homework one sentence

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HOMEWORK in a Sentence Examples: 21 Ways to Use Homework

Have you ever found yourself struggling with completing your homework on time? Homework refers to academic tasks assigned to students by teachers to be completed outside of regular class time. It provides an opportunity for students to practice and apply what they have learned in class.

Completing homework assignments is essential for reinforcing concepts taught in class, as well as developing important skills such as time management and critical thinking. By working on homework independently, students can deepen their understanding of the material and improve their academic performance.

Table of Contents

7 Examples Of Homework Used In a Sentence For Kids

• Homework is important for learning.
• I do my homework every day after school.
• My teacher gives us homework to do.
• I need to finish my homework before dinner.
• Homework helps me practice what I learn in class.
• I ask my parents for help with my homework .
• It is fun to complete my homework on time.

14 Sentences with Homework Examples

• I have so much homework to finish before the deadline.
• Homework is piling up, and I don’t know where to start.
• I can’t go out tonight because I have too much homework to do.
• Let’s meet up at the library to work on our homework together.
• I wish I didn’t have to stay up late to complete my homework .
• It’s hard to concentrate on my homework with all the noise in the dorm room.
• I need to find a quiet place on campus to focus on my homework .
• Homework is always on my mind, even during breaks between classes.
• I never leave my room without my backpack full of homework assignments.
• My grades are suffering because I keep procrastinating on my homework .
• I have a group project due next week, and everyone needs to do their part of the homework .
• I find it challenging to balance extracurricular activities with all the homework I have.
• Submitting homework online has made it easier to turn in assignments on time.
• I have to set reminders on my phone to make sure I don’t forget about homework deadlines.

How To Use Homework in Sentences?

Homework is used to refer to assignments or tasks given to students by teachers to be completed outside of class. Homework is an important part of a student’s learning process, as it helps reinforce the concepts taught in class and allows students to practice applying their knowledge.

To use Homework in a sentence, you can say: – “I have a lot of homework to do tonight.” – “Make sure you complete your homework before tomorrow’s class.” – “She spends hours every night working on her homework assignments.”

In each of these sentences, Homework is used to describe the schoolwork that students are required to do outside of the classroom. It is important to remember that Homework is singular, so it is always followed by a singular verb.

When using Homework in a sentence, it is helpful to consider the context in which it is being used. Make sure to use the word appropriately in a sentence that makes sense and conveys the intended meaning. Practice using Homework in sentences to become more comfortable with its usage in everyday language.

In conclusion, homework plays a crucial role in reinforcing classroom learning and enhancing students’ understanding of concepts. As seen in various examples of sentences with homework, it serves as a tool for practice, revision, and application of knowledge. Additionally, completing homework tasks can help students develop time management skills, responsibility, and self-discipline.

While some may argue that homework can be overwhelming, with proper organization and prioritization, it can be a valuable learning tool. By carefully crafting sentences with homework, we can understand its importance in the educational process. Ultimately, homework should be seen as a beneficial exercise that complements classroom instruction and contributes to students’ academic growth and development.

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Definition of homework

Examples of homework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near homework

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“Homework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homework. Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.

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“Homework” in a Sentence (with Audio)

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homework (n): work that teachers give their students to do at home

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schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom ( distinguished from classwork ).

a single assignment of such schoolwork: Homeworks are due at the beginning of class.

paid work done at home , as piecework.

thorough preparatory study of a subject: to do one's homework for the next committee meeting.

Origin of homework

Words nearby homework.

• homewrecker
• homichlophobia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use homework in a sentence

Now, they log on to Zoom from their bedrooms, surrounded by unfinished homework assignments and tattered stuffed animals, waiting to be assigned calls, texts and emails by the trained therapists who oversee the program.

Yow started her homework and saw Frese had gone 35-22 with two winning seasons at Ball State, which hadn’t had a winning record in its previous nine seasons.

Do some homework before investing in a diamond, and that lifelong commitment.

Another poster included an image of their losses over what appeared to be online math homework .

As we countdown to Inauguration Day, I've been doing my homework —and looking to the past for inspiration.

“I can help my children with their homework and sometimes we text in English at my job,” Santos says.

Scheunemann, meanwhile, had no idea who Spencer was, and did some homework .

She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework .

And we encourage parent-student “contracts,” for class attendance, homework submission and even extra-curriculum activities.

Adicéam did his homework , spending 50 days collecting pieces, many with unexpected stories behind them.

Much of this homework is done by a very bad light and the boy's eyes suffer much.

For homework we have prepared alphabets where the letters are printed in type-writing order.

His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework .

Only at the time when he was going to Beauregard School, with his homework .

And once a week or twice a week she was sending her homework or something to him.

British Dictionary definitions for homework

/ ( ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk ) /

school work done out of lessons, esp at home

any preparatory study

work done at home for pay

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with homework

see do one's homework.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 5 best homework help websites (free and paid).

Other High School , General Education

Listen: we know homework isn’t fun, but it is a good way to reinforce the ideas and concepts you’ve learned in class. But what if you’re really struggling with your homework assignments? 

If you’ve looked online for a little extra help with your take-home assignments, you’ve probably stumbled across websites claiming to provide the homework help and answers students need to succeed . But can homework help sites really make a difference? And if so, which are the best homework help websites you can use? 

Below, we answer these questions and more about homework help websites–free and paid. We’ll go over: 

• The basics of homework help websites 
• The cost of homework help websites 
• The five best homework websites out there 
• The pros and cons of using these websites for homework help 
• The line between “learning” and “cheating” when using online homework help 
• Tips for getting the most out of a homework help website

So let’s get started! 

The Basics About Homework Help Websites–Free and Paid

Homework help websites are designed to help you complete your homework assignments, plain and simple. 

What Makes a Homework Help Site Worth Using

Most of the best sites allow users to ask questions and then provide an answer (or multiple possible answers) and explanation in seconds. In some instances, you can even send a photo of a particular assignment or problem instead of typing the whole thing out! 

Homework help sites also offer more than just help answering homework questions. Common services provided are Q&A with experts, educational videos, lectures, practice tests and quizzes, learning modules, math solving tools, and proofreading help. Homework help sites can also provide textbook solutions (i.e. answers to problems in tons of different textbooks your school might be using), one-on-one tutoring, and peer-to-peer platforms that allow you to discuss subjects you’re learning about with your fellow students. 

And best of all, nearly all of them offer their services 24/7, including tutoring! 

What You Should Should Look Out For

When it comes to homework help, there are lots–and we mean lots –of scam sites out there willing to prey on desperate students. Before you sign up for any service, make sure you read reviews to ensure you’re working with a legitimate company. 

A word to the wise: the more a company advertises help that veers into the territory of cheating, the more likely it is to be a scam. The best homework help websites are going to help you learn the concepts you’ll need to successfully complete your homework on your own. (We’ll go over the difference between “homework help” and “cheating” a little later!) 

You don't need a golden piggy bank to use homework help websites. Some provide low or no cost help for students like you!

How Expensive Are the Best Homework Help Websites?

First of all, just because a homework help site costs money doesn’t mean it’s a good service. Likewise, just because a homework help website is free doesn’t mean the help isn’t high quality. To find the best websites, you have to take a close look at the quality and types of information they provide! 

When it comes to paid homework help services, the prices vary pretty widely depending on the amount of services you want to subscribe to. Subscriptions can cost anywhere from $2 to $150 dollars per month, with the most expensive services offering several hours of one-on-one tutoring with a subject expert per month.

The 5 Best Homework Help Websites 

So, what is the best homework help website you can use? The answer is that it depends on what you need help with. 

The best homework help websites are the ones that are reliable and help you learn the material. They don’t just provide answers to homework questions–they actually help you learn the material. 

That’s why we’ve broken down our favorite websites into categories based on who they’re best for . For instance, the best website for people struggling with math might not work for someone who needs a little extra help with science, and vice versa. 

Keep reading to find the best homework help website for you! 

Best Free Homework Help Site: Khan Academy

• Price: Free!
• Best for: Practicing tough material 

Not only is Khan Academy free, but it’s full of information and can be personalized to suit your needs. When you set up your account , you choose which courses you need to study, and Khan Academy sets up a personal dashboard of instructional videos, practice exercises, and quizzes –with both correct and incorrect answer explanations–so you can learn at your own pace. 

As an added bonus, it covers more course topics than many other homework help sites, including several AP classes.

Runner Up: Brainly.com offers a free service that allows you to type in questions and get answers and explanations from experts. The downside is that you’re limited to two answers per question and have to watch ads. 

Best Paid Homework Help Site: Chegg

• Price: $14.95 to $19.95 per month
• Best for: 24/7 homework assistance  

This service has three main parts . The first is Chegg Study, which includes textbook solutions, Q&A with subject experts, flashcards, video explanations, a math solver, and writing help. The resources are thorough, and reviewers state that Chegg answers homework questions quickly and accurately no matter when you submit them.  

Chegg also offers textbook rentals for students who need access to textbooks outside of their classroom. Finally, Chegg offers Internship and Career Advice for students who are preparing to graduate and may need a little extra help with the transition out of high school. 

Another great feature Chegg provides is a selection of free articles geared towards helping with general life skills, like coping with stress and saving money. Chegg’s learning modules are comprehensive, and they feature solutions to the problems in tons of different textbooks in a wide variety of subjects. 

Runner Up: Bartleby offers basically the same services as Chegg for $14.99 per month. The reason it didn’t rank as the best is based on customer reviews that say user questions aren’t answered quite as quickly on this site as on Chegg. Otherwise, this is also a solid choice!

Best Site for Math Homework Help: Photomath

• Price: Free (or $59.99 per year for premium services) 
• Best for: Explaining solutions to math problems

This site allows you to t ake a picture of a math problem, and instantly pulls up a step-by-step solution, as well as a detailed explanation of the concept. Photomath also includes animated videos that break down mathematical concepts to help you better understand and remember them. 

The basic service is free, but for an additional fee you can get extra study tools and learn additional strategies for solving common math problems.

Runner Up: KhanAcademy offers in-depth tutorials that cover complex math topics for free, but you won’t get the same tailored help (and answers!) that Photomath offers. 

Best Site for English Homework Help: Princeton Review Academic Tutoring

• Price: $40 to $153 per month, depending on how many hours of tutoring you want 
• Best for: Comprehensive and personalized reading and writing help 

While sites like Grammarly and Sparknotes help you by either proofreading what you write via an algorithm or providing book summaries, Princeton Review’s tutors provide in-depth help with vocabulary, literature, essay writing and development, proofreading, and reading comprehension. And unlike other services, you’ll have the chance to work with a real person to get help. 

The best part is that you can get on-demand English (and ESL) tutoring from experts 24/7. That means you can get help whenever you need it, even if you’re pulling an all-nighter! 

This is by far the most expensive homework site on this list, so you’ll need to really think about what you need out of a homework help website before you commit. One added benefit is that the subscription covers over 80 other subjects, including AP classes, which can make it a good value if you need lots of help!  

Best Site for STEM Homework Help: Studypool

• Best for: Science homework help
• Price: Varies; you’ll pay for each question you submit

When it comes to science homework help, there aren’t a ton of great resources out there. The best of the bunch is Studypool, and while it has great reviews, there are some downsides as well. 

Let’s start with the good stuff. Studypool offers an interesting twist on the homework help formula. After you create a free account, you can submit your homework help questions, and tutors will submit bids to answer your questions. You’ll be able to select the tutor–and price point–that works for you, then you’ll pay to have your homework question answered. You can also pay a small fee to access notes, lectures, and other documents that top tutors have uploaded. 

The downside to Studypool is that the pricing is not transparent . There’s no way to plan for how much your homework help will cost, especially if you have lots of questions! Additionally, it’s not clear how tutors are selected, so you’ll need to be cautious when you choose who you’d like to answer your homework questions.  

What Are the Pros and Cons of Using Homework Help Sites?

Homework help websites can be a great resource if you’re struggling in a subject, or even if you just want to make sure that you’re really learning and understanding topics and ideas that you’re interested in. But, there are some possible drawbacks if you don’t use these sites responsibly. 

We’ll go over the good–and the not-so-good–aspects of getting online homework help below. 

3 Pros of Using Homework Help Websites 

First, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

#1: Better Grades Beyond Homework

This is a big one! Getting outside help with your studies can improve your understanding of concepts that you’re learning, which translates into better grades when you take tests or write essays. 

Remember: homework is designed to help reinforce the concepts you learned in class. If you just get easy answers without learning the material behind the problems, you may not have the tools you need to be successful on your class exams…or even standardized tests you’ll need to take for college. 

#2: Convenience

One of the main reasons that online homework help is appealing is because it’s flexible and convenient. You don’t have to go to a specific tutoring center while they’re open or stay after school to speak with your teacher. Instead, you can access helpful resources wherever you can access the internet, whenever you need them.

This is especially true if you tend to study at off hours because of your extracurriculars, work schedule, or family obligations. Sites that offer 24/7 tutoring can give you the extra help you need if you can’t access the free resources that are available at your school. 

#3: Variety

Not everyone learns the same way. Maybe you’re more of a visual learner, but your teacher mostly does lectures. Or maybe you learn best by listening and taking notes, but you’re expected to learn something just from reading the textbook . 

One of the best things about online homework help is that it comes in a variety of forms. The best homework help sites offer resources for all types of learners, including videos, practice activities, and even one-on-one discussions with real-life experts. 

This variety can also be a good thing if you just don’t really resonate with the way a concept is being explained (looking at you, math textbooks!).

Not so fast. There are cons to homework help websites, too. Get to know them below!

3 Cons of Using Homework Help Websites 

Now, let’s take a look at the drawbacks of online homework help. 

#1: Unreliable Info

This can be a real problem. In addition to all the really good homework help sites, there are a whole lot of disreputable or unreliable sites out there. The fact of the matter is that some homework help sites don’t necessarily hire people who are experts in the subjects they’re talking about. In those cases, you may not be getting the accurate, up-to-date, and thorough information you need.

Additionally, even the great sites may not be able to answer all of your homework questions. This is especially true if the site uses an algorithm or chatbot to help students…or if you’re enrolled in an advanced or college-level course. In these cases, working with your teacher or school-provided tutors are probably your best option. 

#2: No Clarification

This depends on the service you use, of course. But the majority of them provide free or low-cost help through pre-recorded videos. Watching videos or reading info online can definitely help you with your homework… but you can’t ask questions or get immediate feedback if you need it .

#3: Potential For Scamming 

Like we mentioned earlier, there are a lot of homework help websites out there, and lots of them are scams. The review comments we read covered everything from outdated or wrong information, to misleading claims about the help provided, to not allowing people to cancel their service after signing up. 

No matter which site you choose to use, make sure you research and read reviews before you sign up–especially if it’s a paid service! 

When Does “Help” Become “Cheating”?

Admittedly, whether using homework help websites constitutes cheating is a bit of a grey area. For instance, is it “help” when a friend reads your essay for history class and corrects your grammar, or is it “cheating”? The truth is, not everyone agrees on when “help” crosses the line into “cheating .” When in doubt, it can be a good idea to check with your teacher to see what they think about a particular type of help you want to get. 

That said, a general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to make sure that the assignment you turn in for credit is authentically yours . It needs to demonstrate your own thoughts and your own current abilities. Remember: the point of every homework assignment is to 1) help you learn something, and 2) show what you’ve learned. 

So if a service answers questions or writes essays for you, there’s a good chance using it constitutes cheating. 

Here’s an example that might help clarify the difference for you. Brainstorming essay ideas with others or looking online for inspiration is “help” as long as you write the essay yourself. Having someone read it and give you feedback about what you need to change is also help, provided you’re the one that makes the changes later. 

But copying all or part of an essay you find online or having someone write (or rewrite) the whole thing for you would be “cheating.” The same is true for other subjects. Ultimately, if you’re not generating your own work or your own answers, it’s probably cheating.

5 Tips for Finding the Best Homework Help Websites for You

Now that you know some of our favorite homework help websites, free and paid, you can start doing some additional research on your own to decide which services might work best for you! Here are some top tips for choosing a homework help website. 

Tip 1: Decide How You Learn Best 

Before you decide which site or sites you’re going to use for homework help, y ou should figure out what kind of learning style works for you the most. Are you a visual learner? Then choose a site that uses lots of videos to help explain concepts. If you know you learn best by actually doing tasks, choose a site that provides lots of practice exercises.

Tip 2: Determine Which Subjects You Need Help With

Just because a homework help site is good overall doesn’t mean that it’s equally good for every subject. If you only need help in math, choose a site that specializes in that area. But if history is where you’re struggling, a site that specializes in math won’t be much help. So make sure to choose a site that you know provides high-quality help in the areas you need it most. 

Tip 3: Decide How Much One-On-One Help You Need 

This is really about cost-effectiveness. If you learn well on your own by reading and watching videos, a free site like Khan Academy is a good choice. But if you need actual tutoring, or to be able to ask questions and get personalized answers from experts, a paid site that provides that kind of service may be a better option.

Tip 4: Set a Budget 

If you decide you want to go with a paid homework help website, set a budget first . The prices for sites vary wildly, and the cost to use them can add up quick. 

Tip 5: Read the Reviews

Finally, it’s always a good idea to read actual reviews written by the people using these homework sites. You’ll learn the good, the bad, and the ugly of what the users’ experiences have been. This is especially true if you intend to subscribe to a paid service. You’ll want to make sure that users think it’s worth the price overall!

What’s Next?

If you want to get good grades on your homework, it’s a good idea to learn how to tackle it strategically. Our expert tips will help you get the most out of each assignment…and boost your grades in the process. 

Doing well on homework assignments is just one part of getting good grades. We’ll teach you everything you need to know about getting great grades in high school in this article. 

Of course, test grades can make or break your GPA, too. Here are 17 expert tips that’ll help you get the most out of your study prep before you take an exam. 

Need more help? Check out Tutorbase!

Our vetted tutor database includes a range of experienced educators who can help you polish an essay for English or explain how derivatives work for Calculus. You can use dozens of filters and search criteria to find the perfect person for your needs.

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Senior Contributing Editor

Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

She can be reached at [email protected] .

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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Simple Sentences: Definition, Examples, & Exercises

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Do you remember the first time you learned how to write a sentence? Most of us are taught how to put three words together to make sentences in kindergarten: I like dogs. She eats cookies. Games are fun! Sound familiar? These three-word sentences are one of the most basic types of simple sentences , and they serve as a foundation to forming more complex sentences. However, simple sentences are not always as simple as three-word sentences. 

In this post we’ll review what simple sentences are, the parts of a simple sentence, and different ways to create simple sentences. 

Once you’re feeling confident, test yourself with a post-assessment quiz and practice with our high quality, standards-aligned questions here .

What We Review

The Basics of Simple Sentences

What are Simple Sentences?

A simple sentence is a sentence containing only one clause, or more specifically, an independent clause, with a subject and a predicate. 

A simple sentence is typically made up of a subject , verb , and object , or SVO , and creates a complete thought;  however, since a simple predicate is a verb or verb phrase only, a simple sentence can also be made up of only a subject and verb (SV).

Subject + Verb + Object (SVO)

• Jessie ate dinner.

Subject + Verb (SV)

• Jessie ate.

Both of these examples are grammatically correct simple sentences, but including an object helps to clarify the full idea of the sentence.

Despite their name, simple sentences can include things that are not so simple. Let’s review the use of modifiers , compound subjects , and compound verbs/predicates in simple sentences.

Modifiers in Simple Sentences

Modifiers are words or phrases that can be included in simple sentences to add more detail. Let’s see how we can modify the simple sentence used above:

Adding Articles/Adjectives

• The hungry Jessie ate a large dinner.

Adding Adverbs

• The hungry Jessie quickly ate a very large dinner.

Adding a Prepositional Phrase

• The hungry Jessie quickly ate a very large dinner after a long day at work .

All of these examples still qualify as simple sentences, because they are all independent clauses that convey a complete thought.

Pro Tip: Ask yourself how the sentence is changed as a result of a modifier.

Compound Subjects in Simple Sentences

Compound subjects are two or more nouns or pronouns sharing the same verb. They are joined using coordinate or correlative conjunctions.

Compound Subjects Using Coordinate Conjunctions

• Jessie and Jade ate dinner.
• Jessie or Jade ate dinner.
• Jessie, Jade, and Titus ate dinner.

Compound Subjects Using Correlative Conjunctions

• Both Jessie and Jade ate dinner.
• Neither Jessie nor Jade ate dinner.

Even with two or more simple subjects, these examples are independent clauses conveying a complete thought, so they are still simple sentences.

Compound Verbs/Predicates in Simple Sentences

Compound verbs, or compound predicates, are two or more verbs/predicates that share the same subject. This may be written as simply as a subject performing multiple verbs (simple predicates) or, more elaborately, as a subject performing multiple complete predicates. The compound verbs/predicates are joined by a conjunction.

Compound Verbs/Simple Predicates

• Jessie cooked and ate dinner.
• Jessie rinsed and washed the dishes.

Compound Predicates

• Jessie ate dinner and washed the dishes .
• Jessie cooked dinner and rinsed the dishes

Again, these examples are all independent clauses conveying a complete thought. So even with multiple verbs, a sentence can be a simple sentence.

Return to the Table of Contents

Tips for Using and Identifying Simple Sentences

Tip #1: Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) Simple Sentences Can be Arranged in Different Ways.

While a simple sentence is typically expected to contain a subject, verb, and object, this does not always mean that the subject will be the first thing we see in a sentence. When we place parts of the predicate at the beginning of the sentence or ask a question, the standard SVO arrangement of a simple sentence will vary.

Placing a Part of the Predicate Before the Subject

When the predicate, or verb + object portion of the sentence contains a prepositional phrase or adverb, they can appear at the beginning of the sentence followed by a comma. Check out the following examples to see sentences in both their standard forms and rearranged forms:

Prepositional Phrase:

• We completed our homework after school .
• After school , we completed our homework.
• I ran quickly to the store.
• Quickly , I ran to the store.

Asking a Question

Sentences that ask a question are called interrogative sentences, and they are often simple sentences. Some questions start with the main verb or part of the verb phrase. Look at the examples below to see the placement of the verb in both a question and the statement form of the question:

• Will it rain tomorrow?
• It will rain tomorrow.  
• Has the race been postponed?
• The race has been postponed.
• Were you sick today?
• You were sick today.

Tip #2: Avoid using too many basic simple sentences in your writing.

Remember, basic simple sentences are the first type of sentence we learn how to write. So it’s probably safe to assume that filling our writing with three or four word sentences is not the best idea. Too many simple sentences close together can sound choppy and disconnected. Always revise your work to see where simple sentences can be edited to create more sophisticated writing.

Combine Simple Sentences

If you have a string of very basic simple sentences in your writing, you can probably combine some of those sentences into compound sentences.

• He loves baseball. He first played little league baseball. He joined the baseball team in middle school.
• He loves baseball and played little league before joining the baseball team in middle school.

Tip #3: Add more detail.

There’s nothing wrong with using simple sentences in your writing, but you can (and should) use modifiers to enhance simple sentences when possible.

Basic Simple Sentence:

• I visited Chichén Itzá.
• On my vacation to Mexico, I visited the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá.

Applying the Basics: Simple Sentences Review & Practice

Now that you understand what simple sentences are, and how to use them properly in your writing, let’s practice identifying them. Remember, a simple sentence is a sentence that contains one independent clause, or one complete thought.

Simple Sentences Exercises & Review

Complete the quick exercise below to assess your mastery of simple sentences.

Determine if the sentence is a simple sentence or not.

1. I finally received my passport for our trip overseas.

• Simple Sentence

2. Last week, she told the funniest joke in the middle of the meeting.

3. Tim went to the store, and he bought a new laptop for school.

• Not a Simple Sentence

4. Julie and Paige went to the amusement park and rode a rollercoaster.

5. I was exhausted after working all day.

For additional practice, check out the Simple Sentences content on Albert.

Try for Yourself: Simple Sentences Quiz

Feeling confident in your understanding of Simple Sentences?

Take this short quiz to see what you’ve learned:

1. Can a simple sentence have more than one subject?

• Answer: Yes
• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A simple sentence can have more than one subject, or a compound subject, if they are sharing the same verb. The subjects are joined using coordinate or correlative conjunctions.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right. A simple sentence can have more than one subject, or a compound subject, if they are sharing the same verb. The subjects are joined using coordinate or correlative conjunctions.

2. Can a simple sentence be a single dependent clause?

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A simple sentence must be a single independent clause in order to be a simple sentence. It is a complete thought and can stand alone. A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete thought.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right. A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete thought. A simple sentence must be a single independent clause in order to be a simple sentence. It is a complete thought and can stand alone.

3. Can a simple sentence have more than one verb?

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A simple sentence can have more than one verb ( compound verb/simple predicate ) or more than one complete predicate ( compound predicate ) if they share the same subject. They are combined using a conjunction.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right. A simple sentence can have more than one verb ( compound verb/simple predicate ) or more than one complete predicate ( compound predicate ) if they share the same subject. They are combined using a conjunction.

4. Does a simple sentence always start with the subject?

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A simple sentence can start with part of the predicate. This might be a prepositional phrase, and adverb, or a question.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right. A simple sentence can start with part of the predicate. This might be a prepositional phrase, and adverb, or a question.

5. Is the following example a simple sentence?

After eating breakfast, Hayley went to dance practice, and she prepared for her performance.

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A simple sentence can have more than one predicate when that predicate shares the same subject. In this sentence, there are two independent clauses: After eating breakfast, Hayley went to dance practice. She prepared for her performance.
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right. A simple sentence can have more than one predicate when that predicate shares the same subject. In this sentence, there are two independent clauses: After eating breakfast, Hayley went to dance practice. She prepared for her performance.

6. Is the following example a simple sentence?

Jim and Amy thoroughly cleared out the basement and hired contractors for a remodel.

• Correct Explanation: That’s right! A simple sentence can have compound subjects and compound predicates as long as they form one complete thought. The subjects share the predicates, and the predicates share the subjects . In this case, the compound subject “Jim and Amy” share the compound predicates “thoroughly cleared out the basement” and “hired contractors for a remodel.”
• Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right. A simple sentence can have compound subjects and compound predicates as long as they form one complete thought. The subjects share the predicates, and the predicates share the subjects . In this case, the compound subject “Jim and Amy” share the compound predicates “thoroughly cleared out the basement” and “hired contractors for a remodel.”

For additional practice with simple sentences, check out our completely free practice on Albert.io: Simple Sentences .

Teacher’s Corner for Simple Sentences

While it’s true that simple sentences are a foundational grammar skill, the Common Core English Language Progressive Skills Chart shows that even elementary-level skills “require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking.” 

For specific standards addressing simple sentences, check out the Common Core State Standards site! 

Albert’s grammar course is 100% free, and the Simple Sentences practices can be used for much more than homework! 

Our assessments can be used as pre-and post-tests to measure student progress. Our pre-made quizzes can be used as bell-ringers, exit tickets, and more! 

In addition to our pre-made assessments, you can also use our assignments feature to create your own quizzes and assessments.

Summary on Simple Sentences

Simple sentences are sentences containing one independent clause, with a subject and a predicate.

Modifiers, compound subjects, and compound verbs/predicates can be used in simple sentences.

The standard arrangement of a simple sentence is subject + verb + object, or SVO order. This can vary by arranging parts of the predicate before the subject.

Practice makes perfect! Use our Simple Sentences practice on Albert’s completely free grammar course !

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Grade 1 Sentences Worksheets

Writing full sentences.

Making sentences : Cut and paste words to make sentences.

Word cards : Re-arrange word cards to make multiple sentences.

Writing sentences : Write a sentence (word bank) and draw a picture.

Jumbled sentences : Put the words in the correct order.

Sentences and fragments : Distinguish between full sentences and sentence fragments.

Subjects and predicates : Join the subjects and predicates to make full sentences.

Sentence composition : Describe a picture in one sentence (no word bank).

Descriptive sentences : Write 2-3 sentences about a picture (no word bank).

Declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences

Declarative sentences : Rewrite and write declarative sentences (statements).

Imperative sentences : Rewrite and write imperative sentences (commands).

Interrogative sentences : Rewrite and write interrogative sentences (questions).

Exclamatory sentences : Rewrite and write exclamatory sentences.

Types of sentences : Classify sentences by type (statement, question, ...).

Changing sentence types : Change a statement to a question, etc.

3 types of sentences : Write 3 different types of sentences about the same image.

Conjunctions

Combine sentences with "and" : Rewrite 2 sentences as one using "and".

Combine sentences with "so" :  Rewrite 2 sentences as one using "so".

Combine sentences with "but" : Rewrite 2 sentences as one using "but".

Combine sentences with "or" : Rewrite 2 sentences as one using "or".

Combine sentences with "because" : Rewrite 2 sentences as one using "because".

Using conjunctions : Select the right conjunction (and, so, but, or) to join the sentences.

Sample grade 1 sentences worksheet

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The FTX Saga Twist That Might Save SBF in Sentencing

He could still get up to a century in prison..

Sam Bankman-Fried is due to be sentenced on March 28 for his litany of federal fraud convictions. It is probably going to be ugly. Exactly how ugly? We have a better idea now than we did a few months ago.

At his trial last fall, the founder of the melted-down FTX crypto exchange lost on all seven fraud and money laundering charges he faced. The story that emerged was one of Bankman-Fried not as an oaf who made mistakes but as a mastermind who manipulated a whole scheme to defraud lots of people out of lots of money. Roughly $8 billion of FTX customer funds went to Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund, which lost it , even as Bankman-Fried advertised his exchange as a responsible steward of his customers’ assets. The convictions carry the potential of more than 100 years in prison, and Bankman-Fried is such an unsympathetic convict that at first glance there’s no reason to expect anything less than a decadeslong stint behind bars. In a presentencing report, a probation officer recommended to the judge that SBF get exactly 100 years, and those reports tend to be influential.

But something surprising has happened since Bankman-Fried’s conviction: The professionals running FTX’s bankruptcy have started to sound optimistic that the exchange’s customers and creditors would get all their money back, ostensibly thanks to a mixture of continually rebounding crypto prices, the bankruptcy team’s work to get a handle on FTX’s finances, and some of FTX’s equity investments performing well. It’s “not a guarantee, but an objective,” one of the company’s lawyers told a Delaware court in late January.

Unsurprisingly, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers argue that this development should be a factor in meaningfully lowering his sentence. “The harm to customers, lenders, and investors is zero,” they wrote in a filing to the judge on Feb. 27. The lawyers further argue that Bankman-Fried was just one player in a crime that did not wind up costing his customers and creditors. They say Bankman-Fried is “a non-violent offender, who was joined in the conduct at issue by at least four other culpable individuals, in a matter where victims are poised to recover—were always poised to recover—a hundred cents on the dollar.” Bankman-Fried, who just turned 32, has officially requested a sentence of between 63 and 78 months, which would net out to no more than six and a half years. If he served 85 percent of that sentence and received parole, he’d be out in five and a half—perhaps fewer, if the court gave him credit for time spent in jail over the past year.

On the surface, it sounds somewhat reasonable: If Bankman-Fried’s crimes won’t wind up costing other people anything close to what everyone thought, shouldn’t he get a lighter sentence? Maybe! But there are a lot of “buts” to consider, “buts” that could get in the way of Bankman-Fried’s hopes.

“I’d be surprised if he didn’t receive a significant sentence, but I definitely don’t think it’s certain that he’s going to get a life sentence or the equivalent of a life sentence,” Rachel Maimin, who is a former assistant U.S. attorney in the same office that prosecuted Bankman-Fried, told me. Maimin, who has appeared in Kaplan’s courtroom, said the judge would lean on his impressions of Bankman-Fried from before and during his trial and the presentencing report. “All of those facts make up a mosaic,” she said.

Of all the arguments Bankman-Fried’s lawyers make in their 90-page sentencing submission to the judge, the one about the (likely) lack of customer and creditor loss is the strongest. The lawyers argue that FTX did not face a solvency crisis but a liquidity crisis, echoing a point Bankman-Fried made as soon as FTX started to circle the drain in the fall of 2022. Back then, that was a distinction without a difference: The root of the company’s financial problems was that FTX loaned gobs of customer money to an SBF-run hedge fund, which invested it in dubious coins that were tied to confidence in FTX’s business. Those coins did not trade much on the open market, and FTX’s woes tanked their value.

But FTX’s financial situation has improved in bankruptcy. Crypto prices have gone up in general, making FTX’s holdings drastically more valuable. A few of Bankman-Fried’s investments have done very well. And, critically, the restructuring experts now in charge of FTX have had time to untangle what they describe as a recordkeeping catastrophe. (The CEO leading FTX’s bankruptcy also led Enron’s and thinks Enron did some things better. ) One of the lawyers now helping to run FTX says that paying back all the people FTX owes “will be one for the history books” thanks to the extent to which SBF left the company “in the dumpster.”

Bankman-Fried’s team makes other points that may or may not land. The lawyers say he is “already being punished,” citing bad conditions in the jails he’s lived in over the past 18 months and lots of (often antisemitic) harassment. (They don’t mention that SBF also went from being one of the richest young people in the world to being either broke or close to it.) His team also argues that Bankman-Fried’s autism spectrum disorder “would render him extraordinarily vulnerable to abuse in prison” from both other inmates and guards. Bankman-Fried’s mother, in her own letter, says that “he is bad at responding to social cues in ‘normal’ ways” and would not find rehabilitation in a long sentence. “Being consigned to prison for decades will destroy Sam as surely as would hanging him, because it will take away everything in the world that gives his life meaning,” she writes.

Her correspondence is a difficult read. But like every other argument, it may not work.

“Defendants very frequently call into question the damage that was actually done to victims,” Maimin said. But that doesn’t always pan out, because “the sentencing guidelines are not just based upon loss. They’re based upon intended loss. If the jury found that he purposefully committed fraud in a certain amount, even if he didn’t succeed, his guidelines range would still be the same. In the eyes of the judge, that might be a mitigating factor, but it also might not, because that has nothing to do with the defendant’s conduct. It has to do with a factor beyond the defendant’s control: the crypto market.”

Maimin said that his team’s alarms over Bankman-Fried’s potential treatment in prison are “unlikely to succeed,” given that prisons have formal structures in place to process inmates with all sorts of conditions. A prison abolitionist and a federal judge may not have the same view of how effective those systems are at providing an acceptable life for incarcerated people—and guess which one will decide the sentence.

Bankman-Fried is also fighting against a tough presentencing report, which recommends that he get a century behind bars. Often, judges’ sentences align closely with those recommendations, Maimin said, which are based on the defendant’s probation officer’s investigation and report. The report, Maimin said, typically gives a judge insight into a defendant that the judge didn’t have at trial.

And about that trial: Bankman-Fried, in addition to being guilty, was an enormous pain in the ass for Kaplan. After Bankman-Fried spent most of his trial prep under house arrest, Kaplan had him put in jail for the final two months before his trial began. He did that because Bankman-Fried used a virtual private network to access the internet, shielding his activity from the court. Prosecutors also believed that Bankman-Fried tried to tamper with witnesses and leaked the private diary entries of one to the New York Times. Bankman-Fried’s testimony during the trial made him look like a liar , which could be its own aggravating factor.

“If you commit perjury during your trial, I think any judge is going to take that into account at sentencing,” Maimin said. “It’s a perversion of the legal system. It’s one of the most serious nonviolent crimes that you can commit, because the jury is there, you’ve sworn an oath to tell the truth, and then you lie. Here, I think you can infer that he lied and that the jury found that he was lying, because they didn’t believe him and they convicted him.”

So, to recap: In Bankman-Fried’s favor, it looks like his crimes may not wind up wiping out thousands of investors. But working against him is a long pattern of behavior that seems designed in a lab to infuriate a judge, who may also choose to lean on a presentencing report that says to throw the book at Bankman-Fried. “I think it’s hard to predict, but I’d be surprised if it weren’t a significant sentence,” Maimin said. Bankman-Fried is in danger of learning that there isn’t exactly a good way to come up for sentencing on seven federal felonies.

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Cancer is no longer a death sentence, but treatments still have a long way to go

Berly McCoy

Aaron Scott

Rebecca Ramirez

One of the first recorded mentions of cancer appears in an ancient Egyptian text from around 3000 B.C. And although we now know much more about how cancer begins–as a series of mutations in someone's DNA–it's a disease people are still struggling to cure today.

Centuries of treatments

Over the centuries, people have using a wide range of things to try to cure cancer — everything from pastes, salts, teas to cauterization and more.

One milestone came in the 1700s when British surgeon Percivall Pott connected cancer to a clear environmental cause. He noticed that chimney sweeps were developing a specific type of cancer after being exposed to soot. The revelation led to a minimum age for chimney sweeps.

But this revelation only showed how one might avoid getting cancer, not how to treat or cure it.

"Cancer was a death sentence. People would not be given a long time to live," says Mariana Stern , a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Southern California.

FDA approves first cell therapy to treat aggressive forms of melanoma

She adds that for a long time cancer was often treated with surgery. But as scientists and physicians realized that any cancer cells left behind — missed by surgery or hiding elsewhere in the body — could grow back later, they started looking for complementary treatments.

Around the turn of the 19th century, physicians discovered that radiation could treat cancer. Swedish physicians Tor Stenbeck and Tage Sjogren separately cured their respective patients of skin cancer using x-rays . Around the same time, many radiologists who used their own skin to determine proper radiation dosages developed leukemia . But in some cases, radiation could also cause it. So radiation is still used as a cancer treatment today — in a much more targeted way.

Chemotherapy came several decades later, in the mid-1900s. It gave doctors a way to kill cancer cells that surgery or radiation couldn't reach. The idea was that certain drugs targeted dividing cells — a hallmark of cancer cells.

Today, overall cancer survival is much higher than it was even a few decades ago. Given that there are over one hundred types of cancer, that success isn't across the board.

A plurality of cancers

"Each cancer type has its own unique characteristics," says Stern. "So I think the chances of finding one treatment or one way to cure what we call cancer is impossible."

Instead of a universal cure, researchers are looking to improve prevention and treatment for each type of cancer, which includes understanding how a cancer develops in the first place. Although around five to ten percent of cancers can be genetic, most come from random mutations in our genetic code that our cells don't fix. One mutation can lead to another, which can result in cancer.

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Q&a: this scientist developed a soap that could help fight skin cancer. he's 14..

"There are multiple environmental and even internal carcinogens that we're exposed [to] or that can increase the amount of mutations that we accumulate over the amount that we're already accumulating because of random chance," says Stern.

The list of carcinogens is long and includes everything from sun exposure to tobacco use, diets high in processed and red meats, being physically inactive — and even viruses and bacteria. All of these carcinogens can lead to different types of cancer, which may require different types of treatment.

But Stern says the number one carcinogen in her book isn't something anyone can control: age.

"As we age, our cells deteriorate and accumulate more mutations," says Stern. "We live so long nowadays, pretty much one in two people are going to get cancer across their lifetime."

But she adds that she doesn't want the message to sound so gloomy. "It's not like we're doomed; just because you get old, you will have cancer. I think a lot of it can be modified by paying attention to these other factors that we know cause cancer and are correlated with age because they accumulate over time."

Treating cancer today

In recent years, cancer survival has gone up — in part because researchers and clinicians are turning toward more personalized treatment approaches.

"One patient with breast cancer might be treated one way and another patient with breast cancer might be treated a completely different way based on the characteristics of that tumor," says Stern.

For example, one of those breast cancer patients may undergo a treatment originally developed for lung cancer because that's what the breast cancer tumors respond to best.

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Scientists race to improve 'living drugs' to fight cancer.

Another reason for moving toward personalized treatments is that cancer doesn't affect all people–or populations–the same. One big area of Stern's research is studying differences in cancer rates and outcomes in different Hispanic communities. Nationally, research lags for this population. The same can be said for American Indian, Alaska Native and African-American populations, which are also underrepresented in cancer studies.

"This introduces a disparity because a lot of the drug therapies have been designed among patients of European background," Stern says, and adds, "if we don't consider that, we may not be treating them with the best drugs that those tumors are going to respond to."

One exciting new treatment option involves harnessing a patient's own immune system to attack cancer cells. "This has proven to be extremely effective because our own immune system has a mechanism by which they can surveil our body," says Stern.

Even with cutting edge advancements in cancer treatment technology, Stern says treatment access is still a big problem.

"I think the main innovation that needs to happen is that there needs to be a commitment that every single cancer patient will get access to the best treatments that are available to them. And that's not happening now."

Want to hear about advances in medicine? Email the show at [email protected] .

Listen to Short Wave on Spotify , Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts .

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave .

This episode was produced by Berly McCoy, edited by Rebecca Ramirez and fact checked by Brit Hanson. Gilly Moon was the audio engineer.