Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
Common Core State Standards, Grades 11-12, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What W.11-12.1 Means in Plain English
Juniors and seniors open with a precise claim and show why it matters. They give the opposing case its strongest form, weigh the best evidence and the limits on both sides for readers whose values and doubts they anticipate, vary their sentences at the turns, and close formally.
Grades 9 to 10 (W.9-10.1) weigh a counterclaim’s strengths and limits. Grades 11 to 12 add thoroughness, a claim whose significance is argued, and readers’ values and biases, not just their knowledge. This last band is the college and career readiness goal for arguments.
W.11-12.1 I Can Statements
I can state a precise claim and explain why it matters.
I can weigh both sides fairly for readers who may disagree.
I can link claims, reasons and evidence with varied sentences and close formally.
W.11-12.1 Worked Example
Both seniors worked from the same county packet; only one wrote for the voters most likely to say no.
Prompt
Should Merrow County elect its county commissioners by ranked-choice voting? Write an argument for the county newspaper’s opinion page, whose readers skew older and have voted the same way for decades. From the source packet: in the last three commission races, the winner took 41, 37 and 44 percent of the vote in fields of four or more candidates; in neighboring Orrin County’s first ranked-choice election, 97 percent of ballots were marked correctly, but final results took six days instead of one night; and a letter from retired poll worker Edna Voss argues that ranking candidates will confuse voters, slow the count and cost the public’s trust.
Not YetRanked-choice voting is a better system and Merrow County should use it. Some people say it is confusing, but it really isn’t that hard to rank a few names. Older voters just don’t like change, and we should switch because it is more fair.The claim is there but not precise: “more fair” never says fair to whom, and the 41, 37 and 44 percent figures that would show why the question matters are missing. The counterclaim gets one dismissive line instead of evidence, and the jab at older voters insults the very readers this piece has to persuade.
Meets the StandardMerrow County should elect its commissioners by ranked-choice voting, because under the current rules most of the voters in each race chose someone other than the winner. In the last three commission races, winners carried 41, 37 and 44 percent of the vote. Readers who have worked the polls, like Edna Voss, worry that ranking candidates will confuse voters, and that concern deserves a hearing in a county that takes pride in clean elections. Orrin County’s first ranked-choice election suggests the confusion is smaller than feared: 97 percent of ballots were marked correctly. Voss is right, however, that the count came more slowly, six days instead of one night, and a county used to knowing its winners by bedtime should weigh that cost honestly. A week’s wait is the price; a commission most voters can accept is what the price buys. If Merrow County wants winners who answer to a majority, learning one new way to mark a ballot is worth it.The claim is precise, and the second sentence establishes its significance with the packet’s numbers. Voss’s case is stated as she would state it, the value behind it named, then answered with evidence where it is weak and conceded where it is strong. Varied syntax marks the turns (a concession with however, a balanced sentence with a semicolon, an if clause), the tone stays objective, and the close follows from the trade-off just weighed.
Moves to Use
Make the claim precise, then show with one fact why it matters.State the opposing case as its holders would, naming the value behind it.Concede what the other side gets right, then show what outweighs it.Vary sentence structure at the turns: a concession, a balanced sentence, an if clause.Write for the reader most likely to disagree, not the one who already agrees.
Common Mistakes with W.11-12.1
A claim with no stakes
“Ranked-choice voting is a better system.”
Try this: Have students add a second sentence that answers “so what?” with one fact, such as how many winners lacked a majority.
Writing for the choir
“Older voters just don’t like change.”
Try this: Ask students to name what their most skeptical reader values, then rewrite the counterclaim paragraph so that reader would feel fairly heard.
The same sentence shape at every turn
Five paragraphs that each open “Another reason is…”
Try this: Mark each place the argument turns, then rewrite one turn as a short sentence and one as a sentence opening with although.