Standards

Anchor Standards for Reading
Key Ideas and Details

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. 3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. Craft and Structure

4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.1 8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. 9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Reading: Literature
Key Ideas and Details

RL.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RL.9-10.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. RL.9-10.3. Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme. Craft and Structure

RL.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone). RL.9-10.5. Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. RL.9-10.6. Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RL.9-10.7. Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus). RL.9-10.8. (Not applicable to literature) RL.9-10.9. Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare). Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

RL.9-10.10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Reading: Informational Text
Key Ideas and Details

RI.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. RI.9-10.2. Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. RI.9-10.3. Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them. Craft and Structure

RI.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language of a court opinion differs from that of a newspaper). RI.9-10.5. Analyze in detail how an author’s ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text (e.g., a section or chapter). RI.9-10.6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RI.9-10.7. Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. RI.9-10.8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning. RI.9-10.9. Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they address related themes and concepts. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

RI.9-10.10. By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary nonfiction in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Anchor Standards for Writing
Text Types and Purposes

1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Production and Distribution of Writing

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. Research to Build and Present Knowledge

7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Range of Writing

10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Writing
Text Types and Purposes

W.9-10.1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. Use words, phrases, and clauses to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships between claim(s) and reasons, between reasons and evidence, and between claim(s) and counterclaims. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. W.9-10.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic). Text Types and Purposes (continued)

W.9-10.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters. Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole. Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative. Production and Distribution of Writing

W.9-10.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.) W.9-10.5. 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. W.9-10.6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically. Research to Build and Present Knowledge

W.9-10.7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. W.9-10.8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation. W.9-10.9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work [e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare]”). Apply grades 9–10 Reading standards to literary nonfiction (e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning”). Range of Writing

W.9-10.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. 2. Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally. 3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric. Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations. 6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration

SL.9-10.1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas. Work with peers to set rules for collegial discussions and decision-making (e.g., informal consensus, taking votes on key issues, presentation of alternate views), clear goals and deadlines, and individual roles as needed. Propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that relate the current discussion to broader themes or larger ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussion; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented. SL.9-10.2. Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source. SL.9-10.3. Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence. Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

SL.9-10.4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task. SL.9-10.5. Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. SL.9-10.6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Standards for Language
Conventions of Standard English

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. 2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. Knowledge of Language

3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate. 5. Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and nuances in word meanings. 6. Acquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Language
Conventions of Standard English

L.9-10.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Use parallel structure.* Use various types of phrases (noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, absolute) and clauses (independent, dependent; noun, relative, adverbial) to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations. L.9-10.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. Use a semicolon (and perhaps a conjunctive adverb) to link two or more closely related independent clauses. Use a colon to introduce a list or quotation. Spell correctly. Knowledge of Language

L.9-10.3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening. Write and edit work so that it conforms to the guidelines in a style manual (e.g., MLA Handbook, Turabian’s Manual for Writers) appropriate for the discipline and writing type. Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

L.9-10.4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies. Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence, paragraph, or text; a word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. Identify and correctly use patterns of word changes that indicate different meanings or parts of speech (e.g., analyze, analysis, analytical; advocate, advocacy). Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning, its part of speech, or its etymology. Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). L.9-10.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text. Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations. L.9-10.6. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

1. Reading Across the Curriculum

 * a. Choose materials for independent reading on the basis of specific criteria (e.g., personal interest, own reading level, knowledge of authors and literary or nonliterary forms)
 * b. Read independently for a variety of purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, to gain information, to perform a task)
 * c. Read increasingly challenging whole texts in a variety of literary (e.g., poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction) and nonliterary (e.g., textbooks, news articles, memoranda) forms

2. Reading Strategies

 * a. Apply strategies before, during, and after reading to increase fluency and comprehension (e.g., adjusting purpose, previewing, scanning, making predictions, comparing, inferring, summarizing, using graphic organizers) with increasingly challenging texts
 * b. Use metacognitive skills (i.e., monitor, regulate, and orchestrate one’s understanding) when reading increasingly challenging texts, using the most appropriate “fix-up” strategies (e.g., rereading, reading on, changing rate of reading, subvocalizing)
 * c. Demonstrate comprehension of increasingly challenging texts (both print and nonprint sources) by asking and answering literal, interpretive, and evaluative questions
 * d. Use close-reading strategies (e.g., visualizing, annotating, questioning) in order to interpret increasingly challenging texts
 * e. Compare texts to previously read texts, past and present events, and/or content learned in other coursework

3. Knowledge of Literary and Nonliterary Forms

 * a. Identify, analyze, and evaluate the characteristics of literary forms (e.g., short stories, novels, poems, plays, biographies, essays, myths, speeches) from various cultures and of nonliterary forms (e.g., workplace and technical documents)
 * b. Describe how the choice of form (e.g., film, novel, sculpture) affects the presentation of a work’s theme or topic (e.g., comparing Fahrenheit 451 to Francois Truffaut’s film version)
 * c. Read dramatic literature (e.g., Cyrano de Bergerac, Pygmalion) and analyze its conventions to identify how they express a writer’s meaning
 * d. Identify and interpret works in various poetic forms (e.g., ballad, ode, sonnet) and explain how meaning is conveyed through features of poetry, including sound (e.g., rhythm, repetition, alliteration), structure (e.g., meter, rhyme scheme), graphic elements (e.g., punctuation, line length, word position), and poetic devices (e.g., metaphor, imagery, personification, tone, symbolism)

4. Influences on Texts

 * a. Relate a literary work to the important ideas of the time and place in which it is set or in which it was written (e.g., the Great Migration as represented in Richard Wright’s work Black Boy and Jacob Lawrence’s paintings)
 * b. Describe archetypal images used in literature and film (e.g., the hero’s journey as portrayed in Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha and Bernardo Bertolucci’s film Little Buddha)
 * c. Explain the effects of the author’s life upon his or her work (e.g., F. Scott Fitzgerald’s experience with social class as reflected in his novel The Great Gatsby)

5. Author’s Voice and Method

 * a. Use organization or structure of text (e.g., comparison/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution) and writer’s techniques (e.g., repetition of ideas, syntax, word choice) to aid comprehension of increasingly challenging texts
 * b. Distinguish between author and narrator/speaker/persona; articulate how the choice of narrator shapes the meaning of increasingly challenging texts
 * c. Identify, analyze, and evaluate plot, character development, setting, theme, mood, and point of view as they are used together to create meaning in increasingly challenging texts
 * d. Identify, analyze, and evaluate the author’s use of parallel plots and subplots in increasingly challenging texts
 * e. Identify, analyze, and evaluate the ways in which the devices the author chooses (e.g., irony, imagery, tone, sound techniques, foreshadowing, symbolism) achieve specific effects and shape meaning in increasingly challenging texts
 * f. Analyze an author’s implicit and explicit argument, perspective, or viewpoint in a text (e.g., Toni Cade Bambara’s argument about social class in the U.S. in her short story “The Lesson”)
 * g. Describe what makes an author’s style distinct from the styles of others
 * h. Identify the author’s stated or implied purpose in increasingly challenging texts

6. Persuasive Language and Logic

 * a. Identify, analyze, and evaluate the effectiveness of persuasive techniques (e.g., appeals to emotion, reason, or authority; stereotyping) and the presence of bias in literature, film, advertising, and/or speeches
 * b. Summarize and paraphrase information in increasingly challenging texts, identifying key ideas, supporting details, inconsistencies, and ambiguities
 * c. Locate important details and facts that support ideas, arguments, or inferences in increasingly challenging texts, and substantiate analyses with textual examples that may be in widely separated sections of the text or in other sources
 * d. Distinguish between fact and opinion, basing judgments on evidence and reasoning

7. Literary Criticism

 * a. Learn appropriate literary terms and apply them to increasingly challenging texts (e.g., using the terms symbol and allusion appropriately in a discussion of Alice Walker’s poem “Women”)
 * b. Provide an interpretation of a literary work that is supported by evidence from the text and from cogent reasoning
 * c. Read literary criticism, with assistance, to increase comprehension of increasingly challenging literary texts

8. Words and Their History

 * a. Apply knowledge of Greek, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon affixes, inflections, and roots to understand unfamiliar words and new subject area vocabulary in increasingly challenging texts (e.g., words in science, mathematics, and social studies)
 * b. Infer word meanings by analyzing relationships between words (e.g., synonyms, antonyms, metaphors, analogies) in increasingly challenging texts
 * c. Use general and specialized dictionaries, thesauruses, and glossaries (print and electronic) to determine the definition, pronunciation, derivation, spelling, and usage of words
 * d. Use context clues (e.g., author’s restatement, example) to understand unfamiliar words in increasingly challenging texts
 * e. Comprehend foreign words and phrases in texts that are commonly used in English
 * f. Define and identify common idioms and literary, classical, and biblical allusions (e.g., “He had the patience of Job.”) in increasingly challenging texts
 * g. Describe and provide examples of the ways past and present events (e.g., cultural, political, technological, scientific) have influenced the English language
 * h. Apply knowledge of connotation and denotation to determine the meanings of words and phrases in increasingly challenging texts

B. Writing
1. Writing Process a. Use prewriting strategies (e.g., brainstorming, webbing, note taking, interviewing, background reading) to generate, focus, and organize ideas as well as to gather information b. Analyze writing assignments in terms of purpose and audience to determine which strategies to use (e.g., writing a letter to the editor endorsing need for a dog park) c. Revise, refine, edit, and proofread own and others’ writing, using appropriate tools (e.g., checklists, writing conferences, student-developed and professional rubrics or models), to find strengths and weaknesses and to seek strategies for improvement d. Prepare writing for publication by choosing the most appropriate format, considering principles of design (e.g., margins, tabs, spacing, columns) and the use of various fonts and graphics (e.g., drawings, charts, graphs); use electronic resources to enhance the final product 2. Modes of Writing for Different Purposes and Audiences a. Craft first and final drafts of expressive, reflective, or creative texts (e.g., poetry, scripts) that use a range of literary devices (e.g., figurative language, sound devices, stage directions) to convey a specific effect b. Craft first and final drafts of informational essays or reports that provide clear and accurate perspectives on the subject and support the main ideas with facts, details, and examples c. Craft first and final drafts of persuasive papers that support arguments with detailed evidence, exclude irrelevant information, and correctly cite sources d. Craft first and final drafts of responses to literature that organize an insightful interpretation around several clear ideas, premises, or images and support judgments with specific references to the original text and to other texts or authors e. Craft first and final drafts of workplace and other real-life writing (e.g., job applications, editorials, meeting minutes) that are appropriate to the audience, provide clear and purposeful information, and use a format appropriate to the task f. Craft first and final drafts of fictional, biographical, and autobiographical narratives that use specific settings, sensory details, dialogue, and tone to develop plot and characters 3. Organization, Unity, and Coherence a. Establish and develop a clear thesis statement for informational writing or a clear plan or outline for narrative writing b. Organize writing to create a coherent whole with effective, fully developed paragraphs, similar ideas grouped together for unity, and paragraphs arranged in a logical sequence c. Add important information and delete irrelevant information to more clearly establish a central idea d. Rearrange words, sentences, and/or paragraphs and add transitional words and phrases to clarify meaning and maintain consistent style, tone, and voice e. Write an introduction that engages the reader and a conclusion that summarizes, extends, or elaborates points or ideas in the writing 4. Sentence-Level Constructions a. Correct run-ons, fragments, and dangling and misplaced modifiers to improve clarity b. Combine phrases and clauses to create simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences and to coordinate or subordinate meaning for effect c. Use parallel structure to present items in a series and items juxtaposed for emphasis d. Use resources and reference materials (e.g., dictionaries and thesauruses) to select effective and precise vocabulary that maintains consistent style, tone, and voice e. Use formal, informal, standard, and technical language effectively to meet the needs of audience and purpose f. Use strong action verbs, sensory details, vivid imagery, and precise words 5. Conventions of Usage a. Correctly spell commonly misspelled/confused words b. Correctly choose verb forms in terms of tense, voice (i.e., active and passive), and mood for continuity c. Make subject and verb agree in number, even when there is some text between the subject and verb d. Use pronouns correctly (e.g., appropriate case, pronoun-antecedent agreement, clear pronoun reference) e. Correctly choose adjectives, adjective phrases, adjective clauses, adverbs, adverb phrases, and adverb clauses and their forms for logical connection to word(s) modified f. Correctly use parts of speech 6. Conventions of Punctuation a. Recognize that several correct punctuation choices create different effects (e.g., joining two independent clauses in a variety of ways) b. Use punctuation correctly within sentences and words c. Demonstrate correct use of capitalization

C. Research
a. Use research methods (e.g., background reading, online searches, surveys, interviews) to locate and collect reliable information from print and nonprint sources b. Decide on a research question and develop a hypothesis, modifying questions as necessary during the project to further narrow the focus or extend the investigation c. Evaluate source information (e.g., primary and secondary sources) for accuracy, credibility, currency, utility, relevance, reliability, and perspective d. Compile and systematically organize important information to support central ideas, concepts, and themes e. Summarize, paraphrase, and directly quote from sources, including the Internet, to support the thesis of the paper and/or presentation; accurately cite every source to avoid compromising others’ intellectual property (i.e., plagiarism) f. Compose a research paper that develops a clear argument and includes title page, outline, first and final drafts, and works-cited page, adhering to guidelines from MLA or other stylebooks

D. Listening, Viewing, and Speaking
1. Comprehension and Analysis a. Recognize the main ideas in a variety of oral presentations and draw valid conclusions b. Identify and evaluate the effect of logical fallacies (e.g., overgeneralization, bandwagon) and the presence of biases and stereotypes in television and print advertising, speeches, newspaper articles, and Internet advertisements c. Identify types of arguments (e.g., causation, analogy, appeals to emotion or authority) in visual and oral texts d. Compare how different media forms (e.g., television news, news magazines, documentaries, online news sources) cover the same event e. Analyze and evaluate the way language choice (e.g., repetition, use of rhetorical questions) and delivery style (e.g., eye contact, nonverbal messages) affect the mood and tone of the communication and make an impact on the audience 2. Application a. Use elements of speech forms—introduction, transitions, body, and conclusion—including the use of facts, literary quotations, anecdotes, and/or references to authoritative sources b. Use effective delivery skills (e.g., appropriate volume, inflection, articulation, gestures, eye contact, posture, facial expression) c. Give impromptu and planned presentations (e.g., debates, formal meetings) that stay on topic and/or adhere to prepared notes d. Write and deliver informational speeches that present a clear, distinctive perspective on the subject and support the controlling idea with well-chosen and well-organized facts and details from a variety of sources e. Write and deliver persuasive speeches that use logical, emotional, and ethical appeals; structured arguments; and relevant evidence from a variety of sources f. Apply analytic and active listening strategies (e.g., paraphrasing, monitoring messages for clarity, selecting and organizing essential information, noting change-of-pace cues) in formal and informal settings g. Actively participate in small-group and large-group discussions, assuming various role

E. Study Skills and Test Taking
a. Apply active reading, listening, and viewing techniques by taking notes on classroom discussions, lectures, oral and/or video presentations, or assigned at-home reading, and by underlining key passages and writing comments in journals or in margins of texts, where permitted b. Demonstrate organizational skills such as keeping a daily calendar of assignments and activities and maintaining a notebook of classwork c. Use appropriate essay-test-taking and timed-writing strategies that address and analyze the question (prompt) d. Demonstrate familiarity with test formats and test administration procedures to increase speed and accuracy