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2018 MCAS
Grade 7 English Language Arts
Question 15

Idea Development - Score Point 5

The essay fully and insightfully develops the central idea of the challenges the girls faced and identifies evidence in both passages. Explanations are clear and focused; for example, "both texts point out that mill girls did not get enough sleep, and tired very quickly" and "both the article and the story develop the idea that a mill girl's life was difficult." Beyond just the functional difficulties associated with being a mill girl, the essay describes a mill girl's pay as "barely enough to live off of." While there is some formulaic repetition in the opening and closing paragraphs, there is an overall sense of organization and awareness of the task.

Standard English Conventions - Score Point 3

The length and complexity of the essay provide sufficient opportunity to demonstrate consistent control both of a variety of sentence structures and Standard English conventions in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
Answer for Idea Development Score Point 5, and Standard English Conventions Score Point 3 In both the article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson: Voices of the Mills" and the exerpt from Lyddie, the central idea that life was full of challenges as a mill gir, is developed. This is done so by showing that mill girls did not get enough sleep, that meal times were inconvienent and to short, and showing that living and working conditions, and the ammount they were payed, was not ideal. Both texts point out that mill girls did not get enough sleep, and tired very quickly. From the article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson", "Each day started at five in the morning with a bone-rattling blast from the factory whistle," (paragraph 5). Each morning the girls would have to wake up at the crack of dawn and get to work. Also from "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson", "Most stood all day. The little ones often fell asleep standing up," (paragraph 7). The little children were so tired that they fell asleep standing, which is immensly uncomfortable, but it was worth it for a little more sleep than they were being given. Not only were the girls not sleeping enough, they worked so hard that they tired very quickly. The exerpt from Lyddie says, "Within five minutes, her head felt like a log being split to splinters. She kept shaking it, as though she could get rid of the noice, or at least the pain, but both only seemed to grow more intense," (paragraph 8). The character Lyddie had tired within five minutes on her first day of working at the factory, because she was working so hard. Both the article and the story develop the idea that a mill girl's life was difficult by proving the girls did not get enough sleep and tired very fast. The article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson: Voices of the Mills" and the story Lyddie support the idea that life was hard for mill girls by proving that meal times were inconvienent and to short. The story Lyddie, proves this thought by saying, "How could she get accustomed to this inferno? Even when the girls were set free at 7:00, it was to push and shove their way across the bridge…bolt down a hearty breakfast, and rush back…for 'ring in' at 7:35. Nearly half the mealtime was spent simply going up and down the staircases…" (paragraph 12). The meal time was two hours after they wake up, and only lasted for thirty five minutes. With the distance they had to travel to get to the breakfast, the legnth of the meal is to short to eat anything sufficient. The article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson" also proves this point in paragraph 7, "Lowell mill girls got a fifteen minute breakfast and another thirty minutes for lunch at noon." The meal is their only time to relax before they go back to more work, fifteen minutes is not long enough, considering how long the work without any rest, and the time they wake up in the morning. In conclusion, both the article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson" and the exerpt from the story Lyddie show that life was hard for mill girls by proving that meals were at odd times and were not long enough. Both the article and exerpt suggest the idea that life was difficult as a mill girl. They support this by showing that living and working conditions, and pay were not the most ideal. The story Lyddie supports this by saying in paragraph 9, "Now that she though of it, she could hardly breathe, the air was so laden with moisture and debris." This shows that air quality was not great, making her working conditions an unsafe and unideal enviroment. Also dealing with air quality, from paragraph 8 of Lyddie, "…and when she found the lace was knotted she nearly burst into tears. Or perhaps the tears were caused by the swirling dust and lint." In the article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson: Voices of the Mills" the factories were also unsafe because of the machinary. In paragraph 5, "…reminding herself to be careful about where she put her fingers." If the machinary was so dangerous, the mill girls should have been payed a lot, right? Wrong, the pay was barely enough to live off of. Also from "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson", "Lucy's mother ran a boardinghouse for mill girls and women, but there was never enough money," (paragraph 2). They had no money to live, at all. Concluding this paragraph, the central idea that life was challenging as a mill girl is developed throughout the article "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson" and the story Lyddie, by defining that the living and working conditions, as well as the pay of mill girls were not ideal. In conclusion, both "Lucy Larcom and Harriet Hanson: Voices of the Mills" and the exerpt from the story Lyddie develop the central idea that life was extremely exhausting and challenging for mill girls. This is done by showing, proving and defining that mill girls tire quickly and had little sleep, that meals were short and and at inconvienent times, and lastly, by showing that living and working conditions, and pay, were not the best. Concluding all together, life as a mill girl was downright hard.



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