Excerpt (fiction): As the skiff bucked along the waves, salt stung my eyes. Thunder rolled, and a crooked seam of lightning stitched the sky. I thought of turning back, but the shore behind me was only blackness. My knees knocked and my hands went numb on the oars. Somewhere ahead, the lighthouse lantern winked like a tired eye. I swallowed my fear and counted strokes—ten, then ten more. The wind clawed at my coat, yet I kept the oars moving toward that faint glow, the skiff hissing with each push. Student Draft: In this scene, the narrator shows courage by continuing despite fear. [Add evidence from the passage here.] This supports the idea that bravery is not the absence of fear but action in spite of it.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's claim?

Excerpt (informational): School gardens do more than grow vegetables; they grow scholars. In one middle school, science test scores rose 12 percent after a year of garden lessons, according to district records. A survey of 200 students found that three out of four tried a new vegetable because they grew it themselves. Teachers report richer vocabulary in lab journals, and math classes use the beds to practice measurement and data displays. While critics worry about time, the garden integrates with lessons rather than replacing them. Student Draft: The author argues that gardens improve student learning, and she backs it up with a statistic about academics. [Add evidence from the passage here.] Adding this evidence will make the paragraph more convincing. It should clearly connect the garden to better results.

Which detail best supports the student's idea?

Excerpt (fiction): The shift whistle shrieked, and the floor trembled as belt wheels blurred. The machines roared like trapped beasts; sparks jumped where metal kissed metal. Smoke pressed low, turning the high windows into dull coins. I wrapped my scarf across my mouth and coughed into the wool. The foreman's voice was a bark that bounced from wall to wall. For a breath, I pictured my brother in the quiet schoolroom, ink stains on his fingers, his chair steady under him. Then the loom bucked, and I bent to the clatter again. Student Draft: The author alters history to intensify the factory's danger and noise, helping readers feel workers' hardship. [Add evidence from the passage here.] This exaggerated portrayal builds an emotional understanding, not a strict documentary record.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's claim?

Excerpt (informational): Banning single-use plastics reduces litter and saves money. In the coastal town of Seabrook, beach cleanups recorded a 30 percent drop in trash after the ordinance took effect. Microplastic counts in water samples fell from 120 particles per liter to 80 within six months. The public works department reported saving $18,000 in overtime cleanup costs last year. Retailers adapted by offering sturdy, reusable bags for a small deposit that customers get back when they return them. Some residents object that the policy is inconvenient when they forget a bag, but the results show measurable change. Student Draft: The author's argument is convincing because she links the ban to concrete, measurable effects. [Add evidence from the passage here.] Including precise figures will strengthen the analysis. The best support will show cause and effect clearly.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's analysis?

Passage (historical fiction, 135 words): When the new electric lamps bloomed over the town square, evening shifted its shape. Children traced their doubled shadows on the bricks while the fountain threw sparks of light instead of darkness. Shopkeepers, who once tugged down shutters at dusk, left their doors open to the wash of brightness and the trickle of late customers. Mothers did not hurry their goodbyes; they lingered on porch steps to talk, faces clear as noon. Even the constable, who had carried a dented lantern for years, tucked it under his arm and laughed that the moon finally had competition. The old lamplighter tipped his cap and walked home early, his work replaced by a quiet hum. By midnight, the square glowed like a held breath, and only then did the last chairs scrape back inside.

Student draft: The author shows how electric lights changed nightly routines by depicting people staying out later and feeling safer. [Add evidence here.] This helps readers understand why the lights felt like a new beginning.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's idea?

Passage (informational article, 143 words): Community gardens do more than beautify a block; they change how a neighborhood feels and functions. Broad-leafed vines draped over trellises cast shade that cools sidewalks and stoops. In a July survey of three neighborhoods, surface temperatures near large gardens measured three to five degrees lower than adjacent blocks at the hottest hour of the day. The soil also absorbs rain that might otherwise flood intersections. Yet the benefits are not purely environmental. Garden beds bring people outside at the same time, creating chance conversations that build trust. One organizer noted that neighbors who had lived on the same street for years finally learned each other's names while weeding tomatoes. Several participants reported checking on elderly residents more often after meeting them at the tool shed. In this way, modest plots can reduce heat, soak up storms, and strengthen everyday ties.

Student draft: The author argues that community gardens offer environmental and social benefits. [Add evidence here.] This shows the claim is backed by relevant and sufficient support.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's idea?

Passage (literary nonfiction, 131 words): The first time I tried the coastal ridge, fog pressed so low I could taste salt on my tongue. I charged ahead with a pack fat with everything I might need and much I did not. At the first cliffed cove, I realized I had misread the tide tables and turned back, boots sloshing, pride soaked through. That evening, I opened my notebook and logged each mistake like beads on a string: wrong tide, wrong pack, wrong pace. Over winter I studied charts until the lines felt like music. In spring I returned with half the load and twice the maps, starting at dawn when the tide fell away like a drawn curtain. The same cove opened easily, and I reached the black-sand beach two hours before noon.

Student draft: The author argues that preparation, not luck, led to her success on the second attempt. [Add evidence here.] This connects her claim to clear, relevant details.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's idea?

Passage (editorial, 149 words): Middle schools should start the day later. This position is not about indulging sleepiness; it is about aligning schedules with adolescent biology. Researchers have shown that teens' melatonin peaks later at night than adults', making early bedtimes difficult and early wake-ups punishing. When districts have shifted first bell from 7:30 to 8:30, attendance improved and tardiness dropped. In one three-year review, the rate of late arrivals fell by nearly a quarter while first-period grades nudged upward. Buses still ran, sports still met, and families adjusted. Critics worry that after-school activities would clash with later dismissals, but schools that planned ahead staggered practice times and partnered with community centers. Starting later will not magically solve every challenge, but it removes a barrier to learning we have the power to lower: asking teens to be alert at the hour their brains are wired to sleep.

Student draft: The author's reasoning is sound because she connects biology to real outcomes in schools. [Add evidence here.] This evidence helps show that the claim is supported.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's idea?

Excerpt (fiction): On the day the city held its breath, the mill gates did not clang so much as sigh. Shop windows blinked with empty reflections; horses dragged their hooves; the river seemed to pause mid-ripple. The few men on the corner spoke in murmurs that died before they reached the curb. The avenues were bare of footsteps; even the pigeons seemed to hold their breath. I had read about strikes that boiled like kettles, with banners and speeches and brass bands, but our streets were a hush of waiting. A single glove lay in the gutter, cupped like a shell that could catch a whisper and keep it. Somewhere, a clock ticked. I counted, and then stopped counting, because the sound felt too loud, as if my numbers alone might break the spell the city had cast upon itself.

Student draft: In this historical novel, the author alters the usual story of noisy labor marches by showing the strike as eerily silent and empty. To support that idea, the best evidence should describe how quiet and deserted the scene is. [Add evidence here.] This detail shows how the author changes the mood to emphasize stillness instead of chaos.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage to support the student's idea?

Excerpt (informational/opinion): People say homework builds responsibility, but I think it mostly builds yawns. After a full day of classes, students deserve time to move, read what interests them, or help at home. My neighbor Luis stayed up past eleven finishing worksheets, then stumbled through his quiz the next morning. He told me he barely tasted breakfast. When I asked around, a few kids nodded sleepily and said the same. One blog I saw had lots of comments from tired students, which shows this is a widespread problem. Teachers could assign less and focus on class time instead. Besides, learning should be joyful, not a checklist of boxes to fill. If we want better results, we should start by trusting students to rest and explore—homework just gets in the way.

Student draft: In this opinion piece, the author's reasoning is weak because she relies on limited anecdotal evidence instead of solid research. To make that point clear, the paragraph needs a sentence showing the writer uses just one personal example and no real data. [Insert evidence from the passage here.] That would show the evidence is not sufficient.

Which sentence best adds evidence from the passage?