The title gives a hint

Extending the School Year about the essay’s topic.

President Barack Obama proposes that American school children extend An introductory
their time in class either by lengthening the school days or by cutting summer paragraph introduces
the essay’s topic and
vacation days. Although critics believe that extending the U.S. school year
contains its thesis
would cause many difficult consequences, many parents and politicians believe statement.
otherwise. The school year should be increased from 180 to 210 days because
students would not be left at home alone, they would not get into trouble, and The thesis statement
teachers would have more time to teach their subjects. contains the essay’s topic
If the school year were lengthened to 210 days, parents would not have and its controlling idea.
to worry about their children spending many hours at home alone during the
summer months. Currently, students have at least two months of summer
holidays. Many students do not have anything to do except eat and watch
television. For example, Carol, a single mother of three boys, works at a Quick-
Stop Store from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. The boys have no supervision. They
never pick up a book, nor do they do any sports. Having a longer school year
would ensure that children are more constructively occupied. Each body paragraph
begins with a topic
Moreover, students would stay out of trouble by going to school for 210
sentence and contains
days a year. Many adolescents have a lot of free time on their hands after school supporting details.
and during school vacations. For instance, when thirteen-year-old KeKe went to
the mall, her friends pressured her to steal a pair of gold earrings. The security
guard arrested the girls as they walked out of the store, and KeKe now has a
record. If the school year were extended, students would have less free time
and would be less likely to get into mischief.
Furthermore, teachers would have more time to teach their course
curriculum if the school year were prolonged. During long summer holidays,
many students forget what they learned, so teachers spend a lot of time
revisiting the previous year’s subject matter. With the additional days of Teaching Tip
instruction, students could spend more time studying. They would also have You might explain to
more time to absorb their course material. For example, Sally, a student in junior students that essays may
high, has a problem reading. If the school year were longer, she could get the be longer than the standard
extra help she needs because the teacher would have more time. Teachers five-paragraph model, but
that the model is often easier
could work with students one on one and teach their subjects step by step.
for beginning writers to use.
Students’ grades would probably go up because teachers would be able to
spend more time with them.
In conclusion, the U.S. school year should be increased from 180 to 210
days. Students would spend less time at home alone, they could keep out of The concluding
paragraph brings the
trouble, and teachers would have more time to teach. The grades of students
essay to a satisfactory
would improve, and they would gain more confidence. Increasing the number of close.
days students spend in school is a winning situation.
—Archie Arnold, student

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