CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2d
The Standard
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts
What This Standard Means
Students need to choose words that make an explanation clear, accurate, and specific. They should use the vocabulary of the subject they are writing about, such as terms from science, history, or technical topics, and use those words correctly in context.
Mastery looks like writing that sounds knowledgeable without being wordy or vague. Students can replace general words like stuff, things, bad, or happened with exact terms. Common trouble spots are overusing big words, using terms they do not understand, or dropping vocabulary into a sentence without explaining how it fits the topic.
Ways to Teach It
- Give students a vague paragraph about erosion and have them revise it using a word bank with terms like sediment, weathering, and deposition.
- Ask students to explain why the word protest is more precise than the word problem in a paragraph about the Boston Tea Party.
- Collect one sentence from each student that uses a unit vocabulary word correctly and sort them into clear, unclear, and misused piles.
- Have students read a short appliance manual or sports article and highlight the specialized words that help readers understand the topic.
Related Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2d
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.2d
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.2d
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.2d
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
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