CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.3a
The Standard
Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian's Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students follow the assigned style guide when drafting and revising papers. They check page format, quotations, citations, and source lists for accuracy and consistency.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students format a paper and its sources consistently for the assigned subject and writing type. They use a style guide to check unfamiliar cases instead of guessing.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think style rules apply only to citations, not headings, spacing, titles, and page layout. They may trust citation generators without checking details or assume every subject uses MLA.
How to Assess It
- Give students a paragraph with a faulty MLA heading, in-text citation, and Works Cited entry. Ask them to correct all three using a reference sheet.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed MLA guide and a flawed sample page to annotate, correct, and explain.
Compare MLA and APA source entries, then write three sentences explaining which style fits a literary analysis and why.
Run a style guide relay where teams locate rules for headings, quotations, citations, and source entries.
Use a college library citation guide to format one book and one website for a first-year English paper.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2e
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2e
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.1d
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1d
Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
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