**Argumentative Essays**

Standard: 8.2A

What is the most likely meaning of principle in the following sentence?

Doctors follow the principle of “do no harm” when treating their patients.

• guiding belief

• legal requirement

• questionable practice

Standard: 8.2A

Which of the following most clearly presents a reason for someone to intervene?

Base your answer on the meaning of intervene.

• to stop kids from fighting over a toy

• to show interest in a new hobby or activity

• to question whether a person is telling the truth

Standard: 8.5G

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A Which best describes how the author of “Soda’s a Problem but . . .” feels about the soda ban?

(WRITE DOWN YOUR ANSWER)

• She finds the politician supporting it admirable

• She does not think it will be very helpful.

• She believes it is full of inconsistencies.

Standard: 8.5 G

Part B Which of these quotations from the text most clearly supports her perspective from Part A?

• Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven are overseen by the state and would be exempt, but a Burger King across the street would be restricted.

• After years of sacrificing their students’ health to their desire to raise more money, most [schools] have stopped allowing vending machines stocked with sodas

• Bloomberg is playing nanny in the worst sort of way by interfering in a basic, private transaction involving a perfectly legal substance.

Standard: 8.2C

Read the passage below from "Ban the Ban!"

I agree wholeheartedly that obesity is an issue that needs to be addressed! It is one that needs to be addressed with education, compassion, and support, not government mandates.

Which choice could be substituted for the word mandates without changing the meaning of the sentence?

• orders

• advice

• amendments

Standard: 8.2C

Use your knowledge of the Latin root -just- to choose the best definition for the phrase bring to justice.

• to be fair to oneself

• to cause to be tried in court and punished

• to do something worthy of one's ability

Standard: 8.5F

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A Based on “Three Cheers for the Nanny State,” choose the phrase that best describes the main way the author views human decision-making.

(WRITE DOWN YOUR ANSWER)

• controlled by rational calculations

• controlled by a person's moral nature

• influenced by “predictable miscalculations”

Standard: 8.5F

Part B Which sentence from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

• John Stuart Mill wrote in 1859 that the only justifiable reason for interfering in someone’s freedom of action was to prevent harm to others.

• You can stop someone from crossing a bridge that is broken, he said, because you can be sure no one wants to plummet into the river.

• Now we see that these errors aren’t a function of bad character, but of our shared cognitive inheritance.

Standard: 8.8Ei

Read the following passage from an argumentative essay:

Some rules of etiquette are based on past realities that no longer exist. I have no problem ignoring such rules. Only action that impact the feelings and comfort of others in today's world must be controlled by etiquette. To my mind, if the impact of behavior is positive, that behavior is good manners.

What was the most likely reason the author included this passage?

• to provide reasons and factual evidence based on research

• to open with a statement that sounds reasonable

• to provide an expert opinion the topic

Standard:

Which of the following is a significant problem?

• Large quantities of soda are being banned in New York City.

• Civil liberties are slowly being taken away.

• Not being able to purchase 2 liters sodas from a pizza place.