Members of the Tennessee State Board of Education's English Language Arts Standards Recommendation Committee spent much of the Oct. 28 meeting reviewing glossary wording and formatting.

Committee members agreed to add a definition for rhetorical techniques ("a writer's or speaker's linguistic and/or presentation choices meant to advance the purpose of the work"), adopt a definition of premise that uses "line of reasoning" rather than "line of logic," and refine the definition of stance to rely on the word "perspective" where appropriate.

The committee consolidated two similar entries by removing a separate "author's purpose" item in favor of a single "purpose" entry that can encompass authorial intent. Members also agreed to remove explanatory paragraphs that moved beyond concise glossary definitions (for example, sentences that read like teaching notes rather than neutral definitions).

On the term "diverse texts," the committee debated whether to add the words "perspective" or "cultural origin." The group ultimately opted for a more generic definition that gestures at variety in complexity, genre, length, style, perspective and authors, while asking the Department of Education to provide any guidance publishers may need to satisfy the standard's intent.

Members also made housekeeping decisions: they will remove inconsistent italicization (except for intentional italics, such as book titles) and standardize punctuation and capitalization in glossary entries.

The edits aim to make the glossary precise and teacher-facing while avoiding prescriptive language about curricula. Staff will incorporate the approved wording changes into the draft standards and upload the finalized glossary for the leadership team's executive-summary work.