Common Core ELA7th GradeReading: Informational

RI.7.8: Judge an Argument’s Reasoning and Evidence

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

The Official Wording

Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 7, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.7.8 Means in Plain English

Seventh graders follow an argument claim by claim and judge each one: does the reasoning hold, and is the evidence on topic and enough? A letter asking a city to plant street trees might prove they cool pavement and then rest a crime claim on one street.

Sixth graders (RI.6.8) sorted claims with reasons and evidence behind them from claims with none. Seventh grade asks a harder question about the supported ones: is one example enough, and does it prove what it is said to prove? Eighth grade (RI.8.8) adds spotting evidence that is off topic.

RI.7.8 I Can Statements

I can trace an argument and list each claim the author makes.
I can judge whether the reasoning behind a claim makes sense.
I can decide whether the evidence is relevant and enough.

RI.7.8 Worked Example

The letter makes three claims with three very different kinds of support, and the weak answer grades the whole letter at once.

Read the Story

Our city should plant trees along every street in the Eastside neighborhood, which has almost no shade.First, trees cool the streets. The Environmental Protection Agency reports that shaded surfaces can be 20 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than surfaces in full sun. On a July afternoon, our class measured the sidewalk on shady Oak Avenue at 88 degrees and the sidewalk on Eastside’s Third Street at 121 degrees.Second, trees would save families money. My aunt planted a maple next to her house, and her electric bill went down last summer.Third, trees would stop crime. Oak Avenue has the most trees in town and the fewest break-ins, so planting trees on Eastside would make it just as safe.

A short passage written for this page.

Question: Evaluate each of the letter’s three claims. Is the reasoning sound, and is the evidence relevant and sufficient?

Not Yet“The argument is convincing because it has facts, a government report and a personal example. I agree that the city should plant trees.”It grades the whole letter at once and counts every kind of support as equal. The student’s agreement with the conclusion takes the place of checking each claim.

Meets the Standard“Claim 1 is well supported: the EPA figures and the class measurements are relevant, come from two sources and agree. Claim 2 has relevant evidence but not enough, since one bill from one house in one summer could have dropped for other reasons, like a cooler summer. Claim 3 has unsound reasoning. Oak Avenue may have fewer break-ins for reasons that have nothing to do with trees, so the letter shows that trees and safety go together, not that one causes the other.”Each claim gets its own verdict, and each verdict names the exact problem: sufficiency for the second claim, reasoning for the third.

Question Stems to Use

What are the separate claims in this argument?Is this evidence about the claim, or about something nearby?Is one example enough to prove this? What else could explain it?Does the conclusion follow from the evidence, or is there a jump?Which claim is best supported? Which is weakest, and why?What evidence would make the weak claim stronger?

Common Mistakes with RI.7.8

Judging the argument as one piece

“It’s a strong argument because it has a lot of facts.”

Try this: Number the claims in the margin first and require a separate verdict, sound or unsound, enough or not enough, for each.

Agreeing instead of evaluating

“I like trees, so the argument is right.”

Try this: Have students evaluate a weak argument for a conclusion they agree with, so they see that agreeing and judging the support are different jobs.

Accepting “together” as “because”

Agreeing that trees prevent crime because Oak Avenue has both

Try this: Ask “What else could explain this?” and list three other reasons before deciding whether the evidence proves cause.

Where RI.7.8 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.6.8Trace an argument and separate the claims backed by reasons and evidence from the ones that are not.

AlongsideSL.7.3Judge a speaker’s reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence, the same test applied to listening.W.7.1Write arguments with clear reasons and relevant evidence, held to the same test.

Comes NextRI.8.8Evaluate the reasoning and evidence, and recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced.

Practice RI.7.8

Quick Check

Which claim in the letter is best supported, and why?
The claim that trees cool the streets. Its evidence is relevant and comes from two sources, the EPA report and the class measurements, which agree.
What is wrong with the evidence for the claim that trees save families money?
It is relevant but not sufficient: one bill from one house in one summer could have dropped for other reasons.
Why is the reasoning behind the crime claim unsound?
More trees and fewer break-ins on Oak Avenue show the two go together, not that the trees cause the safety. Other differences between the streets could explain it.

RI.7.8: Other Names

RI.7.8CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.8