In Common: Effective Writing for All Students - Argument/Opinion Writing Samples - K-12

Sep 22, 2026

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Collection of K-12 student samples demonstrating effective argument/opinion writing aligned to the Common Core State Writing Standard W.CCR.1. The document explains an “On Demand” format using uniform, text-based prompts and a “Range of Writing” approach covering multiple disciplines, purposes, and audiences. Pieces are annotated with grade-level Common Core language, include annotated and unannotated student versions, and in K-5 add a revised model and original kindergarten work in PDF for drawing and dictation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages253

Reading Time1 h 29 min

AccessFree to download

Document Overview

Brief User Guide for On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Writing

K-‐5 On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Samples

6-‐12 On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Samples

Brief User Guide for Range of Writing Argument/Opinion Writing

K-‐5 Range of Writing Argument/Opinion Samples

6-‐12 Range of Writing Argument/Opinion Samples

1 In Common: Effective Writing for All Students Collection of All Argument/Opinion Samples, K-‐12 by The Vermont Writing Collaborative , with Student Achievement Partners, and CCSSO 2 Contents Document Overview ................................................................................................... 3 Brief User Guide for On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Writing...................................... 4 K-‐5 On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Samples .............................................................. 6 6-‐12 On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Samples ...........................................................75 Brief User Guide for Range of Writing Argument/Opinion Writing ........................... 117 K-‐5 Range of Writing Argument/Opinion Samples .................................................... 119 6-‐12 Range of Writing Argument/Opinion Samples .................................................. 186 3 Document Overview Common Core State Writing Standard 1: Argument/Opinion Writing The first Common Core State Writing Standard calls for students to "write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. " The following collection of student work offers a series of samples illustrating what effective argument/opinion writing might look like at each grade level. The first section of the document is comprised of “On Demand” writing. This section contains pieces written in response to a uniform text-‐based prompt. The second section is made up of “Range of Writing” samples. These pieces provide examples of student writing for “a range of disciplinespecific tasks, purposes, and audiences” over both extended and shorter time frames. Each piece in the collection is annotated using the language of the Common Core State Standards for a particular grade level and writing type. 4 Brief User Guide for On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Writing 5 Brief User Guide for On-‐Demand Argument/Opinion Writing The pieces in this On-‐Demand section represent one of the three types of writing named in the Common Core State Standards for Writing: opinion/argument writing. Students at all grade levels were given one to three texts and a writing prompt that asked them to form an opinion or a claim about a focusing question. Students at kindergarten through grade five were given the focusing question,“Which kind of pet is best, a cat or a dog?” At grades six through twelve, students were given the focusing question,“Should your school participate in the national ‘Shut Down Your Screen Week’?” Because students needed time to build content knowledge from the texts in order to be able to write, the process took anywhere from two to three days for most students. Teachers read the text aloud to students at all grade levels, to ensure that all students could access the text when they needed to re-‐read the text(s) to gather evidence to develop their writing. All writing was done on their own, without input from peers or teachers. The prompts and the individual pieces based on them are arranged in grade order. Each piece has a file number for easy identification. Every piece of writing includes two versions that have been transcribed exactly as written by the student – one annotated with the language of the Common Core Standards, and one unannotated for a variety of uses. In addition, pieces in the K-‐5 collection have a third version as well; this version has been revised and edited for major errors in conventions and can be used as a model for students. Kindergarten pieces also include PDF’s of original student work, including student writing and drawing. This is because kindergarten students may use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to satisfy the Standards. Suggestions on how to use these pieces are available at the end of the introductory document,“Using the In Common Resource.” 6 K-‐5 O

FAQs

What is the Common Core standard emphasized in this collection?

It focuses on the Common Core State Writing Standard 1 for argument/opinion writing (W.CCR.1), which requires students to support claims with valid reasoning and relevant evidence.

How does the “On Demand” writing section work?

Students receive one to three texts and a focusing question, then form an opinion or claim using evidence. For K–5 and 6–12, different prompts are used.

What versions of each student piece are included?

Each piece includes two transcribed versions: one annotated with Common Core language and one unannotated. K–5 also includes a third version revised and edited for major convention errors, and kindergarten includes original student work PDFs.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Elsa