English (ELA)FreePrintable

Supporting Arguments Practice

A free english (ela) worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Supporting Arguments Practice

A community garden could give students a place to grow vegetables and learn outdoors. Your job is to build a convincing argument about whether the school should create one. Use the information on this page, and make sure your evidence supports your reasons.

Evidence file

A student group surveyed 40 students about a possible school garden. These are the results. The survey describes what those students said; it does not prove what every student thinks.

Survey question

Result

Would you like to help grow vegetables?

28 said yes; 12 said no.

What would you most like to grow?

18 chose tomatoes; 14 chose lettuce; 8 chose herbs.

Would you use a garden for learning?

30 said yes; 10 said no.

Read like an argument detective

A strong argument makes a clear claim, gives reasons, and supports those reasons with relevant evidence. Evidence should be accurate and should not claim more than it proves.

1.Choose the strongest claim for an argument using the evidence file.

Every student wants a garden.
The school should consider creating a garden because many surveyed students want to help and learn in it.
Tomatoes are the only useful garden plant.

2.The group says, “28 out of 40 surveyed students said they would like to help grow vegetables.” Is this best described as a fact, a statistic, or a personal example? Explain briefly.

3.Which survey result is the most relevant evidence for the reason, “A garden could be used for outdoor learning”?

30 students said they would use a garden for learning.
18 students chose tomatoes.
12 students said they would not help grow vegetables.

4.True or false: The survey proves that every student in the school wants a garden. Use a detail from the evidence file to support your answer.

TrueFalse

5.Match each statement with its role in an argument: claim, reason, or evidence.

The school should create a garden.
A garden could give students a hands-on way to learn about plants.
30 of the 40 surveyed students said they would use a garden for learning.

Reason
Claim
Evidence

6.Improve this weak evidence sentence so it accurately uses the survey: “Everyone wants tomatoes, so the school must build a garden.”

7.Write one reason that supports the claim, “The school should create a garden.” Then add one relevant piece of evidence from the survey. Use your own sentence.

8.Which statement is an opinion rather than evidence from the survey?

Thirty students said they would use a garden for learning.
A garden would be the best project the school has ever had.
Eight students chose herbs.

9.Write a short persuasive paragraph (4–6 sentences) arguing for or against creating a school garden. Include a clear claim, two different reasons, and at least one accurate piece of evidence from the survey. Explain how your evidence supports your claim.

10.Before handing in your paragraph, check it: Does it state a clear claim, give reasons that support the claim, and use evidence accurately? Write one specific improvement you would make, or explain why it is ready.