CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.2b

ELAGrades 11–12Text Types and Purposes

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

What This Standard Means

Students need to build an informative piece with the best evidence, not just more evidence. They should choose facts, definitions, details, quotes, and examples that fit the topic and the reader. They also need to explain why each piece of information matters.

Mastery looks like a paragraph or section where every detail earns its place and helps the reader understand the topic more deeply. Students often get stuck by dropping in quotes without explanation, using facts that are interesting but off target, or writing for a reader who already knows too much or too little.

Ways to Teach It

Give students a weak informational paragraph and have them cut, replace, and annotate details using a stronger source packet.
Ask students to write: Which detail would best help a new reader understand this topic, and why?
Use an exit ticket with three facts, one quote, and one audience, then have students choose the two strongest pieces of evidence.
Have students compare a hospital brochure and a medical journal excerpt, then identify how evidence changes for each audience.

Before This Standard

If students are struggling here, check these first.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.2b
Students move from using sufficient relevant evidence to choosing the most significant evidence and developing the topic more thoroughly.

Related Standards

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