Exercises — Week 13: Week 13 — The Argumentative Writing Task

1. Constructed Response: Should High Schools Start Later?

1. Read Source 1, from a public health newsletter: "Sleep researchers agree that teenagers need eight to ten hours of sleep each night. During puberty, the body releases the sleep hormone melatonin later in the evening, so most teens cannot fall asleep before about 11:00 p.m. A student who must catch a 6:15 a.m. bus is therefore likely to get fewer than seven hours. Chronic sleep loss in teens is linked to lower grades, more car crashes, and higher rates of anxiety and depression. For these reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that middle and high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m."
2. Read Source 2, from a summary of a county school board work session: "Board members heard that moving high schools to an 8:30 a.m. start would require buses to run high school routes after elementary routes instead of before them. Transportation staff estimated the district would need 14 additional buses at about $1.1 million per year. Athletic directors warned that away games could end after dark, and several students said a later dismissal would cut into after-school jobs that help support their families. Other members noted that districts nearby had made similar changes and adjusted practice and game times."
3. Prompt: Your county school board is deciding whether high schools should start at 8:30 a.m. or later. Write an argumentative essay to the board that takes a position on this question. Use evidence from both sources to support your claim, and address at least one opposing view.
4. Plan for 10 minutes before you draft: write your claim in one sentence, list two reasons with one piece of evidence from each source, name the strongest counterclaim, and jot your rebuttal. Then draft for 40 minutes and save the last 10 minutes to revise and edit.
5. Score your own draft on both rubric rows. Written Expression (0–4): a 4 states a clear claim, develops it with relevant, well-explained evidence from both sources, addresses a counterclaim, uses logical organization with transitions, and keeps a formal style. Written Conventions (0–3): a 3 shows command of grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, with only minor errors that do not interfere with meaning. Mark one place you earned points on each row and one sentence you revised.