eastgate Food Pantry gives out canned and boxed food to local families on Tuesdays and Saturdays. [2] The pantry should add a fresh produce table on Thursday afternoons, stocked with fruit and vegetables from local farms. [3] Families who rely on the pantry have few other ways to get fresh food, because the nearest grocery store is across town. [4] A pantry survey found that 58 of the 90 families asked had gone a week or longer without fresh fruit or vegetables.

   [5] Some volunteers are not sure about the plan. [6] They have their reasons. [7] A produce table would also help the farms nearby. [8] Two farms have offered to donate bruised or surplus produce that they cannot sell at the market, which would otherwise be thrown away.

   [9] The pantry's director says that fresh produce spoils within three days and that the pantry's one small refrigerator is already full. [10] That evidence does not matter. [11] That is all I have to say about the pantry.

2. 1.

   Pia wants to replace sentences [5] and [6] with a pair that names the opposing claim with its evidence and then answers that evidence. Which pair does that?

   • Some volunteers argue that the pantry should spend its limited money on more canned food, since cans last for years. That is a good point, so the produce table should probably wait until the pantry has more money to spend on it.
   • Some volunteers argue that the pantry should spend its limited money on more canned food, since cans last for years. However, the pantry's records show that donors already keep the shelves full of cans, while the shelves hold no fresh food at all.
   • Some volunteers argue that the pantry should spend its limited money on more canned food, since cans last for years. However, families who rely on the pantry have few other ways to get fresh food, because the nearest grocery store is across town from the pantry.
   • Some volunteers claim that families do not want fresh food and would rather eat snacks at home. However, the pantry's survey found that 58 of the 90 families asked had gone a week without fresh fruit.
3. 2.

   Ren wants to replace sentence [10], which brushes off the evidence in sentence [9]. Which reply answers that evidence?

   • The director has run the pantry for years but has not worked on a farm, so the warning about spoiling is not worth much and can be set aside, whatever the farmers say.
   • Spoiling is a fair concern, and the farms deserve credit as well for their generous offer to help the community.
   • Fresh produce also gives families vitamins and fiber that canned food often lacks, which is why a produce table matters.
   • The farms would deliver on Thursday mornings and the produce would go out that afternoon, well inside three days, while a donated cooler could hold any extra.

4. Reopen the Old Rail Bridge (argument draft)

   [1] The old Millbrook rail bridge crosses the river at the edge of town, but it has been fenced off for ten years. [2] The town should reopen the bridge as a walking and biking path that would connect the northern and southern neighborhoods. [3] Right now, residents who want to cross the river on foot must travel two miles to the highway bridge, where there is no sidewalk or shoulder. [4] An engineer's inspection found that the bridge's steel beams are sound and need only new decking and railings.

   [5] Some residents are worried about the safety and the expense of the plan. [6] They have their reasons. [7] A path would also give the town a safe and direct route for children who bike to the middle school each morning. [8] About 300 students live in the northern neighborhood, across the river from the middle school they attend.

   [9] The town treasurer says that the new decking and railings would cost 400,000 dollars, which is more than the town can pay from its yearly budget. [10] That number is unimportant. [11] That is the end of my argument.

5. 3.

   Zee wants to replace sentences [5] and [6] with a pair that names the opposing claim with its evidence and then answers that evidence. Which pair does that?

   • Some residents argue that the bridge is unsafe, since the town fenced it off after workers found a crack in its deck. However, a path would give the town a safe route for children who bike to the middle school.
   • Some residents claim that no one in town would want to cross the river on foot. However, about 300 students live on the north side and attend the school on the south side.
   • Some residents argue that the bridge is unsafe, since the town fenced it off after workers found a crack in its deck. However, the engineer's inspection found that the crack was in the old wooden decking, which would be replaced, and not in the steel beams.
   • Some residents argue that the bridge is unsafe, since the town fenced it off after workers found a crack in its deck. That is a serious concern, so the town should probably keep the fence up until a new bridge can be built somewhere else in town.
6. 4.

   Ari wants to replace sentence [10], which brushes off the evidence in sentence [9]. Which reply answers that evidence?

   • The bridge's steel beams are sound, and an engineer has said that the bridge needs just new decking and railings.
   • The 400,000 dollar estimate covers the whole job, but the state trail fund pays up to 80 percent of bridge paths, which could leave the town as little as 80,000 dollars.
   • The treasurer works with numbers at a desk and has not walked across the old bridge in years, so the estimate should be ignored completely.
   • Cost is a fair concern, and the bridge would also give the town a lovely spot for photographs and spring picnics.
7. 5.

   Bo wants to replace sentence [11] with a conclusion that gathers the claim, the reasons, and the answer without a new claim. Which sentence does that?

   • Reopening the bridge will solve the town's traffic problems and make each neighborhood a safer place to live for decades.
   • The sound old bridge would join two neighborhoods and give students a safe route to school, and with state help its cost is within the town's reach.
   • Once the bridge reopens, the town should also close the highway bridge to cars and turn that bridge into a park.
   • An engineer's inspection found that the bridge's steel beams are sound and need just new decking and railings before people can use the bridge again.

8. Keep the Greenhouse Open (argument draft)

   [1] The Larkspur Town Greenhouse grows seedlings for the community gardens, but the council closes it from December through February to save heating costs. [2] The council should keep the greenhouse open through the winter and use it for a seedling class for students. [3] A winter class would give students a hands-on science lesson during the months when gardens sit empty. [4] The science teachers' records show that 120 students signed up for the fall greenhouse lessons, and 45 more were put on a waiting list.

   [5] Some council members are doubtful about the plan. [6] They have their reasons. [7] Winter growing would also give the community gardens a head start in spring. [8] Seedlings started in February are ready to plant by April, which is weeks earlier than seeds sown outdoors.

   [9] The council's budget office reports that heating the greenhouse for three winter months would cost 6,000 dollars, nearly all of the greenhouse fund. [10] That cost is not worth discussing. [11] I hope that you agree with me about the greenhouse.

9. 6.

   Esme wants to replace sentences [5] and [6] with a pair that names the opposing claim with its evidence and then answers that evidence. Which pair does that?

   • Some council members argue that the money would be better spent on the gardens themselves, since the garden beds need new soil this year. That is a fair point, so the council should probably spend the money on soil first and revisit the greenhouse another year.
   • Some council members argue that the money would be better spent on the gardens themselves, since the garden beds need new soil this year. However, the greenhouse sells seedlings to the gardens at forty cents each, while a store charges two dollars, so the greenhouse saves the gardens more than it costs and leaves money for soil.
   • Some council members claim that students dislike plants and would not come to a winter class. However, 120 students signed up for the fall greenhouse lessons.
   • Some council members argue that the money would be better spent on the gardens themselves, since the garden beds need new soil this year. However, the fall lessons drew 120 students, and 45 more were put on a waiting list.
10. 7.

    Jun wants to replace sentence [10], which brushes off the evidence in sentence [9]. Which reply answers that evidence?

    • Seedlings started in February are ready to plant by April, weeks ahead of seeds sown outdoors, which gives the gardens a head start.
    • Heating costs are a fair worry, and students would also enjoy learning how plants grow from tiny seeds into full gardens, which is its own reward for the whole class.
    • Heating would cost 6,000 dollars, but last spring's plant sale raised 3,900 dollars and the fall class fees brought in 2,400, which together cover it.
    • The budget office counts pennies for a living and has not grown a seedling, so its numbers deserve little respect from the council.

11. An Orchard Instead of Gravel (argument draft)

    [1] Behind the Dunmore Community Center, a gravel lot holds about forty cars, yet it is nearly empty on most days. [2] The town should turn the back half of the gravel lot into a small orchard of apple and pear trees. [3] An orchard would give families a free place to pick fresh fruit in the autumn and would replace bare gravel with welcome shade. [4] A traffic count found that no more than fourteen cars used the lot on a typical day, even during the center's busiest hours.

    [5] Some residents disagree with the plan for several reasons. [6] They have their reasons. [7] Trees would also help keep the community center cooler during the summer months. [8] Shaded buildings need less air conditioning, and the center's summer electric bill is its second-largest cost.

    [9] The center's director says that the lot fills up on the night of the yearly harvest dinner, when about eighty cars arrive at once. [10] That dinner is not important. [11] I think this is a good plan.

12. 8.

    Luz wants to replace sentences [5] and [6] with a pair that names the opposing claim with its evidence and then answers that evidence. Which pair does that?

    • Some residents argue that the town should keep every parking space, since visitors sometimes complain about parking. However, the front half of the lot holds twenty spaces, more than the fourteen cars that use the lot on a typical day.
    • Some residents claim that nobody in Dunmore likes fruit and that families would never visit an orchard. However, an orchard would give families a free place to pick fruit.
    • Some residents argue that the town should keep every parking space, since visitors sometimes complain about parking. However, apple and pear trees would give families a free place to pick fruit and would replace bare gravel with shade.
    • Some residents argue that the town should keep every parking space, since visitors sometimes complain about parking. That is a fair worry, so the town should probably keep the whole lot until it fills up more often.
13. 9.

    Milo wants to replace sentence [10], which brushes off the evidence in sentence [9]. Which reply answers that evidence?

    • A traffic count found that no more than fourteen cars used the lot on a typical day, even during the busiest hours.
    • The dinner is a fair concern, and an orchard would also give the center a beautiful setting for the dinner each fall.
    • The director enjoys the dinner too much to think clearly, so the warning about parking should be ignored by the town council.
    • The dinner happens one night a year, and the school across the street has agreed to open its lot that night, with room for eighty cars.
14. 10.

    Noah wants to replace sentence [11] with a conclusion that gathers the claim, the reasons, and the answer without a new claim. Which sentence does that?

    • An orchard would put a lightly used lot to better use and give families fruit and shade, and the one crowded night can use the school's lot.
    • A traffic count found that no more than fourteen cars used the lot on a typical day, so most of the gravel sits idle for most of the year, even during the center's busiest hours.
    • After the orchard is planted, the town should also build a playground and a weekly market on the rest of the lot next to it.
    • An orchard will make the community center the most popular place in the state and fix its money problems.