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Common Core ELA4th GradeWriting

W.4.9: Use Evidence from Texts in Writing

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.9 · Cluster: Research to Build and Present Knowledge.

All 43 4th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 4, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What W.4.9 Means in Plain English

Fourth graders start backing their writing about reading with the text itself. For a story (W.4.9a), that means describing a character in depth through thoughts, words and actions. For nonfiction (W.4.9b), it means explaining how the author supports a point with reasons and evidence.

W.4.9 is the first standard of its line: third grade has no version, so this is the first year the writing standards ask for text evidence. Fifth grade (W.5.9) moves to comparing two characters, settings or events, and to showing which evidence supports which point.

W.4.9 I Can Statements

  • I can describe a character in depth using details from the story.
  • I can explain how an author uses reasons and evidence for a point.
  • I can quote the text and explain what each quote shows.

W.4.9 Worked Example

Both students read the same short scene. One named a trait; the other proved it with Rafael’s thoughts, words and actions.

Prompt

Read the scene, then write a paragraph describing Rafael in depth, using his thoughts, words and actions as evidence. “The kickball sailed over the fence and through Mrs. Lindqvist’s kitchen window with a crack. Everyone else ran. Rafael stood frozen on the sidewalk. Nobody saw me, he thought. I could just go home. Instead, he walked up the porch steps, his knees shaking, and knocked. ‘I broke your window,’ he said when the door opened. ‘I’ll pay for it with my allowance.’”

Not YetRafael is a good kid. He breaks a window but then he says sorry. I liked this story.“Good kid” is a label with no evidence behind it, “says sorry” is not even what happens, and the last sentence is about the reader, not Rafael. Nothing from the scene is quoted.
Meets the StandardRafael is honest, even when honesty is scary. When the window breaks, “everyone else ran,” but he “stood frozen,” so he is not the kind of kid who runs off. His thoughts show he is tempted to hide it, because he thinks, “Nobody saw me,” and “I could just go home.” He chooses the hard way anyway: he walks up the steps, “his knees shaking,” and admits, “I broke your window.” Offering to pay “with my allowance” shows he takes responsibility, not just the blame. Rafael is scared the whole time, but he tells the truth.The first sentence makes a claim that goes deeper than one word. Each sentence after it backs the claim with a different kind of evidence, his actions, his thoughts and his words, quoted exactly, and says what that evidence shows about him.
Moves to Use
Make a claim about the character that goes beyond one word.Back it with an action, a thought and a line of dialogue.Quote the exact words, inside quotation marks.Explain what each quote shows about the character.End by restating the claim, now with the evidence behind it.

Common Mistakes with W.4.9

A trait with no proof

“Rafael is a good kid.”

Try this: Have students write “I know this because” after every trait and finish the sentence with words copied from the scene.

Retelling instead of describing

A paragraph that summarizes the scene in order: the ball, the window, the knock

Try this: Give students the frame “This shows Rafael is…” to finish after each piece of evidence, so the paragraph stays on him, not the plot.

Facts with no point they support

In a response to an article, a list of the author’s facts with no mention of the point they prove

Try this: Have students name the author’s point first, then list under it the reasons and evidence the author gives for it.

Where W.4.9 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.3.3Describe characters’ traits, motivations or feelings and explain how their actions shape events.W.3.1Write opinions about texts, supported by reasons: writing about reading before evidence is required.
AlongsideRL.4.3Describe a character, setting or event in depth, drawing on specific details: the reading this writing rests on.RI.4.8Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points.RL.4.1Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining it and drawing inferences.
Comes NextW.5.9Compare two characters, settings or events, and show which evidence supports which point.

Practice W.4.9

Quick Check

  1. Which of Rafael’s thoughts does the strong response quote, and what do they show?
  2. Which action shows Rafael is scared but goes to the door anyway?
  3. What does W.4.9b ask students to do with nonfiction?

W.4.9: Other Names

W.4.9CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.9

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.