North Carolina 8th Grade ELA Standards in Writing

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W Writing

• Text Types, Purposes, and Publishing
  • W.8.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
    • W.8.1.a Organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
    • W.8.1.b Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
    • W.8.1.c Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
    • W.8.1.d Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
    • W.8.1.e Establish and maintain a formal style.
    • W.8.1.f Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
    • W.8.1.g With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
  • W.8.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
    • W.8.2.a Organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
    • W.8.2.b Introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts, and information into broader categories; include formatting, graphics, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
    • W.8.2.c Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
    • W.8.2.d Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
    • W.8.2.e Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
    • W.8.2.f Establish and maintain a formal style
    • W.8.2.g Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.
    • W.8.2.h With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
  • W.8.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
    • W.8.3.a Organize information and ideas around a topic to plan and prepare to write.
    • W.8.3.b Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
    • W.8.3.c Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
    • W.8.3.d Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence, signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another, and show the relationships among experiences and events.
    • W.8.3.e Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
    • W.8.3.f Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
    • W.8.3.g With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
  • W.8.4 Use digital tools and resources to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
• Research
  • W.8.5 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
  • W.8.6 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.