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Claims, reasons and evidence
6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 16 questions · Common Core: RI.6.8, RI.7.8 · England: KS3 Reading, GCSE English Language Paper 2
Name
Date
Score/ 16
A Letter to the Council
Dear Councillors,
I am writing to ask you not to close Elm Street Library. I am nine years old, and the library is one of the most important places in our town.
First, the library helps children learn. Every Saturday, there is a story club where younger children listen to stories and older children like me read aloud. Many families cannot afford to buy lots of books, but at the library everyone can borrow them for free.
Second, the library is not just for children. My neighbour, Mr Haddad, goes there every week to use the computers because he does not have one at home. He uses them to apply for jobs and to talk to his grandchildren in another country.
Some people say that everything is online now, so we do not need libraries. However, not everyone has the internet at home, and a website cannot give you a quiet, warm place to study or a librarian who helps you find exactly the right book.
Please keep our library open. It belongs to all of us.
Yours faithfully, Priya Shah
Question 1
Read "A Letter to the Council". Why does Priya mention Mr Haddad?
- A. to show the library helps adults too
- B. to show he is her grandfather
- C. to complain that he uses the computers too much
- D. to explain how to apply for jobs
Question 2
Schools should plant more trees. Trees provide shade on hot days, clean the air, and give pupils a calm place to read. A study in one city found that pupils with green views from their classrooms scored higher on attention tests. Which detail is evidence from research?
- A. Trees provide shade on hot days.
- B. Schools should plant more trees.
- C. Pupils with green views scored higher on attention tests.
- D. Trees give pupils a calm place to read.
Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?
Every evening, in homes across the country, the same battle takes place: tired children, frustrated parents and a worksheet that nobody wants to finish. It is time for primary schools to ban homework.
The most important reason is that, for young children, the evidence for homework is weak. Several large reviews of research have found that homework has little measurable effect on the test results of pupils under eleven. Older students may benefit, but for younger children, the hours spent on worksheets do not seem to pay off.
Second, children need time to play, rest and be with their families. Play is not a waste of time; it builds creativity, problem-solving and friendships. A child who has spent six hours concentrating at school deserves an evening to explore, read for pleasure or simply be bored – which is when imagination often kicks in.
Some people argue that homework teaches responsibility. This is a fair point. However, children can learn responsibility in many other ways: feeding a pet, helping to cook dinner or practising an instrument they have chosen themselves.
Finally, homework can be unfair. Some children have parents who can help them every night and a quiet desk to work at. Others share a small space with siblings or have parents who work late. Homework can widen the gap between these children instead of closing it.
Schools should replace homework with something simple: read every day, for fun. That is one habit worth taking home.
Question 3
Read "Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?". How does the writer deal with the idea that homework teaches responsibility?
- A. admits it is fair, then suggests other ways to learn responsibility
- B. ignores it completely
- C. agrees and changes their mind
- D. says it is a lie
Question 4
Read "Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?". What is the writer's main claim?
- A. Homework teaches responsibility.
- B. Primary schools should ban homework.
- C. Older students benefit from homework.
- D. Children should read for fun.
Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility
Good morning, everyone. Last Saturday, twenty-three pupils from this school spent three hours on Sandy Bay beach. We collected forty-one bags of rubbish. Forty-one. Bottles, crisp packets, fishing line, a shoe, and – I promise you this is true – an entire garden chair.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "It's not my rubbish. Why should I pick it up?" And you're right: most of us didn't drop it. But here's the thing. The seal pup that gets tangled in that fishing line doesn't care whose fault it was. The toddler who cuts her foot on broken glass doesn't care either.
That beach belongs to all of us. We swim there in summer. We walk our dogs there in winter. Some of us learned to ride our bikes on the promenade. If it belongs to all of us, then looking after it belongs to all of us too.
So I'm asking you for just one thing. Not money. Not your whole weekend. Just two hours, on the first Saturday of next month. Bring gloves, bring a friend, bring your little brother if you have to.
Because if twenty-three of us can fill forty-one bags, imagine what four hundred of us could do.
Thank you.
Question 5
Read "Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility". Which persuasive technique is used in paragraph 3?
- A. using scientific data
- B. quoting an expert
- C. making a joke about the audience
- D. appealing to shared experiences and belonging
The Long Wall
The Great Wall of China is not one wall at all. It is a network of walls, trenches and watchtowers built and rebuilt over more than two thousand years by different dynasties. If all its sections were laid end to end, they would stretch over 21,000 kilometres – more than half the distance around the Earth.
The earliest walls were built from packed earth around the seventh century BCE, when rival Chinese states defended their borders from one another. In about 220 BCE, the first emperor of a united China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered many of these separate walls to be joined together to protect the north from raiding groups.
The sections that most visitors see today are far younger. They were built during the Ming dynasty, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ming builders used bricks and stone, which is why these sections have survived so well. Watchtowers were placed close enough together for soldiers to send signals using smoke by day and fire by night.
The wall came at a terrible cost. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, prisoners and farmers were forced to work on it, often in freezing mountains or burning deserts. Many died, and stories and songs about their suffering are still told.
Did the wall work? Historians disagree. It slowed down small raids and helped control trade and travel, but determined armies could still break through or simply go around it. Today, its greatest power may be as a symbol – of human effort, of history and of a nation's identity.
Question 6
Read "The Long Wall". According to the final paragraph, what do historians disagree about?
- A. who built the first section
- B. whether tourists should visit
- C. whether the wall was effective
- D. how long the wall is
Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility
Good morning, everyone. Last Saturday, twenty-three pupils from this school spent three hours on Sandy Bay beach. We collected forty-one bags of rubbish. Forty-one. Bottles, crisp packets, fishing line, a shoe, and – I promise you this is true – an entire garden chair.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "It's not my rubbish. Why should I pick it up?" And you're right: most of us didn't drop it. But here's the thing. The seal pup that gets tangled in that fishing line doesn't care whose fault it was. The toddler who cuts her foot on broken glass doesn't care either.
That beach belongs to all of us. We swim there in summer. We walk our dogs there in winter. Some of us learned to ride our bikes on the promenade. If it belongs to all of us, then looking after it belongs to all of us too.
So I'm asking you for just one thing. Not money. Not your whole weekend. Just two hours, on the first Saturday of next month. Bring gloves, bring a friend, bring your little brother if you have to.
Because if twenty-three of us can fill forty-one bags, imagine what four hundred of us could do.
Thank you.
Question 7
Read "Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility". How does the speaker respond to the objection "It's not my rubbish"?
- A. She ignores it.
- B. She says everyone dropped rubbish.
- C. She agrees, then argues the harm happens regardless of whose fault it is.
- D. She tells people to blame tourists.
Question 8
Read "Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility". What is the speaker asking the audience to do?
- A. stop going to the beach
- B. join a beach clean-up next month
- C. give money to a charity
- D. write to the council
A Letter to the Council
Dear Councillors,
I am writing to ask you not to close Elm Street Library. I am nine years old, and the library is one of the most important places in our town.
First, the library helps children learn. Every Saturday, there is a story club where younger children listen to stories and older children like me read aloud. Many families cannot afford to buy lots of books, but at the library everyone can borrow them for free.
Second, the library is not just for children. My neighbour, Mr Haddad, goes there every week to use the computers because he does not have one at home. He uses them to apply for jobs and to talk to his grandchildren in another country.
Some people say that everything is online now, so we do not need libraries. However, not everyone has the internet at home, and a website cannot give you a quiet, warm place to study or a librarian who helps you find exactly the right book.
Please keep our library open. It belongs to all of us.
Yours faithfully, Priya Shah
Question 9
Read "A Letter to the Council". In paragraph 5, what does Priya do?
- A. She lists the opening times.
- B. She answers an argument against libraries.
- C. She tells a funny story.
- D. She agrees that libraries are not needed.
Question 10
Read "A Letter to the Council". Why does Priya mention Mr Haddad?
- A. to complain that he uses the computers too much
- B. to show the library helps adults too
- C. to show he is her grandfather
- D. to explain how to apply for jobs
Question 11
Schools should plant more trees. Trees provide shade on hot days, clean the air, and give pupils a calm place to read. A study in one city found that pupils with green views from their classrooms scored higher on attention tests. Which detail is evidence from research?
- A. Trees give pupils a calm place to read.
- B. Pupils with green views scored higher on attention tests.
- C. Schools should plant more trees.
- D. Trees provide shade on hot days.
Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?
Every evening, in homes across the country, the same battle takes place: tired children, frustrated parents and a worksheet that nobody wants to finish. It is time for primary schools to ban homework.
The most important reason is that, for young children, the evidence for homework is weak. Several large reviews of research have found that homework has little measurable effect on the test results of pupils under eleven. Older students may benefit, but for younger children, the hours spent on worksheets do not seem to pay off.
Second, children need time to play, rest and be with their families. Play is not a waste of time; it builds creativity, problem-solving and friendships. A child who has spent six hours concentrating at school deserves an evening to explore, read for pleasure or simply be bored – which is when imagination often kicks in.
Some people argue that homework teaches responsibility. This is a fair point. However, children can learn responsibility in many other ways: feeding a pet, helping to cook dinner or practising an instrument they have chosen themselves.
Finally, homework can be unfair. Some children have parents who can help them every night and a quiet desk to work at. Others share a small space with siblings or have parents who work late. Homework can widen the gap between these children instead of closing it.
Schools should replace homework with something simple: read every day, for fun. That is one habit worth taking home.
Question 12
Read "Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?". How does the writer deal with the idea that homework teaches responsibility?
- A. admits it is fair, then suggests other ways to learn responsibility
- B. ignores it completely
- C. says it is a lie
- D. agrees and changes their mind
Question 13
Read "Should Primary Schools Ban Homework?". What is the writer's main claim?
- A. Children should read for fun.
- B. Homework teaches responsibility.
- C. Older students benefit from homework.
- D. Primary schools should ban homework.
Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility
Good morning, everyone. Last Saturday, twenty-three pupils from this school spent three hours on Sandy Bay beach. We collected forty-one bags of rubbish. Forty-one. Bottles, crisp packets, fishing line, a shoe, and – I promise you this is true – an entire garden chair.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "It's not my rubbish. Why should I pick it up?" And you're right: most of us didn't drop it. But here's the thing. The seal pup that gets tangled in that fishing line doesn't care whose fault it was. The toddler who cuts her foot on broken glass doesn't care either.
That beach belongs to all of us. We swim there in summer. We walk our dogs there in winter. Some of us learned to ride our bikes on the promenade. If it belongs to all of us, then looking after it belongs to all of us too.
So I'm asking you for just one thing. Not money. Not your whole weekend. Just two hours, on the first Saturday of next month. Bring gloves, bring a friend, bring your little brother if you have to.
Because if twenty-three of us can fill forty-one bags, imagine what four hundred of us could do.
Thank you.
Question 14
Read "Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility". Which persuasive technique is used in paragraph 3?
- A. quoting an expert
- B. making a joke about the audience
- C. using scientific data
- D. appealing to shared experiences and belonging
The Long Wall
The Great Wall of China is not one wall at all. It is a network of walls, trenches and watchtowers built and rebuilt over more than two thousand years by different dynasties. If all its sections were laid end to end, they would stretch over 21,000 kilometres – more than half the distance around the Earth.
The earliest walls were built from packed earth around the seventh century BCE, when rival Chinese states defended their borders from one another. In about 220 BCE, the first emperor of a united China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered many of these separate walls to be joined together to protect the north from raiding groups.
The sections that most visitors see today are far younger. They were built during the Ming dynasty, between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ming builders used bricks and stone, which is why these sections have survived so well. Watchtowers were placed close enough together for soldiers to send signals using smoke by day and fire by night.
The wall came at a terrible cost. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, prisoners and farmers were forced to work on it, often in freezing mountains or burning deserts. Many died, and stories and songs about their suffering are still told.
Did the wall work? Historians disagree. It slowed down small raids and helped control trade and travel, but determined armies could still break through or simply go around it. Today, its greatest power may be as a symbol – of human effort, of history and of a nation's identity.
Question 15
Read "The Long Wall". According to the final paragraph, what do historians disagree about?
- A. who built the first section
- B. whether the wall was effective
- C. whether tourists should visit
- D. how long the wall is
Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility
Good morning, everyone. Last Saturday, twenty-three pupils from this school spent three hours on Sandy Bay beach. We collected forty-one bags of rubbish. Forty-one. Bottles, crisp packets, fishing line, a shoe, and – I promise you this is true – an entire garden chair.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "It's not my rubbish. Why should I pick it up?" And you're right: most of us didn't drop it. But here's the thing. The seal pup that gets tangled in that fishing line doesn't care whose fault it was. The toddler who cuts her foot on broken glass doesn't care either.
That beach belongs to all of us. We swim there in summer. We walk our dogs there in winter. Some of us learned to ride our bikes on the promenade. If it belongs to all of us, then looking after it belongs to all of us too.
So I'm asking you for just one thing. Not money. Not your whole weekend. Just two hours, on the first Saturday of next month. Bring gloves, bring a friend, bring your little brother if you have to.
Because if twenty-three of us can fill forty-one bags, imagine what four hundred of us could do.
Thank you.
Question 16
Read "Speech: Our Beach, Our Responsibility". How does the speaker respond to the objection "It's not my rubbish"?
- A. She tells people to blame tourists.
- B. She agrees, then argues the harm happens regardless of whose fault it is.
- C. She says everyone dropped rubbish.
- D. She ignores it.
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