You have been asked to write an essay about whether pennies should be dropped from use as U.S. currency.
Which of the following contains the best thesis statement and supporting ideas for this essay?
Thesis statement:
Pennies are an environmental catastrophe.
Pennies are 97% copper and 3% zinc. These metals have to be mined, and mining destroys habitats and releases toxic chemicals. Mine waste causes air and water pollution. Open pit mines ruin scenic values.
Once mined, the metals used in pennies are smelted and purified. These processes involve chemical baths that produce mercury, sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, cadmium, lead, and other heavy metals, all of which are highly dangerous.
The fuel used in shipping minerals and pennies from the mine to the mint to the bank releases about 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air every year.
Thesis statement:
Pennies are a waste of time and money and should be phased out of use.
Who even bothers with pennies? I just toss them in the tip jar or the trash when I get change.
Nothing costs one cent or two or three. I think it is dumb to have a coin that you can’t buy anything with.
Coins are dirty and heavy and take up space in my pocket.
Thesis statement:
Pennies should remain a part of U.S. currency because eliminating them would cost more money than it saves.
It does cost the government two cents to make a penny. But if the penny is eliminated there will be more demand for nickels, and those cost eleven cents each to produce.
Without pennies, prices will probably be rounded up to the nearest nickel or dime, which will cost consumers millions of dollars a year and drive inflation.
The United States Mint has made approximately 300 billion pennies. It would cost the government a staggering amount to exchange and recycle all the coins in circulation.
Thesis statement:
Find a penny, pick it up… or not.
Penny drives, where children ask for pennies for charity, collect large numbers of the coins because people are happy to unload them.
Dropped pennies are so often left lying that vets regularly warn dog owners of the dangers of zinc poisoning from swallowing the abandoned coins.
Because pennies are awkward and have little buying power, there are more of them sitting in penny jars and couch cushions than in American wallets.
The best thesis statement and supporting ideas for this essay is:
Thesis statement:
Pennies should remain a part of U.S. currency because eliminating them would cost more money than it saves.
Supporting ideas:
1. It does cost the government two cents to make a penny. But if the penny is eliminated there will be more demand for nickels, and those cost eleven cents each to produce.
2. Without pennies, prices will probably be rounded up to the nearest nickel or dime, which will cost consumers millions of dollars a year and drive inflation.
3. The United States Mint has made approximately 300 billion pennies. It would cost the government a staggering amount to exchange and recycle all the coins in circulation.