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2018 MCAS
Grade 7 English Language Arts
Question 15

Idea Development - Score Point 5

The essay fully develops the central idea that mill workers endured miserable working conditions and supports it with relevant evidence from the passages. Details describe the girls as having "very little time to eat" and spending "almost the entire day standing at the machines and working"; the working conditions are described as being "very noisy, dusty, and hot." These details result in a rich expression of how the "mill girls" suffered. Organization is also skillful, as the three main points relate to both texts and build cohesiveness. The language supports insightful commentary: the "frightful conditions" of the mills are made clear. There is full awareness of the task and mode.

Standard English Conventions - Score Point 3

The essay demonstrates consistent control of Standard English conventions. Sentence structures are varied and correct, and control of grammar, usage, and mechanics helps support fluency.
Answer for Idea Development Score Point 5, and Standard English Conventions Score Point 3 The central idea of both "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson" by Phillip Hoose and Lyddie by Katherine Paterson is that girls that worked in the mills lived in horrible conditions. Even though they were children, they only had a few minutes to eat. Also, they grew very exhausted while working all day long. Finally, they suffered when they were working because the rooms were very dusty and the machines were very noisy. Overall, girls that worked in the mills barely had time to eat, they were forced to work all day long for many hours, and the rooms they worked in were extremely noisy and stuffy. First of all, girls that worked in mills had very little time to eat breakfast and lunch. In paragraph seven of "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson," the author stated the amount of time the girls had to eat. He wrote, "Lowel mill girls got a fifteen-minute breakfast break and another thirty minutes for lunch at noon." Although fifteen to thirty minutes might seem like enough time to eat, the author of Lyddie proved that it wasn't. In paragraph twelve, she said, "Nearly half the mealtime was spent simply going up and down the staircase, across the mill yard and bridge, down the row of houses - just getting to and from the meal." This quote clearly shows that mill girls lived in terrible conditions because they had little to no time to actually sit down and eat. Most of their mealtime was spent walking to and from the meal. These two quotes together definitely show that mill girls didn't have good living conditions because they didn't have enough time to eat. In addition to their limited time for meals, the young mill girls spent almost the entire day standing at the machines and working. In paragraph seven of "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson," the author described the situation the children were in: "Most stood all day. The little ones often fell asleep standing up." The quote talks about how the workers spent the entire day standing up and handling the machines. It explains how the younger girls often fell asleep standing up. This means many of the girls were probably very tired and sore from working for so long. To elaborate on the topic, in paragraph eight of Lyddie, the author described what standing and working all day felt like. She wrote, "If that weren't trial enough, a few hours of standing in her proud new boots and her feet had swollen so that the laces cut into her flesh." This quote is talking about how Lyddie's boots for working made her feet swell and hurt. It demonstrates how standing and working in the mills for even just a few hours could bring a child quite a bit of pain. All in all, mill girls worked in very poor conditions all day long and they experienced a lot of exhaustion and pain. The third and final challenge that mill girls faced was that the rooms they were forced to work in were almost always very noisy, dusty, and hot. In paragraph six of "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson," there was quote from Lucy Larcom. The author wrote, "'The buzzing and hissing whizzing of pulleys and rollers and spindles and flyers often grew tiresome.'" This quote mentions how all of the loud noises that came from the machines filled the mill girls' ears throughout the day. The buzzing and whirring sounds most likely gave them headaches and it made them grow very tired and weary. Additionally, in paragraph nine of Lyddie, the author talked about something else that made the mill girls uncomfortable. She said, "Now that she thought of it, she could hardly breathe, the air was so laden with moisture and debris." Many of the mill girls suffered as they worked because of all of the dust and the heat. It made it hard to breathe sometimes and it just made the work day feel even longer. In summary, the heat, dust, and noise in the mills made the work day even more painful for the girls that worked there. In conclusion, young mill girls clearly suffered because they had to live in frightful conditions. They had barely any time to eat breakfast and lunch. They were forced to work all day long no matter how exhausted they were. They also had to work in very noisy and stuffy rooms. Overall, "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson" by Phillip Hoose and Lyddie by Katherine Paterson both prove that mill girls experienced a lot of pain, hunger, and exhaustion due to their poor living conditions.



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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Print Now | Close Window