Maryland ELA W.9-10.5
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 9-10.).
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 with a reader and purpose in mind. They revise the parts that matter most, try a new approach when needed, and edit grammar and punctuation.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can spot when a weak claim or missing reason matters more than a small wording fix. They can rewrite that part for their reader, explain the choice, and clean up sentence errors.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think revising means fixing spelling and commas. Some keep every sentence from the first draft, even when the opening does not fit their reader or purpose.
How to Assess It
- Give students this draft: 'Our lunch lines is bad. They take forever. Fix them.' Ask them to rewrite it for a principal, correct the grammar error, and explain their most useful change.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a printed lunch proposal to cut into sentences, reorder, and tape down with a stronger opening for the principal.
Show two openings for a letter requesting longer lunch; ask students which better fits the principal as reader and why.
Give pairs a weak proposal and three revision cards: clearer claim, new reason, comma fix; have them rank the cards and defend their first choice.
Have students turn a school club announcement into an email asking the principal for funding, then edit its tone and sentence boundaries.
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Printable W.9-10.5 Worksheet
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