CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.8
The Standard
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students break an argument into its main claim, supporting claims, reasons, and evidence. They decide whether the reasoning makes sense and whether the evidence is relevant, credible, and enough to support each claim.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students identify the main argument and separate its specific claims, reasons, and evidence. They can point out weak logic, irrelevant details, unsupported claims, and places where more evidence is needed.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may mistake a topic or opinion for a claim. They may treat any fact as strong evidence, overlook missing evidence, or judge reasoning by whether they agree with the conclusion.
How to Assess It
- Give students a short argument and ask them to underline the main claim, box two supporting details, and explain whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups claim, reason, and evidence cards from a short article, then have them sort and connect the cards.
Ask students to write which claim in a text is best supported, citing one detail and explaining why it fits.
Play Evidence Judge, where teams rate each supporting detail as strong, weak, irrelevant, or insufficient and defend their rating.
Compare two product advertisements and identify each claim, the evidence offered, and what information a careful buyer would still need.
Free download
Printable CCRA.R.8 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.8, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identif...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.3
Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and relevance and sufficiency of the evidence and identifying when...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.8
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; recogni...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.3
Delineate a speaker's argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.