CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1

ELAGrades K–12Text Types and Purposes

The Standard

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students make a clear claim about a topic or text. They support it with logical reasons, relevant evidence, and explanations that connect the evidence to the claim.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students state a clear, focused claim and organize reasons in a logical order. They select relevant evidence and explain how each piece supports their position.
Common Misconceptions: Students may treat a personal opinion as proof or list facts without explaining their connection to the claim. They may choose repeated, weak, or unrelated evidence instead of enough varied support.
How to Assess It: Give students a short passage and ask them to write one claim, cite two supporting details, and explain how one detail supports the claim.

Lesson moves

Give pairs claim, evidence, and reasoning cards to sort into strong argument sets, then ask them to justify each match.
Ask students to write: Should the character have made that choice? Support your answer with two details from the text.
Play Evidence Showdown by presenting a claim and having teams rank three evidence cards from strongest to weakest, with reasons.
Have students write a proposal to the principal about a school change, using survey results, schedules, or cost information as evidence.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Keep exploring

Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.