Maryland ELA W.11-12.5
The Standard
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. (Editing for conventions should demonstrate command of Language standards 1-3 up to and including grades 11-12.).
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for English Language Arts (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plan a draft for a named reader and a clear goal. They replace weak reasons, reorder ideas, or try a different opening when the draft misses its mark. They edit grammar, punctuation, and word choice before sharing it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can identify a weak passage, explain why it misses the intended reader, and rewrite it with a better reason or example. The final draft has a clear point, a useful order, and few distracting errors.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often treat revision as fixing spelling and commas, leaving weak reasoning untouched. They may add details instead of choosing the ones their reader needs. Some rewrite sentences without checking whether the main point got clearer.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Rewrite this message for a principal: 'School should start later, I hate mornings and my friends do too.' Add a reason tied to attendance, fix the comma splice, and underline the change that best serves your reader.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs paragraph strips from a cafeteria complaint to the principal; have them reorder the strips and cut an off-topic detail.
Show 'I hate mornings' and 'Late buses cost students class time' as openings to a principal; ask which is more persuasive and why.
Give teams a 90-second revision round: swap vague claims for precise ones, fix comma splices, and explain which change helps the reader most.
Have students draft an email to the principal about late buses, using posted bell times, then revise it for a real reader.
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