Common Core State Standard (CCSS) General Academic Vocabulary
1. analyze/analysis—to consider a topic or question carefully by breaking both the question and your
response to it into parts.
2. argument—a way to convince another person of your opinion by using evidence from a text .
3. audience—the person or group of people, in addition to your classmates and teacher, who may read
your writing.
4. cite(v.)/citation(n.)—(v.) to quote or mention a source, especially as an example or proof of what you
are saying. (n.) a passage or phrase taken from a book or other piece of writing.
5. claim—an idea you believe to be true that you can support with evidence.
6. cohesion/coherent—the order of your ideas and how you link them together.
7. counterclaim—the response given by someone who doesn’t agree with your claim.
8. e.g.—a Latin abbreviation that means “for example”
9. evidence—the relevant or concrete example(s) you give to prove your point.
10. formal style—written in a serious voice that avoids casual phrasing, slang, and contractions.
11. knowledgeable—based closely on the facts, events, or ideas you’ve read about in reliable sources.
12. objective tone—a reasonable voice that relies on evidence, not emotions, to develop an argument.
13. plagiarize/plagiarism—to copy someone else’s words or ides without giving proper credit.
14. precise—expressed exactly and in a way that distinguishes your idea from others.
15. reason—a statement that explains why the reader should believe your claim.
16. relevant—closely relates to and supports the point you are making.
17. source—the person, text, or material from which you get relevant information or ideas.