CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1

ELAGrades 9–10Key Ideas and Details

The Standard

Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literature

What This Standard Means

Students need to make a claim about a literary text and back it with the best lines, not just any line that mentions the topic. They should explain both what the text directly says and what it suggests through character actions, word choice, images, or patterns.

Mastery looks like a clear claim, well-chosen evidence, and commentary that connects the evidence to the idea. Students often get stuck by dropping in quotes without explaining them, choosing evidence that is too broad, or making inferences that the text does not support.

Ways to Teach It

Give pairs three quote strips from a story and have them rank strongest to weakest for proving a claim, then justify the order.
Ask students to write: What does the character want, and which two lines prove it directly or indirectly?
Use an exit ticket with one claim and four possible quotes, and have students choose the strongest evidence and explain why.
Have students compare literary evidence to courtroom evidence, using a short scene as the case file and the claim as the charge.