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Common Core ELAGrades 9–10Reading: Informational

RI.9-10.8: Evaluate an Argument and Spot Fallacies

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8 · Cluster: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas.

All 41 Grades 9–10 ELA Standards

The Official Wording

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.

Common Core State Standards, Grades 9-10, Reading: Informational Text · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RI.9-10.8 Means in Plain English

Ninth and tenth graders map an argument claim by claim, then test each one: does the reasoning hold, and is the evidence on point and enough? They also flag false statements and fallacies, like a letter that answers a fair worry by attacking the people who raised it.

Eighth grade (RI.8.8) judged whether reasoning was sound and noticed irrelevant evidence. Ninth and tenth grade add naming false statements and fallacious reasoning outright. Eleventh and twelfth grade (RI.11-12.8) apply the same scrutiny to seminal U.S. texts, such as Supreme Court opinions and presidential addresses.

RI.9-10.8 I Can Statements

  • I can outline an argument’s main claim and supporting claims.
  • I can judge whether evidence is relevant and sufficient.
  • I can name a fallacy and explain why it fails.

RI.9-10.8 Worked Example

The letter has one solid claim, one with no evidence and one fallacy, and the weak answer is persuaded by all three.

Read the Story
To the town council: The traffic light at Grove Avenue and Route 12 should be replaced with a roundabout. This intersection had more crashes last year than any other in town, and a roundabout is the proven fix.First, roundabouts are safer. Drivers must slow down to enter, and the circle removes the high-speed, right-angle crashes that happen when someone runs a red light. Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that converting intersections to roundabouts cut crashes that injure people by about three quarters.Second, a roundabout keeps traffic moving. Cars yield and merge instead of idling at a red light with no one coming the other way, and there are no signals to fail during a storm.Third, a roundabout will bring more shoppers downtown, because people will enjoy driving through it.Some residents say older drivers will find a roundabout confusing. But these are the same people who fought the new library in 2019, and the library turned out fine. Their objections should not delay a safer intersection.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: Lay out the writer’s argument and its claims. Which claims rest on valid reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence, which do not, and where is the reasoning fallacious?
Not Yet“The writer makes a strong argument because it cites a study and gives three reasons. The writer also proves the people against it are wrong.”It counts reasons instead of testing them, misses the shopping claim that has no evidence, and accepts an attack on the opponents as proof, which is the fallacy in the letter.
Meets the Standard“The main claim is that a roundabout should replace the light, backed by three supporting claims and a rebuttal. The safety claim is the strongest: the reasoning is valid, since slower entry and no right-angle crashes would mean fewer injuries, and the highway-safety study is relevant and sufficient. The traffic-flow claim is reasonable but rests on reasoning alone, with no counts from this intersection. The shopping claim has no evidence at all, only the guess that people ‘will enjoy driving through it.’ The rebuttal is fallacious: saying opponents ‘fought the new library’ attacks the people instead of their point, an ad hominem, and the worry about older drivers is never answered.”It lays out the claims, judges each one for valid reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence, and names the fallacy while explaining why it fails as a response.
Question Stems to Use
What is the main claim? List each supporting claim under it.For this claim, what evidence is offered? Is it relevant? Is it enough?Does the conclusion follow from the reasons, or is there a gap?Does this sentence answer the objection, or attack the people making it?Which claim would you cut if you were the writer’s editor?

Common Mistakes with RI.9-10.8

Counting reasons instead of testing them

“Three reasons make it a strong argument.”

Try this: Have students grade each supporting claim separately for reasoning and evidence before deciding anything about the argument as a whole.

Mistaking an attack for a rebuttal

“The writer proves the opponents wrong by pointing out they also opposed the library.”

Try this: Ask whether the response would still work if someone else raised the same objection. If not, it targets the person, not the point.

Accepting a claim with no evidence

Letting “people will enjoy driving through it” stand as a reason

Try this: Have students mark each claim with the evidence offered for it, and flag any claim whose evidence box stays empty.

Where RI.9-10.8 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.8.8Evaluate whether reasoning is sound and evidence sufficient, and recognize irrelevant evidence.
AlongsideRST.9-10.8Assess how well the reasoning and evidence in a science text support a recommendation.W.9-10.1Write arguments supported by valid reasoning and relevant, sufficient evidence.
Comes NextRI.11-12.8Evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including court opinions and works of public advocacy.

Practice RI.9-10.8

Quick Check

  1. What is the writer’s main claim?
  2. Which supporting claim has no evidence?
  3. What fallacy appears in the last paragraph, and why does it fail?

RI.9-10.8: Other Names

RI.9-10.8CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.