CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.5
Description:
Craft and Structure
Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
5A, 5B, 8A
Exemplars
5A: Examining Text Structure
5A: Examining Text Structure
Description:
Examining Text Structure
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-39
K-39
Grade level: 11
Word count: 1650 words
Author: Christopher Morley
Synopsis: If you have ever been asked to write a certain number of words on a topic, you'll certainly understand the frustration expressed by the newspaper reporter who penned this essay.
Excerpt:
(We ask you to observe our self-restraint. We might have said "drenching downpour of silver Long Island rain," or something of that sort, and thus got several words nearer our necessary total of 1100. But we scorn, even when writing against time, to take petty advantages. Let us be brief, crisp, packed with thought. Let it stand as drench, while you admire our proud conscience.)
Question:
Irony occurs when words are used to convey a meaning that is the opposite their usual meaning. What is ironic about this part of the essay?
- Morley says he is writing succinctly, yet he rambles on for a paragraph about doing so.
- Morley describes a drenching downpour, yet there is no proof it has rained.
- Although he meets his own deadlines, Morley encourages others to take more time to write.
- While he has a talent for writing, Morley has decided to seek work that does not require any writing.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Explain an author's use of description in a selection, and how the description shaped the way you viewed and understood the person, object, or event described.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
5B: Examining Sequence
5B: Examining Sequence
Description:
Examining Sequence of Ideas and Events
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-9
K-9
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2324 words
Author: Guinevere Tobias
Synopsis: Supporters of Gustave Whitehead are challenging the Wright brothers' place in aviation history.
Excerpt:
For nearly 100 years, a small group of aviation enthusiasts have asserted that a now-obscure German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead piloted the first heavier-than-air craft in Fairfield, Connecticut, on August 14, 1901, more than two years before the Wright brothers' venture.
The story of Gustave Whitehead and his airplane began in Germany, where he was born in 1874. Orphaned at the age of 13, he lived with relatives until becoming an apprentice to a machinist who taught him to construct engines.
In 1893, he settled in the United States, shortly translating his surname to the more English-sounding "Whitehead." His first jobs involved constructing gliders, a type of heavier-than-air plane powered only by air currents and gravity.
With its wings folded up, Number 21 could be driven like a car over regular roads; so Whitehead drove it from Bridgeport to the nearby town of Fairfield. There, he flew the plane twice, first for half a mile and then for a mile and a half, achieving of height of 50 feet.
The story of Gustave Whitehead and his airplane began in Germany, where he was born in 1874. Orphaned at the age of 13, he lived with relatives until becoming an apprentice to a machinist who taught him to construct engines.
In 1893, he settled in the United States, shortly translating his surname to the more English-sounding "Whitehead." His first jobs involved constructing gliders, a type of heavier-than-air plane powered only by air currents and gravity.
With its wings folded up, Number 21 could be driven like a car over regular roads; so Whitehead drove it from Bridgeport to the nearby town of Fairfield. There, he flew the plane twice, first for half a mile and then for a mile and a half, achieving of height of 50 feet.
Question:
Given the claims made by Whitehead's advocates, place the following events in his life in order, starting with the earliest.
- Whitehead learns to construct engines from a machinist.
- Whitehead settles in America and takes a job constructing gliders.
- Whitehead flies a heavier-than-air craft in Fairfield, Connecticut.
- The Wright brothers fly a heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Think about the selections you have read that explain how something happens or is done. Explain the process in complete detail in your own words, so that people reading your instructions are able to understand or perform the entire process successfully on their own.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
8A: Judging Validity
8A: Judging Validity
Description:
Judge Validity
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
K-17
K-17
Grade level: 11
Word count: 2145 words
Author: Lionel Beasley
Synopsis: With the passage of Title IX, women and girls were entitled to receive equal funding for all educational programs, including sports.
Excerpt:
Before 1972, when the law was passed, the only forms of physical activity often open to girls were dance classes and cheerleading. In the 1971-72 academic year, only 294,000 girls participated in school sports -- less than 7 percent of the female student population.
Currently, 48 percent of all athletic scholarships are awarded to women, with the number of women's college sports doubling in the last 20 years. More than 3,000,000 girls now play high school sports -- 41 percent of the female student population.
Currently, 48 percent of all athletic scholarships are awarded to women, with the number of women's college sports doubling in the last 20 years. More than 3,000,000 girls now play high school sports -- 41 percent of the female student population.
Question:
How does the author substantiate the success of Title IX?
- by citing statistics that show huge increases in sports participation by females
- by noting the number of female athletes who go on to coach women's teams
- by pointing out the increase in the number of female sports commentators
- by mentioning the discontinuance of traditional men's teams at the college level
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Think about how an author's bias affects the validity of a claim. Choose a selection you have read and explain whether or not the author's bias has caused him or her to make a false claim.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions