Question

the district should move the high school start time to 9 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. __________ science has shown that sleep patterns shift later during adolescence; that means teens dont start feeling tired enough to fall asleep until 11 p.m. or later. if we have to be at school at 7:30 a.m., that means waking up by 6:00 at the latest in order to have time to get ready and eat breakfast, which adults are always telling us is the most important meal of the day. if you do the math, you can see that this leads to only seven hours of sleep on a good night. however, studies show that teenagers need between eight and ten hours of sleep to function optimally, i.e., learn everything we need to learn!
which sentence should rafia insert into the blank to maintain the tone of her essay?

1. a later start time will help students function at their best.
2. teenagers like to stay up late because they are set in their ways.
3. students who stay up too late struggle to make it through the day.
4. the unfairness of an early start time for teenagers cannot be understated.

Explanation:

The essay argues for a later high - school start time, using scientific evidence about teen sleep patterns. Option 1 ("A later start time will help students function at their best") aligns with the tone of presenting a logical, evidence - based reason for the change. Option 2 misinterprets teen sleep patterns as a matter of being "set in their ways", which is not supported by the essay's scientific approach. Option 3 focuses on the negative of staying up late rather than the positive of a later start time. Option 4 uses a more emotional and less objective tone ("unfairness... cannot be understated") which doesn't match the essay's factual, persuasive tone.

Answer:

1. A later start time will help students function at their best.