CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3
The Standard
Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text
What This Standard Means
Students need to track how an informational text is built, not just what it says. They should notice the order of ideas, how each point is introduced, what evidence develops it, and how one idea or event leads to another.
Mastery looks like a student explaining the author’s structure with text evidence, such as “first the author defines the problem, then gives causes, then compares solutions.” Students often get stuck by summarizing content only, missing transition words, or treating all paragraphs as equal instead of seeing how each part does a job.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a printed article, scissors, and labels: claim, background, evidence, counterpoint, and conclusion, then have them mark each section.
- Ask students to write: Why did the author put this paragraph here instead of earlier or later? Use two text details.
- Use an exit ticket with three boxes: first idea, next idea, connection between them, based on a short news analysis.
- Have students map the structure of a product review, sports article, or school policy memo and explain how the order shapes the reader’s view.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3
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What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5
Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.5
Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section o...