Present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.
Common Core State Standards, Grades 11-12, Speaking & Listening · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What SL.11-12.4 Means in Plain English
Juniors and seniors present research with a distinct perspective, in an order listeners can follow from evidence to conclusion. They raise the strongest opposing view and answer it, and they can reshape the same findings for a formal board meeting or an informal neighborhood talk without losing substance.
Ninth and tenth graders (SL.9-10.4) presented findings clearly and concisely in an order listeners could follow. Grades 11 and 12, the last band before college and career readiness, add the opposing perspective, addressed out loud, and a range of tasks from a formal hearing to an informal briefing.
SL.11-12.4 I Can Statements
I can state my perspective early and keep it distinct throughout.
I can present the strongest opposing view fairly, then answer it.
I can adapt one set of findings to formal and informal audiences.
SL.11-12.4 Worked Example
Anneliese has researched how her coastal town should handle a street that floods every spring. Here are two versions of the last minute of her talk to the town council.
Prompt
Anneliese’s research compares two options for Gull Lane, where eleven homes flood every spring: a seawall along the whole waterfront, or managed retreat, in which the town buys out those homes and lets the land return to marsh. Give the final minute of her presentation to the town council, where she must address the opposing view.
Not YetSo that’s why I think managed retreat is the best option. Some people want a seawall, but seawalls are bad for beaches and they cost a lot. Anyway, I hope you liked my presentation, and does anyone have any questions?The perspective appears only at the end, the opposing view is a straw version waved off in one clause, and the closing (“I hope you liked my presentation”) suits a classroom rehearsal, not a council deciding how to spend its money.
Meets the StandardCouncil members, my recommendation is the buyout program for the eleven homes on Gull Lane, and I want to take the seawall case at full strength before I close. Its supporters are right that a wall protects the whole waterfront at once, and that buyouts uproot families who have lived here for generations. But the engineer’s estimate on slide 9 puts the wall at 14 million dollars with a 30-year life, against 6 million for the buyouts, paid once. And the survey photos showed what our older wall at the north jetty did: the sand in front of it is gone. To keep those families in town, the program pays for relocation within town limits. I’m glad to take questions on any of these figures.The perspective comes in the first sentence, the opposing view is stated in its strongest form, granting what it gets right, and then answered with evidence. The register (an address to the council members, figures tied to their sources, an offer to take questions) fits a formal hearing.
Moves to Use
State your perspective in the first sentence, not the last.Give the opposing view at full strength and grant what it gets right.Answer it with your evidence, and tell listeners where they can see it.Match the register to the room: a council chamber and a block meeting hear the same findings differently.
Common Mistakes with SL.11-12.4
The straw opponent
“Some people want a seawall, but seawalls are bad.”
Try this: Have presenters read the opposing case aloud to someone who holds it and revise until that person says “Yes, that’s our argument.”
A perspective saved for the last slide
Eight slides of findings in a neutral voice, then “So I think…” as the closing line
Try this: Require the recommendation in the first thirty seconds, then check that every later slide visibly supports it or answers the other side.
One register for every room
The same jokes and “you guys” at the town council that worked in a class rehearsal
Try this: Assign the same findings twice, as a formal two-minute statement and an informal neighborhood briefing, and compare the choices.
Classroom TimerFree ToolGive every presenter two minutes for the formal version and one minute for the informal one, so the edits are about substance and register.Two-minute statementOne-minute briefing