CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.2e

ELA6th GradeText Types and Purposes

The Standard

Establish and maintain a formal style.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students write informational pieces using clear, objective language suited to an academic audience. They keep that tone consistent from the introduction through the conclusion.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students use precise words, complete sentences, and an objective tone throughout an informational piece. Their language fits a school or academic audience without sounding forced or overly complicated.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think formal writing requires long words, passive voice, or complicated sentences. They may also use slang, contractions, chat abbreviations, or casual comments that do not fit the audience.
How to Assess It: Give students a short paragraph containing slang, contractions, and casual comments. Ask them to revise it for a school report and underline three changes.

Lesson moves

Give pairs sentence strips to sort into formal and informal groups, then have them revise two informal examples.
Ask students to rewrite a text message about recycling as a paragraph for the principal.
Play a revision relay where teams replace slang, vague words, contractions, and personal comments in sample sentences.
Have students turn casual notes about a school event into a short announcement for the school website.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.2e, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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Learning progression

Mastery here sets students up for these next.

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