CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.6
The Standard
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness, or beauty of the text.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
What This Standard Means
Students need to identify what the author believes, wants, or is trying to make readers feel or do. They also need to explain how the writer’s choices make that purpose work. That means looking at diction, syntax, repetition, examples, structure, tone, and appeals to emotion, logic, or credibility.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “The author wants readers to question the policy, and the sharp tone, personal example, and repeated contrast make that argument persuasive.” Students often stop at naming the purpose. They may notice strong language but not explain its effect, or they may confuse topic with point of view.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a marked-up speech and have them color-code diction, repetition, appeals, and shifts in tone, then label each effect.
- Ask students to write: Which sentence best shows the author’s purpose, and how do two style choices make it stronger?
- Use an exit ticket with one short paragraph, asking for the author’s purpose and one rhetorical move that supports it.
- Have students compare a school board statement and an opinion column on the same issue, noting how purpose changes style.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.6
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.6
Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.