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
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students trace how an author introduces, orders, and develops ideas or events in an informational text. They explain how transitions, examples, comparisons, and cause-and-effect links connect one point to the next.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can map the main points in sequence and cite details showing how each point develops. The student can explain why the order and connections make the author’s analysis clear.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often summarize the topic instead of analyzing the author’s structure. They may list ideas without explaining links, or assume chronological order when the author uses cause and effect, comparison, or problem and solution.
How to Assess It
- Give students a three-paragraph editorial. Ask: “List the author’s three main points in order, then explain how the second point connects to and develops the first.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Cut a short article into paragraph strips; students sequence them, then label how each paragraph introduces, develops, or connects an idea.
After reading an essay, write: Why did the author place point B after point A, and what link joins them?
Play Structure Match: teams pair paragraph cards with labels such as cause, example, contrast, or consequence, then defend each match.
Compare two news reports on one event and chart how each report’s order changes the reader’s understanding.
Free download
Printable RI.9-10.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3, 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 worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Reading: Informational Text progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
Keep exploring
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...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.