Pay As You Throw

Miguel wants his first sentence to clearly 1 identify the topic of his essay. What is the most effective way for him to rewrite sentences 1 and 2?

• A. The cost of trash collection is an unnecessary strain on Fairview’s budget, with which it has struggled.

• B. The town of Fairview has been struggling with its budget, and one unnecessary strain is the cost of trash collection.

• C. The cost of trash collection is an unnecessary strain on town budgets; Fairview has been struggling with its budget.

• D. The town of Fairview has an unnecessary strain on its budget; the cost of trash collection is causing a struggle.

What is the best way for Miguel to improve the organization of sentences 5–8?

• F. Switch sentences 6 and 7

• G. Switch sentences 7 and 8

• H. Move sentence 5 so that it follows sentence 7

• J. Move sentence 8 so that it follows sentence 5

Miguel wants to add a supporting detail after sentence 10. What would be the most effective fact for him to add?

• A. The impact of PAYT varies considerably from town to town, but it is generally always positive.

• B. I have a friend whose family started recycling much more after their town started using PAYT.

• C. The towns of Lexington and Milford have been successfully using PAYT programs for the past 12 years.

• D. PAYT programs in Lexington and Milford have shown waste reductions of 14 and 18 percent, respectively.

To connect to the ideas in sentence 13, which transition word or phrase should Miguel insert at the beginning of sentence 14?

• F. First

• G. However

• H. Therefore

• J. In the meantime

To clarify his meaning, what is the most effective way for Miguel to revise sentence 17?

• A. Expanding the hours is one way to handle this problem.

• B. One way to handle this problem is to expand the hours, or make them longer.

• C. One way is to expand the hours, keeping the transfer station open longer to handle this problem.

• D. One way to handle this problem is to expand the hours when the transfer station is open.

Miguel wants to end his essay with a call to action. What would be the most effective sentence for him to add after sentence 21?

• F. Ask your family if they have any ideas to alleviate the town’s budget crisis.

• G. Visit other towns that support PAYT and see if you notice a difference.

• H. Attend the town council meeting tonight and listen to the issues discussed.

• J. Contact your town council member today and urge him or her to support PAYT.