CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2b
The Standard
Develop the topic thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students choose facts, definitions, examples, details, and quotations that clearly develop an informative topic. They match the amount and type of information to what their audience knows.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students select the strongest evidence and use more than one type of support. They provide enough context and explanation for the intended reader to understand why each detail matters.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think more evidence always means stronger writing. They often include interesting but unrelated facts, drop in quotations without explanation, or misjudge what readers already know.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: For a reader new to the topic, write six sentences using one quotation and one concrete detail from today’s source. Explain how each supports the main idea.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give groups eight evidence cards about school start times, then have them sort each card as strong, weak, or irrelevant for parents.
Ask students to explain which evidence a beginner would need that an expert would not, using two examples from a shared source.
Run an Evidence Draft where teams take turns selecting facts for a paragraph, then defend each choice before keeping it.
Have students rewrite a city water advisory for residents and civil engineers, changing definitions, details, and quotations for each audience.
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Printable WHST.11-12.2b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
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Where This Standard Sits
Before This Standard
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2b
Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2b
Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples approp...
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2b
The Grades 11–12 version of this standard.
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