addresses the writing skills for an analytical essay including references to and commentary on quotations from the text;

analyzes the aesthetic effects of an author's use of stylistic or rhetorical devices;

identifies and analyzes ambiguities, nuances, and complexities within the text; and

anticipates and responds to readers' questions and contradictory information; and

produce a multimedia presentation (e.g., documentary, class newspaper, docudrama, infomercial, visual or textual parodies, theatrical production) with graphics, images, and sound that appeals to a specific audience and synthesizes information from multiple points of view.

Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay (e.g., evaluative essays, proposals) to the appropriate audience that includes:

a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons with various forms of support (e.g., hard evidence, reason, common sense, cultural assumptions);

accurate and honest representation of divergent views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of context);

an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context;

information on the complete range of relevant perspectives;

demonstrated consideration of the validity and reliability of all primary and secondary sources used;

language attentively crafted to move a disinterested or opposed audience, using specific rhetorical devices to back up assertions (e.g., appeals to logic, emotions, ethical beliefs); and

an awareness and anticipation of audience response that is reflected in different levels of formality, style, and tone.

Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

use and understand the function of different types of clauses and phrases (e.g., adjectival, noun, adverbial clauses and phrases); and

use a variety of correctly structured sentences (e.g., compound, complex, compound-complex).

Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization.

Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings.

Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students are expected to:

brainstorm, consult with others, decide upon a topic, and formulate a major research question to address the major research topic; and

formulate a plan for engaging in in-depth research on a complex, multi-faceted topic.

Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students are expected to:

follow the research plan to gather evidence from experts on the topic and texts written for informed audiences in the field, distinguishing between reliable and unreliable sources and avoiding over-reliance on one source;

systematically organize relevant and accurate information to support central ideas, concepts, and themes, outline ideas into conceptual maps/timelines, and separate factual data from complex inferences; and

paraphrase, summarize, quote, and accurately cite all researched information according to a standard format (e.g., author, title, page number), differentiating among primary, secondary, and other sources.

Research/Synthesizing Information. Students clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize collected information. Students are expected to:

modify the major research question as necessary to refocus the research plan;

differentiate between theories and the evidence that supports them and determine whether the evidence found is weak or strong and how that evidence helps create a cogent argument; and

critique the research process at each step to implement changes as the need occurs and is identified.

Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas. Students organize and present their ideas and information according to the purpose of the research and their audience. Students are expected to synthesize the research into an extended written or oral presentation that:

provides an analysis that supports and develops personal opinions, as opposed to simply restating existing information;

uses a variety of formats and rhetorical strategies to argue for the thesis;

develops an argument that incorporates the complexities of and discrepancies in information from multiple sources and perspectives while anticipating and refuting counter-arguments;

uses a style manual (e.g., Modern Language Association, Chicago Manual of Style) to document sources and format written materials; and

is of sufficient length and complexity to address the topic.

Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others in formal and informal settings. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to:

listen responsively to a speaker by framing inquiries that reflect an understanding of the content and by identifying the positions taken and the evidence in support of those positions; and

assess the persuasiveness of a presentation based on content, diction, rhetorical strategies, and delivery.

Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions of language. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to formulate sound arguments by using elements of classical speeches (e.g., introduction, first and second transitions, body, and conclusion), the art of persuasion, rhetorical devices, eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect), volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively.

Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate productively in teams, offering ideas or judgments that are purposeful in moving the team towards goals, asking relevant and insightful questions, tolerating a range of positions and ambiguity in decision-making, and evaluating the work of the group based on agreed-upon criteria.

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, discussion, and thinking--oral language. The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion. The student is expected to:

engage in meaningful and respectful discourse by listening actively, responding appropriately, and adjusting communication to audiences and purposes;

follow and give complex oral instructions to perform specific tasks, answer questions, or solve problems and complex processes;

give a presentation using informal, formal, and technical language effectively to meet the needs of audience, purpose, and occasion, employing eye contact, speaking rate such as pauses for effect, volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively; and

participate collaboratively, building on the ideas of others, contributing relevant information, developing a plan for consensus building, and setting ground rules for decision making.

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--vocabulary. The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively. The student is expected to:

use print or digital resources such as glossaries or technical dictionaries to clarify and validate understanding of the precise and appropriate meaning of technical or discipline-based vocabulary;

analyze context to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words; and

determine the meaning of foreign words or phrases used frequently in English such as bona fide, caveat, carte blanche, tête-à-tête, bon appétit, and quid pro quo.

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--self-sustained reading. The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.