Ban the Ban!

SidneyAnne Stone

Soda’s a Problem but …

Karin Klein
DIRECTIONS: Complete the following items after you have read the text.
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RI.8.5 Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular
sentences in developing and refining a key concept.

1. (a) Analyze the structure of a paragraph.

Briefly describe the structure of paragraph 1 of “Ban the Ban!” by explaining
how the ideas in the paragraph are related, or connected, to one another.

(b) Analyze the role of particular sentences.

In which sentence of paragraph 1 does the author state her main point?
What effect does she achieve by placing that sentence where she does?

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RI.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices
on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

2. Determine figurative meanings.

In paragraph 3 of “Ban the Ban!” the author says that to “allow the government to make choices on your
behalf” becomes a “very slippery slope.” What is the plain, or exact, meaning of the phrase “very slippery
slope”? How does this phrase help the author make her point?

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RI.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text.

3. (a) Cite textual evidence that supports what the text says explicitly.
Reread paragraph 3 of “Soda’s a Problem but… .” What does the paragraph say about the legal status of
the soda ban? Cite evidence in the text that supports this conclusion.

(b) Cite textual evidence that supports an inference drawn from the text.
What inference can you draw from paragraph 3 about the possibility that the mayor could overcome the
court’s concerns about the soda ban? Cite evidence in the text that supports this inference.

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RI.8.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges
and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

4. (a) Determine the author’s point of view.

What main opinion does the author of “Soda’s a Problem but …” have of the soda ban?
(b) Analyze the author’s response to a conflicting viewpoint.
Identify one place in which the author of “Soda’s a Problem but …” acknowledges a viewpoint that
conflicts with her own view of the soda ban.
Then, explain the author’s response to this conflicting viewpoint and describe
the evidence she uses.

Author’s Argument
DIRECTIONS: Complete the following activity as either a written response or a group discussion.
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RI.8.8 Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether
the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recognize when irrelevant evidence is
introduced.

5. Compare and contrast the arguments against the soda ban made in “Ban the Ban!” or “Soda’s a
Problem but … .” Explain what is similar about the viewpoints. Also, explain differences in the way the
authors support their viewpoint, and evaluate the effectiveness of each author’s argument.
Use these guidelines in your writing or discussion.
• Make a general statement about the shared viewpoint of the soda ban expressed in “Ban the Ban!”
and “Soda’s a Problem but … .”
• Explain how the authors of the two texts support their viewpoint. Which author relies mainly on
emotional appeals? Which author relies on examples of flaws or contradictions in the soda ban law?
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the two arguments.
• Cite details from the texts to support the points you make.

TIP FOR WRITTEN RESPONSE

Use transition words and phrases such as similarly, on the other hand, and in contrast
to show similarities and differences in the two texts.
TIP FOR DISCUSSION
Ask for evidence of one another’s claims or statements. For example, say
“What makes you think so?” or “What evidence can you cite for that?”
ANSWER KEY

Ban the Ban! / Soda’s a Problem but...

SidneyAnne Stone / Karin Klein

Answers Standards
1. (a) Most of the paragraph discusses two health laws that RI.8.5
the mayor of New York City has passed and that the author
respects and is willing to accept. The paragraph ends with
a statement of what she cannot accept.
(b) The author states her main point in the final
sentence of the paragraph. Placing the main point last calls
attention to the point and makes the reader want to
continue reading.

2. The plain meaning of “very slippery slope” is a course of RI.8.4

action that will prove dangerous. The author uses the
phrase to create an image of a risky path, which supports
her point that allowing the government to make choices
that should be made by the individual is the beginning of a
course of action or direction that will prove unwise and
even dangerous.
RI.8.1
3. (a) Paragraph 3 says that the soda ban has been halted by
a judge. The third sentence of the paragraph supports this
conclusion. It says that “… a judge stopped the new rules
from being implemented.”
(b) I can draw the inference that the mayor could
overcome the court’s objections about the soda ban.
Evidence in the text suggests that would be possible if the
mayor removed contradictions from the rules in the soda
ban law and if he could persuade the City Council to
approve the law.

4. (a) The author thinks the soda ban is wrong because it RI.8.6
interferes with citizens’ rights.
(b) In paragraph 6, the author acknowledges the
viewpoint that people are unable to resist sugar and need
the soda ban to protect them from corporations that take
advantage of their sugar cravings. The author rejects this
viewpoint. She offers two pieces of evidence to support her
response: people can easily get around the soda ban by
buying more than one drink, and people are not helpless to