Should Mobile Phones Be Banned at School? — Persuasive Writing — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 7 persuasive writing writing prompt.
Year 7 · English · Persuasive Writing
Should Mobile Phones Be Banned at School? — Persuasive Writing — Answers
The prompt
Many Australian schools now require students to keep mobile phones switched off and locked away during the school day. Supporters say this improves concentration, reduces bullying and gets students talking to each other. Opponents say phones are useful learning tools and that students need to learn to manage them responsibly.
Should mobile phones be banned at school? Write a persuasive text for the school newsletter, read by students, parents and teachers.
A strong persuasive text at this level has:
• A contention stated confidently in the introduction, with a preview of the arguments.
• Three developed arguments, each with a topic sentence, evidence or example, and explanation of why it matters.
• A rebuttal that fairly states the strongest opposing argument and dismantles it.
• Persuasive devices chosen for the audience: rhetorical questions, inclusive language, emotive language, facts, expert opinion, anecdote, repetition.
• Cohesion: linking words and phrases that carry the reader from one idea to the next.
• A conclusion with a clear call to action.
Persuasive techniques
Identify the techniques you will use for a mixed audience of students, parents and teachers.
- Anecdote
- Inclusive language
- Expert opinion
- Emotive language
- Rhetorical question
- Appeal to logic
- Can anyone really learn algebra with a notification buzzing every ninety seconds?
- Last term my friend lost an entire lunchtime to a group chat argument that started in maths.
- If phones are locked away, there is nothing to film, nothing to post and nothing to fight about online during school hours.
- Teachers consistently report that lessons run more smoothly without phones.
- We all know how hard it is to put a phone down.
- Phones are quietly stealing our students' attention, hour by hour.
Answer: Anecdote → Last term my friend lost an entire lunchtime to a group chat argument that started in maths.; Inclusive language → We all know how hard it is to put a phone down.; Expert opinion → Teachers consistently report that lessons run more smoothly without phones.; Emotive language → Phones are quietly stealing our students' attention, hour by hour.; Rhetorical question → Can anyone really learn algebra with a notification buzzing every ninety seconds?; Appeal to logic → If phones are locked away, there is nothing to film, nothing to post and nothing to fight about online during school hours.
- APhones are not useful for learning.
- BThat is a silly argument and nobody believes it.
- CIt is true that phones can support learning; however, every school already provides laptops for that purpose, so a phone adds distraction without adding anything a laptop cannot do.
- DSome people think phones help learning but I disagree.
Answer: It is true that phones can support learning; however, every school already provides laptops for that purpose, so a phone adds distraction without adding anything a laptop cannot do.
The best rebuttal concedes what is true, then shows why the opposing point is outweighed.
Plan
Plan for seven minutes. Make sure each argument has evidence or an example.
Answer: Phones should be banned during school hours because they damage concentration, fuel bullying and replace real conversation.
Answer: Phones destroy concentration. A single notification pulls attention away for minutes, and lessons are only fifty minutes long. Lost focus means lost learning.
Answer: Phones make bullying easier and harder to escape. Photos and messages spread in seconds, and the victim cannot walk away. Locking phones away gives everyone a six-hour break.
Answer: Without phones, students actually talk at lunch. Playgrounds get louder, friendships form, and students practise the social skills they will need for life.
Answer: Opponents say students must learn to manage phones responsibly. True, but that skill is better learnt at home with family support than in a classroom where the cost of failure is everyone's learning.
Write
Model answer: Walk past any classroom at 2.15 pm and count the heads bent not over books but over screens. We tell ourselves phones are tools. In reality, for six hours a day, they are the single greatest obstacle between our students and their education. Mobile phones should be banned during school hours, and the reasons are simple: they damage concentration, they fuel bullying, and they are replacing real conversation with silent scrolling.
Success criteria:
- Contention is clear and the introduction previews the arguments
- Three arguments, each with a topic sentence, evidence or example, and explanation
- Rebuttal fairly states and dismantles the strongest opposing view
- At least four persuasive devices used deliberately and suited to the audience
- Cohesive links carry the reader between paragraphs
- Conclusion restates the contention and ends with a call to action
- Sentence structure, punctuation and spelling are accurate
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.