Formal and objective: matching the writing to the reader
Grade 9 Reading Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A Later Bell for Our School (student draft: argument for the school board)
[1] Our school should move the first bell from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. beginning next fall, after the district has finished planning its bus routes for the new year. [2] The current schedule starts classes at 7:30, and the first bus leaves the west side of town at 6:50, which means some students are awake well before dawn in winter. [3] Sleep researchers report that teenagers' body clocks run later than those of children and adults, so a student who is wide awake at ten o'clock at night is behaving normally. [4] Every smart school in the nation has already made this change, and ours will be left behind if it waits.
[5] Last spring, 40 students from our school took part in a two-week trial of later study halls, and 31 of them reported feeling more alert in first period. [6] Those results prove that a later bell will raise grades for the entire school. [7] Some families worry that a later bell would push sports practices into the evening and leave less time for homework and family dinners. [8] That concern deserves a careful answer, and the athletic director has offered to move practices to the lighted field.
[9] Anyone who opposes this change simply does not care about students. [10] Sleep is the foundation of freedom, health and every worthwhile goal. [11] The district should decide by March so that bus routes, crossing guards and after-school programs can be planned over the summer. [12] A later bell would give our students a fair chance to do their best work at the hours when their minds are actually awake.
Ari checks the argument for tricks. Which of these four sentences attacks people instead of giving a reason?
- [7] Some families worry that a later bell would push sports practices into the evening and leave less time for homework and family dinners.
- [9] Anyone who opposes this change simply does not care about students.
- [5] Last spring, 40 students from our school took part in a two-week trial of later study halls, and 31 of them reported feeling more alert in first period.
- [2] The current schedule starts classes at 7:30, and the first bus leaves the west side of town at 6:50, which means some students are awake well before dawn in winter.
Sentence [9] attacks the people who disagree. Which revision would Bo use to make the point as a formal, objective reason?
- Folks who are worried about practices should chill, since the field already has lights.
- Families worry about evening practices, and the lighted field answers that concern.
- Families have not given a good reason for keeping the early bell.
- Families who oppose the later bell will regret it when other schools pull ahead of ours.
Sentence [6] claims more than the trial in [5] shows. Which revision would Esme use to match the claim to the evidence?
- The trial might possibly suggest that a few students could perhaps have felt somewhat different in first period.
- In the trial, 31 of 40 students reported feeling more tired in first period, which suggests that a later bell may hurt.
- In the trial, 31 of 40 students reported feeling more alert in first period, so a later bell will raise grades at our school.
- In the trial, 31 of 40 students reported feeling more alert in first period, which suggests that a later bell may help.
Before the board meeting, Jun looks for a trick. Which of these four sentences uses a crowd instead of a reason?
- [8] That concern deserves a careful answer, and the athletic director has offered to move practices to the lighted field.
- [11] The district should decide by March so that bus routes, crossing guards and after-school programs can be planned over the summer.
- [3] Sleep researchers report that teenagers' body clocks run later than those of children and adults, so a student who is wide awake at ten o'clock at night is behaving normally.
- [4] Every smart school in the nation has already made this change, and ours will be left behind if it waits.
Composting in the Cafeteria (student draft: proposal to the principal)
[1] Our cafeteria throws away about 90 pounds of food scraps on a typical school day, according to the custodial staff's weekly log. [2] A composting program would turn those scraps into rich soil for the school garden instead of sending them to the landfill, where they would slowly rot and release gas. [3] The program would need three covered bins, a weekly pickup by a local farm and a team of student volunteers who would train their classmates during the first week. [4] Experts agree that composting is the only responsible choice for a school that cares about the planet.
[5] In a survey of 60 students from our school, 48 said they would be willing to sort their trays at lunch. [6] That survey proves that the whole student body is ready to compost. [7] Critics say that sorting trays would slow the lunch line, and the council has tested this worry. [8] In a trial with one lunch table, sorting added an average of eight seconds per student, which the council considers a small delay.
[9] Only a short-sighted person would reject a plan this good for our environment. [10] If we do nothing now, our school will be remembered as the one that wasted the Earth. [11] The farm has agreed to collect the bins every Friday at no cost to the school. [12] The council asks the principal to approve a six-week pilot beginning in October, so that the results can be reviewed before the end of the semester.
Sentence [9] calls names instead of giving a reason. Which revision would Luz use as a formal, objective reason from the draft?
- Composting would be good for the environment, so the school should approve the plan.
- Some critics may doubt the cost, but the farm has agreed to collect the bins every Friday at no cost.
- People who doubt the cost should relax, since the farm picks the bins up for free.
- Anyone who rejects the farm's offer is wasting a chance that no other school will get.
Sentence [6] claims more than the survey in [5] shows. Which revision would Milo use to keep the claim objective?
- In the survey, 48 of 60 students said they were willing to sort their trays, which suggests that many would take part.
- In the survey, 12 of 60 students said they were willing to sort their trays, which suggests that few would take part.
- The survey might possibly indicate that some students could perhaps be somewhat open to the idea.
- In the survey, 48 of 60 students said they were willing to sort their trays, which shows that the entire student body will take part.
Sentence [10] frightens the reader instead of giving a reason. Which revision would Noah use as a formal, objective reason from the draft?
- Composting would help the environment, so the principal should approve the pilot.
- Composting would keep like 90 pounds of food from going to waste daily, which is huge.
- A careless school would keep wasting 90 pounds of food scraps each day.
- Composting would keep about 90 pounds of food scraps a day out of the landfill.
Protected Bike Lanes for Cedar Road (student draft: opinion piece for the town paper)
[1] Cedar Road carries about 6,000 cars a day and has no space for bicycles, according to the city's 2022 traffic count, even though two schools and a public library stand along its length. [2] The city has proposed adding protected bike lanes along the road's 1.4 miles, separated from traffic by a row of low concrete barriers and planters. [3] Everyone who values freedom and progress supports this plan. [4] Between 2019 and 2023, police recorded 11 crashes involving bicycles on Cedar Road.
[5] Opponents say the lanes would remove 40 parking spaces, and that is a real cost, especially for the shops near the corner of Cedar Road and Third Street. [6] The plan includes a new lot on Fourth Street that would add 55 spaces within two blocks, so parking will never be a problem again. [7] A single survey of 80 cyclists on the road, conducted by a neighborhood group last spring, found that 66 would ride more often with a protected lane. [8] Therefore protected lanes will double bicycle traffic and cut crashes to zero.
[9] Merchants who oppose the lanes are selfish dinosaurs who cannot see the future. [10] Join the thousands of residents who have already signed the petition! [11] The petition has 1,150 signatures, and the council will vote on March 12. [12] The city estimates the lanes would cost $1.2 million, paid mostly by a state grant that expires at the end of the year.
Pia reads the bike-lane argument for tricks. Which of these four sentences uses glowing words instead of a reason?
- [5] Opponents say the lanes would remove 40 parking spaces, and that is a real cost, especially for the shops near the corner of Cedar Road and Third Street.
- [4] Between 2019 and 2023, police recorded 11 crashes involving bicycles on Cedar Road.
- [2] The city has proposed adding protected bike lanes along the road's 1.4 miles, separated from traffic by a row of low concrete barriers and planters.
- [3] Everyone who values freedom and progress supports this plan.
Sentence [8] claims more than the survey in [7] shows. Which revision would Tala use to match the claim to the evidence?
- Because 66 of 80 surveyed cyclists said they would ride more often, protected lanes will double bicycle traffic.
- Because 66 of 80 surveyed cyclists said they would ride less often, protected lanes may decrease bicycle traffic.
- The survey might possibly hint that a few cyclists could perhaps ride a little differently someday.
- Because 66 of 80 surveyed cyclists said they would ride more often, protected lanes may increase bicycle traffic.
Sentence [6] claims more than the plan can show. Which revision would Zee use to fit the claim to the evidence?
- The plan includes a new lot on Fourth Street that would add 15 spaces within two blocks, fewer than the 40 lost.
- The plan might possibly include a lot that could perhaps add a few spaces somewhere nearby.
- The plan includes a new lot on Fourth Street that would add 55 spaces within two blocks, more than the 40 lost.
- The plan includes a new lot on Fourth Street that would add 55 spaces, which ends the parking problem downtown.