CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2c
The Standard
Use appropriate and varied transitions and syntax to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
What This Standard Means
Students need to connect parts of an informational or explanatory piece so the reader can follow the thinking. They should choose transitions that show cause, contrast, sequence, emphasis, example, and conclusion. They also need to vary sentence structure so ideas do not feel choppy or repetitive.
Mastery looks like a paper where paragraphs build on each other and complex ideas are clearly linked. Students often get stuck using basic transitions like “also” and “however” too often. They may add transition words without fixing the logic, or write every sentence in the same pattern.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a cut-up essay and have them reorder paragraphs, then add transition sentences that explain why each section follows the last.
- Ask students to revise one body paragraph using this prompt: What relationship does each sentence have to the one before it?
- Have students highlight every transition in a draft and label each one as contrast, cause, example, sequence, or emphasis.
- Show students a news analysis article and have them find three sentences that move readers between complex ideas smoothly.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
Plan a Lesson for CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2c
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2c
Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2c
Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and co...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2c
Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.