Question

read the rough draft of a students conclusion to an argumentative editorial.

(1) year-round schooling would help student achievement. (2) not so much information would have to be crammed into nine months. (3) furthermore, the elimination of long breaks, particularly summer break, would significantly reduce \learning loss\ and the additional time wasted at the beginning of each academic year to reteach previously learned material. (4) it is clear that year-round schooling helps students learn and retain more. (5) the united states is not the only country to experiment with a year-round school schedule. (6) although many still claim that evidence about year-round school and its link to higher achievement is inconclusive, these people need to open their eyes and see that students in these schools consistently score higher on certain assessments than students who attend schools with traditional nine-month

which revision would most strengthen sentence 1?

replacing \help\ with \affect\
replacing \help\ with \likely support\
replacing \help\ with \increase\
replacing \help\ with \steadily boost\

Explanation:

Analyze the purpose of sentence 1

Sentence 1 states: "(1) Year-round schooling would help student achievement." In Argumentative Writing, the opening sentence of a conclusion should restate the thesis or main claim in a strong, decisive manner. The verb "help" is weak, vague, and lacks the persuasive impact needed to establish strong Claim Support.

Evaluate the proposed revisions

We need to find a replacement for "help" that is precise, active, and strongly supports the argumentative tone:

• replacing "help" with "affect": "Affect" is neutral and does not specify whether the impact is positive or negative, weakening the claim.
• replacing "help" with "likely support": "Likely support" introduces hedging ("likely"), which makes the assertion sound tentative rather than confident.
• replacing "help" with "increase": "Increase" is a clear, active verb, but "increase student achievement" is slightly less dynamic than other options.
• replacing "help" with "steadily boost": "Steadily boost" combines a strong, active verb ("boost") with an adverb ("steadily") that implies consistent, reliable improvement, making the claim much more persuasive and robust.

Select the strongest revision

Comparing "increase" and "steadily boost", "steadily boost" provides a more powerful, precise, and active description of the positive impact of year-round schooling on achievement, which most strengthens the editorial's concluding argument.

Answer:

• replacing "help" with "affect"
• replacing "help" with "likely support"
• replacing "help" with "increase"
• replacing "help" with "steadily boost" (Correct answer)