CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9
The Standard
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects 6—12
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students select facts, examples, or quotations that directly support their own ideas. They connect each source detail to an analysis, reflection, or research claim and identify the source.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students choose the strongest details for a specific claim or question. They introduce each detail, cite it accurately, and explain how it supports their reasoning.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often choose details that match the topic but do not support the claim. They may drop in quotations without explanation, summarize the source, or omit citations.
How to Assess It
- Give students a one-page article and ask them to write one claim, add one supporting quotation, and explain the connection in two sentences.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed article to highlight claims in blue and supporting details in yellow, then match cut-up evidence strips to each claim.
Ask students to write: Which detail best supports the author's main point, and why is it stronger than another detail?
Run an evidence sort where teams place source details under supported, weakly supported, or unsupported claims and defend each choice.
Have students read two product reviews, choose which is more trustworthy, and cite specific details that shaped their judgment.
Free download
Printable WHST.9-10.9 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.9-10.9, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the Writing: History, Science & Technical Subjects progression map.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
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Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.9
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.9
The 7th Grade version of this standard.
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