CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.1c

ELA6th GradeText Types and Purposes

The Standard

Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

What This Standard Means

Students need to connect their claim, reasons, and evidence so the reader can follow the argument without guessing. They should use transition words, linking phrases, and dependent clauses to show cause, contrast, example, sequence, and emphasis.

Mastery looks like a paragraph where every reason clearly supports the claim, and each piece of evidence is introduced with a useful signal. Students often get stuck using the same basic transitions, like “also” or “because,” or dropping evidence into a paragraph without explaining how it proves the point.

Ways to Teach It

Give students a cut-up argument paragraph and have them add transition cards such as “for example,” “therefore,” and “however” between sentences.
Ask students to revise one body paragraph using the prompt, “How does this reason connect back to my claim?”
Show three sentence pairs and ask students to choose the best linking phrase, then explain their choice in one sentence.
Have students analyze a product review and highlight phrases that connect opinions, reasons, examples, and conclusions.