CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.1
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
What This Standard Means
Students need to read science and technical texts closely, then use exact evidence from the text to support what they claim. They also need to notice careful distinctions, such as correlation versus causation, model versus result, or observation versus interpretation.
Mastery looks like a student making a clear claim, choosing the best evidence, explaining how it supports the claim, and pointing out limits, gaps, or contradictions in the text. Students often get stuck by quoting facts without analysis, ignoring qualifiers like “may” or “under certain conditions,” or treating all evidence as equally strong.
Ways to Teach It
- Hands-on: Give students a lab report with numbered paragraphs and have them highlight claims, evidence, limits, and unanswered questions in four colors.
- Prompt: Choose one author claim and write, “The strongest evidence is ___ because ___, but the text does not explain ___.”
- Quick assessment: Project a short technical paragraph and ask students to underline one distinction and circle one possible gap in two minutes.
- Real-world connection: Use a product safety notice or climate graph article and have students identify what the evidence proves and what it leaves uncertain.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.1
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.