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9th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 13 of 14

Evaluating Arguments and Texts

Judge reasoning and evidence, spot fallacies, and judge and connect texts with criteria.

What your child practices

Your child traces an argument's claim, reasons and evidence, judges whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient, spots fallacies such as false dilemmas and slippery slopes, and chooses criteria to judge texts and connect them across eras and cultures.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 9-10R8; 9-10R9 · evaluating an argument's reasoning and evidence, and judging and connecting texts with criteria

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Trace the claim, reasons and evidence. Is the evidence relevant and sufficient?
  2. Fallacies: a false dilemma gives only two choices; a slippery slope says one step will lead to disaster.
  3. Judge texts with criteria and connect them across eras and cultures.

Example: Which checks if evidence is sufficient: “Is it interesting?” or “Is there enough evidence, from enough sources, to support the claim?” Sufficient means enough. The second asks about amount and sources. Answer: Is there enough evidence, from enough sources, to support the claim?

Evaluating Arguments and Texts in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 13 of 14 in 9th grade English Language Arts, after Media Analysis and before Arguments, Stories and Evidence.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    “My opponent is a bad speaker, so his plan for the park is wrong.” Which fallacy is this?

    • reasoning from evidence
    • appeal to data
    • attacking the person instead of the argument
    • counterclaim

  2. Question 2

    Which evidence is most relevant to the claim “Four-day school weeks improve attendance”?

    • Students like long weekends.
    • Some schools have pools.
    • A district's records show attendance rose after it switched to four days.
    • Many families travel in summer.

  3. Question 3

    “Everyone is signing up for the new app, so it must be safe.” What is wrong with this reasoning?

    • It is a valid conclusion.
    • It cites a credible study.
    • It uses too many facts.
    • Popularity does not prove safety.

  4. Question 4

    Which criterion is most useful for judging the quality of a novel?

    • the color of the cover
    • how heavy the book is
    • how many copies it sold in a week
    • how well its characters, structure and language develop its themes

  5. Question 5

    You develop criteria to judge speeches. Which set is strongest?

    • length, volume and the speaker's clothing
    • the speaker's fame
    • number of jokes and slides
    • clear claim, sound reasoning, credible evidence and effective delivery

  6. Question 6

    An author argues that a park should close because “some people have seen litter there.” How strong is this argument?

    • Strong: litter proves the park is dangerous.
    • Weak: it has too much data.
    • Strong: it cites many studies.
    • Weak: the evidence is vague and does not justify closing the park.

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