CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.1

ELAGrades 11–12Key Ideas and Details

The Standard

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects 6—12

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do

Students analyze a science or technical text, make a clear claim, and select exact details or data that support it. They also track qualifications, distinctions, missing support, and contradictions in the author’s account.

What Mastery Looks Like

A student can write a clear analysis and support it with the most relevant sentence, detail, or data point. The student can explain a distinction the author makes and flag a gap or contradiction without misreading a qualification.

Common Misconceptions

Students may copy a long quotation without explaining how it supports their claim. They may overlook words such as “may,” “often,” or “under certain conditions.” They may also confuse missing evidence with evidence that directly contradicts the author.

How to Assess It

Give students a short lab report with one unsupported conclusion. Ask them to cite one strong piece of evidence and identify the unsupported conclusion in two sentences.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

  1. Give pairs a printed lab report and three highlighters to mark claims, supporting evidence, and gaps or conflicting details.

  2. Ask students to write: “What distinction does the author make, and which exact words show it?”

  3. Play Evidence Match by having teams pair analysis claims with quotation cards, then reject evidence that is weak or unrelated.

  4. Compare a health infographic with its cited source, then identify one claim that is supported, qualified, or overstated.

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Printable RST.11-12.1 Worksheet

Preview of the CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.1 printable worksheet

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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Learning progression

Where This Standard Sits

See the whole path on the Reading: Science & Technical Subjects progression map.

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