Answer: The mayor and members of the city council, at a city council meeting (during public comment).

Answer: It confuses them, so they circle lit buildings until they are exhausted or fly into windows they cannot see.

Answer: Turn off nonessential lights in city-owned buildings from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. during migration seasons; encourage downtown businesses to do the same; share information so families can help by closing blinds and switching off unneeded porch lights.

Answer: a count of more than forty birds found near three downtown buildings in six weeks

Her club walked the sidewalks around three office buildings and picked up more than forty birds in six weeks.

Answer: It establishes who she is and why she has a right to speak: she is a local student who is part of an environmental club and has done volunteer work. This builds credibility and goodwill with the council before she makes her argument.

Answer: She describes one small bird that “fit in the palm of my hand” and had crossed “half a continent,” then died “a block from where we're sitting now.” Focusing on one creature makes the problem personal and sad, and placing the death nearby makes the council feel responsible.

Answer: Any two: the club's count of more than forty birds in six weeks; the explanation that night migrants use the stars and are confused by light; turning off lights saves electricity and taxpayer money; it costs almost nothing; other Texas cities and building owners already do it.

Answer: She acknowledges it as “a fair question,” then clarifies that she is not asking to turn off streetlights or safety lighting, only empty offices, decorative floodlights and signs. Addressing the concern directly shows she is reasonable and makes her request seem limited and easy to accept.

Answer: to make her request seem simple and achievable, so the council is more willing to act

Presenting the solution as easy and cheap lowers resistance to her proposal.

Answer: It ends on a warm, personal memory that links birds to family and future generations. It leaves the council with an emotional image of what could be lost, then moves straight into a clear call to action: “Please vote to turn the lights out.”

Answer: lure birds in and harm them, even though no one intends it

Like a trap, the lights draw birds in and cause harm.

Answer: The short, simple sentences sound confident and direct. They emphasize how little the council must do, which makes refusing seem hard to justify.

Answer: not necessary

The prefix non- means not; essential means necessary.

Answer: She is answering the idea that one city can't make a difference: birds meet real, local buildings, so each city's choices directly affect them.

Model answer: Dana Ortiz persuades the city council by carefully balancing credibility, emotion and logic. She builds ethos from the start, introducing herself as “a junior at Lakeview High School” and a member of the Environmental Club, which shows she is a local resident with a genuine interest in the issue. Her firsthand evidence strengthens this: her club “picked up more than forty birds” in six weeks, proving she has seen the problem herself. Dana then appeals to logos by explaining the cause clearly: night migrants use the stars, and artificial light confuses them so they circle buildings “until they are exhausted.” She also anticipates objections. By calling safety “a fair question” and explaining that she is not asking to turn off streetlights, she makes her request seem reasonable, and she adds a practical benefit by pointing out that turning off lights “saves taxpayers money.” Finally, Dana uses pathos to make the council care. The story of the Wilson's warbler that “fit in the palm of my hand” and died “a block from where we're sitting now” turns a statistic into a single, vulnerable life and places responsibility close to home. Her closing memory of her grandmother saying “Listen. They're back” connects the issue to family and future generations. By combining evidence, a reasonable response to objections and emotional storytelling, Dana makes it difficult for the council to say no to such a simple request.