Topic: College and Career Readiness: Standards for Speaking and Listening, Grades 6 - 12.

Summary:

.Range of interactions, advance a discussion, build on the input of others.

.Integrate and evaluate information from multiple sources to answer questions, solve problems or build knowledge.

.Evaluate the speaker’s point of view, reasoning and evidence.

.Present information, evidence and reasoning in well-structured way appropriate to purpose and audience.

.Make use of media and visual displays to enhance understanding.

.Demonstrate a command of formal English when appropriate.

Comment: How do I define “formal English?” Eliminating certain characteristics of conversation like needless repetition, especially with words like “it,” “there,” “get,” “thing”; making clear the antecedents of the demonstrative pronouns “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those”; eliminating sexist language by using the plural to avoid such constructions as “his and her,” “he and she”; carefully using parallel structure, preferring  the active voice to the passive voice and correcting dangling and misplaced modifiers. RayS.

Source:  “CCSSI (Common Core State Standards Initiative) for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science.” March 10, 2010. You will find the standards at http://www.corestandards.org/.