Writing Standards: Using Evidence for Analysis and Research (CCSS.W.8.9) Practice Test

Perched on the town's retired water tower, Mira tightened the straps of the glider she had stitched from tarp and broom handles. Below her, the city looked like a tray of circuit boards, tiny lights blinking to an unheard rhythm. She pictured catching the first slice of sun as it rose over the river, a clean ribbon of gold she could skim like a stone. "You know the sun doesn't care who reaches for it," Jonah had said when he helped carry the parts up the ladder. "It burns the same." Mira laughed then, but the heat seeping through the metal rungs stung her palms, and the wind tugged the tarp with a warning hiss. She eased back, breathing hard, and sat on the platform instead. The glider lay beside her like a folded question. "Not today," she whispered, watching roofs turn from slate to copper. She would take it apart later, learn from the seams, and try again when the air felt less like fire.

Student draft: In this modern retelling of the Icarus myth, the story swaps feathers and wax for a DIY glider and, more importantly, replaces fatal pride with thoughtful restraint. ADD EVIDENCE HERE. This change shows how the author keeps the theme of human ambition while rendering it new for an urban, tech-savvy setting.

Perched on the town's retired water tower, Mira tightened the straps of the glider she had stitched from tarp and broom handles. Below her, the city looked like a tray of circuit boards, tiny lights blinking to an unheard rhythm. She pictured catching the first slice of sun as it rose over the river, a clean ribbon of gold she could skim like a stone. "You know the sun doesn't care who reaches for it," Jonah had said when he helped carry the parts up the ladder. "It burns the same." Mira laughed then, but the heat seeping through the metal rungs stung her palms, and the wind tugged the tarp with a warning hiss. She eased back, breathing hard, and sat on the platform instead. The glider lay beside her like a folded question. "Not today," she whispered, watching roofs turn from slate to copper. She would take it apart later, learn from the seams, and try again when the air felt less like fire.

Student draft: In this modern retelling of the Icarus myth, the story swaps feathers and wax for a DIY glider and, more importantly, replaces fatal pride with thoughtful restraint. ADD EVIDENCE HERE. This change shows how the author keeps the theme of human ambition while rendering it new for an urban, tech-savvy setting.