Document Overview

Common Core State Writing Standard 2: Informative/Explanatory Writing

The second Common Core State Writing Standard calls

for students to "write informative/explanatory texts to
examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the effective selection, organization, and
analysis of content." The following collection of student work
offers a series of samples illustrating what effective
informative/explanatory 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 discipline-‐specific
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.