English Reading Comprehensionusually ages 9–10

How authors support their points

Explain how an author of an informational text uses reasons and evidence to support particular points, evaluating whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Identify the key points an author makes in an informational text and list the specific reasons and evidence provided to support each point
Evaluate whether the evidence an author uses (facts, statistics, examples, expert opinions) is relevant to the point being made and sufficient to be convincing
Distinguish between well-supported claims backed by evidence and unsupported opinions or assertions in an informational text

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Try this together

After reading a persuasive article — like one arguing for or against something — can your child identify the reasons the author gives and say whether each one is convincing and well-supported?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Why the author wrote itages 8–9Evaluating author's use of reasons and evidence builds on identifying author's POV and purpose; the step up is from identifying purpose to evaluating the quality of reasoning

How authors support their pointsthis skill · ages 9–10

Unlocks

Supporting ideas with evidenceages 10–11Evaluating author evidence builds on explaining author's evidence

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E5LA04low confidenceYear 5 · Language

understand how texts can be made cohesive by using the starting point of a sentence or paragraph to give prominence to the message and to guide the reader through the text

AC9E6LE03low confidenceYear 6 · Literature

identify and explain characteristics that define an author's individual style

AC9E6LA03low confidenceYear 6 · Language

explain how texts across the curriculum are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases depending on purposes, recognising how authors often adapt text structures and language features

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN2-UARL-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

EN2-CWT-02low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E4LY08low confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

VC2E5LA02low confidenceEnglish · Level 5 · Language strand

VC2E6LY06low confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Literacy strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Combining information from textsages 9–10 Cultural Allusions and Word Meaningages 9–10 Explaining Events & Ideasages 9–10 Finding Theme and Summarisingages 9–11

All Reading Comprehension skills →