Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Common Core State Standards, Grades 11-12, Language · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What L.11-12.2 Means in Plain English
Juniors and seniors hyphenate compound modifiers before a noun (a well-known author) but not after it (an author who is well known), leave -ly adverbs unhyphenated, and use the hyphen that changes meaning: re-sign, not resign. They spell correctly, including the words that trap even strong writers.
In grades 9 and 10 (L.9-10.2), the focus was semicolons and colons. Grades 11 and 12, the last band before college and career readiness, narrow the strand to two points: hyphenation conventions, which style guides set out in detail, and spelling checked by the writer rather than left to software.
L.11-12.2 I Can Statements
I can hyphenate a compound modifier that comes before a noun.
I can tell when a hyphen changes a word’s meaning.
I can catch spelling errors that a spell-checker lets through.
L.11-12.2 Worked Example
A hockey team’s press release with five convention errors, one of which reverses the news. The fixed version says what the team meant.
Prompt
Fix the hyphens and spelling in this press release: “The Ice Hawks announced today that their 31 year old goaltender will resign for two more seasons. The highly-regarded, left handed veteran said the decision was a privelege and thanked the fans for their committment.”
Not YetThe Ice Hawks announced today that their 31-year old goaltender will resign for two more seasons. The highly-regarded, left-handed veteran said the decision was a privilege and thanked the fans for their committment.Half the age is hyphenated, resign still says the goaltender is quitting, highly-regarded keeps a hyphen that -ly adverbs never take, and committment keeps its extra t. Spell-check passes resign because it is a real word.
Meets the StandardThe Ice Hawks announced today that their 31-year-old goaltender will re-sign for two more seasons. The highly regarded, left-handed veteran said the decision was a privilege and thanked the fans for their commitment.31-year-old takes both hyphens because the whole phrase modifies goaltender. Re-sign means sign again; resign means quit. No hyphen follows highly, since an -ly adverb already signals its job, and left-handed is hyphenated before the noun. Privilege and commitment are spelled correctly.
Moves to Use
Hyphenate a compound modifier before the noun: a 31-year-old goaltender, but he is 31 years old.Never hyphenate after an -ly adverb: a highly regarded veteran.Use the hyphen when a prefix would otherwise make a different word: re-sign, re-cover, re-create.Proofread for real words in the wrong place; spell-check cannot catch resign for re-sign.
Common Mistakes with L.11-12.2
Half-hyphenated ages and measures
“a 31-year old goaltender” or “a ten foot-long banner”
Try this: Teach the phrase as one modifier: before the noun every word is linked by hyphens, and after the noun none are.
Spelling Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolBuild a list from the words that trap seniors, like privilege, commitment, occurrence and accommodate, plus real-word pairs like resign and re-sign.Commonly misspelledGrades 11-12
Sentence Scramble GeneratorFree ToolScramble sentences that hinge on a hyphen, so students rebuild each one and decide where the compound modifier needs it.Compound modifiersHyphens