My mom is always repeating the same old joke: if your friends all jumped off a cliff, would you jump, too? of course not. but i get what she means. she's talking about peer pressure. teenagers like us live with it every day. pretty much every kid wants to be liked, to have friends, to be popular. no one wants people to think they aren't cool. while peer pressure is tough, giving in to it and getting in trouble is tougher.

but teenagers are still learning to make good decisions. like this one time my friend harold wanted to take his dad's prized jeep grand cherokee for a drive. harold was 13, and he'd never driven a car before. but he figured he knew enough about operating a motor vehicle just by watching his parents drive. when his parents were out of town one weekend, harold invited me and some of our friends over to his house so he could take us for a drive. i said, "not me," because i knew it was a stupid thing to do. i told him and everybody else what i thought of the idea. (driving isn't easy. it took my big brother weeks to get the hang of it.) harold got mad and told me i was being a chicken. i said, "i'd rather be a chicken than get in an accident and have a broken leg."

what is the thesis statement of this passage?

he knew enough about operating a motor vehicle just by watching his parents drive.

while peer pressure is tough, giving in to it and getting in trouble is tougher.

driving isn't easy. it took my big brother weeks to get the hang of it.

no one wants people to think they aren't cool.

Create a well-crafted essay of 1-2 pages outlining a likely theory of king tutankhamun’s death at the age of nineteen. your goal is to convince peers your age that this is the most reasonable theory according to the evidence. incorporate the subjunctive and conditional moods within your writing. use the following rubric to guide your writing. remember to check your spelling (by using a spell checker and also against the original text) to ensure the proper spelling of names and places in king tut’s world. reminder: spell checkers are great, but they’re not always right. think about terms specific to egypt or even tutankhamun’s name. a spell checker won’t know if you’re spelling these correctly, so check with the reading to keep consistent. rubric criterion exceptional capable developing beginning points earned ideas & content main claim supporting details sources are cited clear, focused, interesting ideas with appropriate detail, sources are cited evident main idea with some support which may be general or limited, sources are mentioned main idea may be unclear; supporting detail is vague or off topic, some source information used central idea or theme is not stated; supporting detail may be nonexistent, no sources mentioned organization structure (claim/counterclaim) introduction conclusion strong organization; seamless paragraph transitions; effective and engaging intro and conclusion organization is appropriate but conventional; attempt at introduction and conclusion attempts at organization, inappropriate use of lists or bullets; introduction and conclusion are not developed no introduction or conclusion; no clear organizational framework or transitions voice personality sense of audience appropriate to audience; expressive, engaging, sincere voice is appropriate to topic, but inconsistent or dry voice may be inappropriate; writing may seem mechanical writer’s voice is inappropriate or nonexistent word choice precision effectiveness imagery broad range of descriptive words; creative examples, vivid details and images language is functional and appropriate; descriptions may lack detail or be overdone words may be correct but simplistic; no attempt at detail, description, or examples word choice is limited, words are often misused; supporting detail and examples are nonexistent sentence fluency rhythm, flow variety easy flow and rhythm; good variety in length and structure sentences are appropriate but lack variety and length awkward phrasing and structure, similar patterns and choppy language sentences are incomplete or difficult to follow, language is confusing conventions age appropriate spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar strong use of correct conventions; errors are few and minor most writing conventions correct; occasional high profile errors frequent errors; most do not interfere with readability frequent errors interfere with readability