Meshae Jones

January 25 ,2018

First Period : 7A

The Life Changing Decision

Imagine being a girl growing up in a small town and you have to make tough decisions which

your life depends on and you have to choose between signing a petition or not. In Katherine Paterson’s

novel Lyddie the conditions in the factory are terrible and many people are getting unfair treatment and

are getting hurt. There is a petition floating around and Lyddie either has to sign it or not. The petition is

demanding better conditions in the factory, about their hours their pay and their safety. Lyddie should

sign the petition because many people are getting hurt, they are not getting paid enough for the amount

of hours worked and they would get more time off during the day.

One reason Lyddie should sign the petition is because many people are getting hurt in the

factory. In chapter 13, the speed up process caused people to get hurt in the factory during those long

hours. The text states “before she could think she was on the floor, blood pouring through the hair near

her right temple.”(102) This shows that Lyddie got really hurt by the machines, and if she does not sign

the petition this could happen again, or to other girls. In chapter 13, the girls that worked in the factory

had to work really hard. The text states “a girl had slipped on the icy staircase in the rush to dinner, she

had broken her neck in the fall.” (101) This quote shows that if one person got hurt in the factory just

from rushing to eat that anyone could get hurt doing something that is even more dangerous than

walking to eat.

Another reason Lyddie should sign the petition is because they are not getting paid enough for

the number of hours worked. In the novel Lyddie would work 13 hours a day for only a little bit of

money. The text states “our real wages have gone down more often than they’ve gone up.” (92) This

quote shows that even though their workload has increased, the amount of actual hourly pay they

receive has gone down and this is not fair for all of her time that she works.
 The last reason Lyddie should sign the petition is because they would have more time during

the day. In chapter 12, the girls in the factory felt like they were working too hard for a little bit they were

tired and exhausted so if they get more time off during the day they would have less time off to work

really hard. The text states “time is more precious than money, Lyddie girl. If only I had two more free

hours of an evening - what I couldn’t do. This quote shows that if lyddie sign the petition they would be

less exhausted and would not be working a lot.

Although some people believe that Lyddie shouldn’t sign the petition I strongly believe that she

should sign the petition. Many people may think that Lyddie should not sign the petition because she

would get blacklisted and she would not be able to help her family. If Lyddie signs the petition people

wouldn’t be getting hurt and sick from the factory and would have more time off during the day.
 7th Grade Argument Writing Rubric TOTAL SCORE: 15.50/ 16

Criteria 4 3 2 1 0
CLAIM AND - clearly introduce the text clearly introduce the text - introduce the text and - introduce the text and the - claim and reasons
and the claim in a manner and the claim in a the claim in a manner that claim in a manner that does
REASONS: that is compelling and manner that follows from follows generally from the not logically follow from the
demonstrate a lack of
the extent to which the follows logically the task and purpose task and purpose task and purpose comprehension of the
essay conveys - claim and reasons - claim and reasons - claim and reasons - claim and reasons text(s) or task
complex ideas and demonstrate insightful demonstrate grade- demonstrate a literal demonstrate little
information clearly and analysis of the text(s) appropriate analysis of comprehension of the understanding of the text(s)
accurately in - acknowledges the text(s) text(s) - does not acknowledge
order to logically counterclaim(s) skillfully and - acknowledges - acknowledges counterclaim(s)
support the author’s smoothly counterclaim(s) counterclaim(s) awkwardly
claim. appropriately 3.8

COMMAND OF - develop
the claim with relevant, well-
EVIDENCE: chosen facts, concrete
the extent to which details, quotations, or
examples from the text(s)
the essay presents
- sustain the use of varied,
evidence from the
relevant evidence
provided texts to
- skillfully explain how
support argument evidence supports ideas 3.9
COHERENCE, exhibit clear organization, with
the skillful use of appropriate
ORGANIZATION, and varied transitions to create
AND STYLE: the a unified/ enhance meaning.
extent to which the establish/maintain a formal style,
using grade-appropriate,
essay logically stylistically sophisticated
organizes complex language and domain-specific
ideas, concepts, vocabulary.
and information provide a concluding statement
or section that is compelling and
using formal style follows clearly from the claim
and precise
and reasons presented 4
language
CONTROL OF demonstrate grade-
appropriate command of
CONVENTIONS: the conventions, with few errors
extent to which the essay
demonstrates command
of capitalization,
punctuation, and spelling
- develop the claim with
relevant facts, details,
quotations, or other
examples from the text(s)
- sustain the use of
relevant evidence, with
some lack of variety
- logically explain how
evidence supports ideas
exhibit clear organization,
with the use of appropriate
transitions to create a
unified whole
establish and maintain a
formal style using precise
language and domain-
specific vocabulary
provide a concluding
statement or section that
follows from the claim and
reasons presented
demonstrate grade-
appropriate command
of conventions, with
occasional errors that do
not hinder
comprehension 3.8
- partially develop the
claim of the essay with the
use of some textual
evidence, some of which
may be irrelevant
- use relevant evidence
inconsistently
sometimes logically explain
how evidence supports
ideas
exhibit some attempt at
organization, with
inconsistent use of transitions
establish but fail to maintain
a formal style, with
inconsistent use of language
and domain-specific
vocabulary
provide a concluding
statement or section that
follows generally the claim
and reasons presented
demonstrate emerging
command of conventions,
with some errors that may
hinder comprehension
- demonstrate an attempt to
use evidence, but only
develop ideas with minimal,
occasional evidence that is
generally invalid or irrelevant
- attempt to explain how
evidence supports ideas
exhibit little attempt at
organization, or attempts to
organize are irrelevant to the
task
lack a formal style, using
language that is imprecise or
inappropriate for the text(s) and
task
provide a concluding statement
or section that is illogical or
unrelated to the claim and
reasons presented
demonstrate a lack of
command of conventions,
with frequent errors that hinder
comprehension
- provide no evidence
or provide evidence
that is completely
irrelevant
- does not explain how
evidence supports
ideas
exhibit no evidence of
organization
use language that is
predominantly
incoherent or copied
directly from the text(s)
do not provide a
concluding statement or
section
are minimal, making
assessment of
conventions unreliable

Ladarius, your essay flows so smoothly now with your revisions, and commitment to the outline, and writing process. Many of your
analyses demonstrate critical thinking, however, there are some analysis toward the end of your essay that could use a deeper-
level thinking. Overall, the growth in your writing has evolved, and I am thrilled to see how far you will continue to strengthen your
writing.