Grades 11–12 · Explanation
Your assignment
Investigate a complex course-related question with multiple credible explanations. Explain areas of agreement and disagreement, how the evidence relates, and what remains uncertain. Keep reporting distinct from advocacy.
Plan, write and revise
- Read or listen to the assignment and discuss what the reader needs to understand.
- Plan the writing with notes, sketches or an organizer.
- Create a first version. Make the content your own; use the criteria below to guide your decisions.
- Ask a peer or teacher for one specific question or suggestion. Revise your work to respond to useful feedback.
- Reread your final version and explain one change you made. Keep both versions for review.
Use actual observations or sources approved by your teacher. Record each source title, author or organization when available, and where you found it. Separate information from the source from your own inference. Never invent facts, quotations, page numbers or measurements.
What strong work shows
- Introduce and organize a complex topic so each element builds on the preceding one
- Select the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, details, quotations or examples for the audience
- Use varied transitions and syntax to connect major sections
- Use precise language, domain vocabulary and techniques that clarify complexity; use helpful formatting or visuals
- Maintain appropriate formal style and objective tone and conclude with supported implications or significance
Your work
Write here or work on paper. For drawings, keep the paper with your written record. Download your work before closing this page; it is not automatically saved or submitted.
Teacher scoring guide
Evaluate the work against each criterion. Use 0 for no evidence yet, 1 for partial or unclear evidence, 2 for clear evidence that meets the criterion, and 3 for effective, well-developed evidence. Record what in the work supports the rating. These ratings guide feedback; they are not standardized achievement levels or a course grade.
Apply the learner’s usual documented supports. Record help with ideas, language or transcription so the teacher can interpret the evidence. This task is not a standardized test.
| Criterion | Evidence rating |
|---|---|
| Introduce and organize a complex topic so each element builds on the preceding one | |
| Select the most significant and relevant facts, extended definitions, details, quotations or examples for the audience | |
| Use varied transitions and syntax to connect major sections | |
| Use precise language, domain vocabulary and techniques that clarify complexity; use helpful formatting or visuals | |
| Maintain appropriate formal style and objective tone and conclude with supported implications or significance |
Reference and limits
Teacher-scored evidence for this writing mode. One assignment is not evidence of sustained mastery, all writing standards, independent reading level or state approval. Revision is included as an instructional practice; a full crosswalk for additional process standards is not claimed.