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Virginia Standards

9th Grade English SOL

All 18 Virginia English standards for 9th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Virginia Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

18 standards

Developing Skilled Readers and Building Reading Stamina

1 standard
9.DSR
Read texts at the easy end of the grades 9 to 10 range fluently, cite and locate evidence for inferences, read topic sets, and repair lapses in understanding.

Reading and Vocabulary

1 standard
9.RV.1
Explain new words through context, roots and etymology, interpret connotations and idioms, and analyze figurative language and allusions, like calling a chore Herculean.

Reading Literary Text

3 standards
9.RL.1
Explain how theme grows from character, setting and plot, analyze how forms like drama or essay shape meaning, and how character types and soliloquies serve the theme.
9.RL.2
Analyze how a poem's sound and imagery stir feeling, explain how word choice, syntax and tone shape meaning, and see past hyperbole, irony and sarcasm to the real intent.
9.RL.3
Describe how a text's purpose depends on when, where and for whom it was written, like a protest song, and explain how setting shapes a story's plot and characters.

Reading Informational Text

3 standards
9.RI.1
Analyze how details refine a text's main ideas, interpret maps, charts and timelines, and separate facts from reasoned judgment and guesswork when testing an argument.
9.RI.2
Compare explanatory, technical and persuasive texts by purpose and format, and analyze how authors use word choice and appeals to credibility, logic and emotion.
9.RI.3
Compare how two authors with different expertise treat one topic and what each stresses, and check a text's accuracy by testing its conclusions against other sources.

Writing

3 standards
9.W.1
Write long essays that set context, state a thesis and draw on authoritative sources, reflections comparing texts, and short or long pieces like critiques and letters.
9.W.2
Plan essays for a set audience with a clear thesis, logically ordered evidence, cohesive transitions, depth from background research, and rebuttals to counterarguments.
9.W.3
Revise for clear, accurate and well-developed content, give and take peer feedback that names strengths and next steps, and edit for grammar, style and conventions.

Language Usage

2 standards
9.LU.1
Use parallel structure to link or contrast ideas, vary sentence patterns, choose active or passive voice on purpose, add appositives, and keep verb tense consistent.
9.LU.2
Use commas and semicolons to separate clauses or join two closely related complete thoughts, cite sources by MLA or APA rules, and check spelling in references.

Communication and Multimodal Literacies

4 standards
9.C.1
Run group discussions by setting rules, deadlines and roles, including every member, answering other views with evidence, summarizing agreement and self-reflecting.
9.C.2
Present a topic or opinion with fitting words and tone, read listeners' cues, analyze how well a talk was organized, and recite a memorized excerpt with expression.
9.C.3
Choose multimodal tools strategically, track and analyze several information streams at once, like a live feed and a chart, and create media for different audiences.
9.C.4
Analyze the purpose, persuasion techniques and bias of ads, editorials and political cartoons, judge credibility, and explore how news coverage shifts public opinion.

Research

1 standard
9.R.1
Research a refined question with databases, test sources for reliability and bias, use evidence for claims and counterclaims, cite in MLA or APA, and avoid plagiarism.

The official Virginia documents

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