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Indiana Standards

Indiana Grades 11–12 ELA Standards

All 27 Indiana English language arts standards for grades 11–12, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Indiana Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

27 standards

Reading Comprehension

14 standards
11-12.RC.1
Support an analysis of what a text states and implies with strong, thorough evidence, explaining how it builds your reading and where the text stays uncertain.
11-12.RC.2
Compare how similar themes develop in two or more literary works and analyze how specific details shape and refine each theme.
11-12.RC.3
Analyze and evaluate an author's structural choices in a literary work, like where to start or end a story or whether to close in comedy or tragedy, and their effect.
11-12.RC.4
Analyze and judge how historically important works use archetypes from myths, folk tales or religious texts, treat shared themes, and still matter to readers today.
11-12.RC.5
Analyze how similar central ideas develop across two or more texts and how specific details shape and sharpen each idea.
11-12.RC.6
Analyze a complex chain of ideas or events and explain how particular ideas, events and people develop over the course of the text.
11-12.RC.7
Identify an author's viewpoint or purpose in a highly persuasive text, like a speech that wins over doubters, and analyze how style and content give it power.
11-12.RC.8
Evaluate the claims and reasoning in U.S. and world texts, testing logic and evidence, and analyze how false statements and faulty reasoning affect an argument.
11-12.RC.9
Combine and judge information from several sources in different media, like reports, videos and data sets, to answer a question or solve a problem.
11-12.RC.10
Analyze and connect foundational U.S. and world documents, like the Constitution or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for their themes, purposes and rhetoric.
11-12.RC.11
Rely on surrounding text to work out or sharpen the meaning of words and phrases, like an unfamiliar legal term in a court opinion.
11-12.RC.12
Weigh the fine shades of meaning that separate near synonyms, like skeptical, cynical and doubtful, and how each changes a sentence.
11-12.RC.13
Analyze figurative, connotative and literal meanings in literature and how imagery, allegory and symbolism build meaning and tone, such as a sense of time and place.
11-12.RC.14
Work out figurative, connotative, literal and technical meanings in nonfiction and evaluate how an author shapes and refines a key term across the whole text.

Writing

5 standards
11-12.W.1
Write arguments with a precise, significant claim, counterclaims weighed fairly for the audience's values and biases, rhetoric, varied syntax and a firm close.
11-12.W.2
Write informative pieces where each idea builds on the last into a unified whole, using the most significant evidence from credible sources and a meaningful conclusion.
11-12.W.3
Write narratives that set out a problem and its significance, sequence events to build a tone like suspense or growth, and use vivid detail and a reflective ending.
11-12.W.4
Plan, draft, revise and edit formal writing for a purpose and audience, update shared work digitally as feedback comes in, and credit sources with a style guide.
11-12.W.5
Carry out sustained research, refining an inquiry question, weighing each authoritative source's strengths and limits, blending in information, and citing in MLA or APA.

Communication and Collaboration

8 standards
11-12.CC.1
Lead and take part in discussions on advanced texts and issues, extending others' ideas and stating your own clearly and persuasively.
11-12.CC.2
Exchange ideas thoughtfully in discussion, backing each point with specific evidence and sound reasoning.
11-12.CC.3
Deepen conversations with questions that test reasoning and evidence, make sure every position gets heard, challenge conclusions, and encourage creative, differing views.
11-12.CC.4
Run debates and discussions where all views are heard, including dissent and compromise, and decide what further research the task still needs.
11-12.CC.5
Evaluate a speaker's viewpoint, reasoning, evidence and rhetoric, along with style choices like word choice, emphasis and tone.
11-12.CC.6
Present findings and evidence in formal and informal settings with a clear perspective listeners can follow, addressing opposing views in a style fit for the audience.
11-12.CC.7
Build engaging presentations that use digital media like audio, graphics and interactive features strategically to help the audience grasp findings and evidence.
11-12.CC.8
Analyze how media shape public opinion, spotting and breaking down rhetorical and logical fallacies like false cause or scare tactics.

The official Indiana documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Indiana's standards, not the official wording, which Indiana Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.