9-10.RN.4.1
Description:
Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
Maps to Reading Plus skills:
6A, 8A
Exemplars
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
6A: Recognizing Author's Intent
Description:
Recognizing Author's Purpose
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
J-19
J-19
Grade level: 10
Word count: 2200 words
Author: Beth Renaud
Synopsis: Electronic waste, or e-waste, is the fastest-growing trash in the United States and it is quickly becoming a worldwide problem.
Excerpt:
Carroll writes: "Choking, I pull my shirt over my nose and approach a boy of about 15, his thin frame wreathed in smoke. Karim says he has been tending such fires for two years. He pokes at one meditatively, and then his top half disappears as he bends into the billowing soot. He hoists a tangle of copper wire off the old tire he's using for fuel and douses the hissing mass into a puddle. With the flame retardant insulation burned away -- a process that has released a bouquet of carcinogens and other toxins -- the wire may fetch a dollar from a scrap-metal buyer."
Question:
In this excerpt, the author includes the quote from Carroll's "High-Tech Trash" article most likely to
- illustrate how recyclers are taking advantage of desperate conditions.
- describe model recycling practices used in foreign countries.
- criticize a young recycler's lack of concern for his health.
- highlight an effective process of reclaiming scrap metal.
Writing
✓ standard met
Writing prompt:
Describe how the author of an argument tries to prove that he or she is right.
Evaluator
Organization:
Certica Solutions
8A: Judging Validity
8A: Judging Validity
Description:
Judge Validity
SeeReader
✓ standard met
Selection:
J-1
J-1
Grade level: 10
Word count: 2216 words
Author: Randi Bender
Synopsis: Accurate information is crucial during wartime, but disinformation may be just as important.
Excerpt:
A simple dinner conversation between a low-level intelligence officer and a civilian friend of questionable loyalties could inevitably lead to the downfall of a long-planned military operation. Spies are endemic during wartime, but the average citizen, carrying just a small scrap of intelligence information, poses a tremendous threat to military operations.
Question:
Which sentence explains why the Operation Mincemeat team told sailors that the canister contained a weather device?
- A simple conversation between a sailor and a civilian friend of questionable loyalties could lead to the downfall of a long-planned military operation.
- The Allies realized they needed to divert German attention away from the chosen landing site, Sicily.
- The Germans inevitably would conduct a thorough background check on the body to ensure it was real.
- Nevertheless, these leaders also know that there are times when bad information can be quite advantageous.
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