Exercises — Week 14: Week 14 — Using and Citing Evidence from Sources in Writing

1. Constructed Response: Bringing Oysters Back to the Chesapeake

1. Read Source 1, from a science magazine article: "An adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day, pulling out algae and sediment that cloud the Chesapeake Bay. A healthy reef is also a neighborhood: small fish, crabs, and worms shelter in the hard, twisted shells. Over the past century, overharvesting, disease, and pollution reduced the Bay's oyster population to a small fraction of what it once was, and with the oysters went much of the Bay's natural filter."
2. Read Source 2, from a community newspaper feature: "Every Saturday morning, volunteers in waders lower cages of baby oysters off a private dock in Anne Arundel County. The young oysters, called spat, were grown at a hatchery on clean, recycled shells that restaurants donated instead of throwing away. After a year in the cages, the oysters are carried by boat to protected sanctuary reefs where harvesting is not allowed. 'I grew up on this water,' said one retired teacher who has volunteered for six years. 'Now my grandkids help me check the cages.'"
3. Prompt: Write an informative/explanatory essay that explains why oysters matter to the Chesapeake Bay and how people are working to restore them. Use evidence from both sources, including at least one direct quotation and one paraphrase, each with a signal phrase that names the source.
4. Plan for 10 minutes: write a controlling idea in one sentence, then list two body-paragraph points. Under each point, note one quotation or paraphrase from each source and a sentence explaining what it shows. Draft for 40 minutes and keep 10 minutes to revise and edit.
5. Score your draft on both rubric rows. Written Expression (0–4): a 4 has a clear controlling idea, relevant and sufficient evidence from both sources that is smoothly integrated, cited, and explained, logical organization with transitions, and precise language. Written Conventions (0–3): a 3 shows command of grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation (including punctuation of quotations), and spelling, with only minor errors. Highlight your quotation, your paraphrase, and the sentence that explains each one.