Georgia 7.T.SS.2.c
The Standard
Determine situational use for formal or informal style and apply that determination to choices when writing or speaking. (C)
Georgia's K-12 English Language Arts Standards · Texts (T) · Structure & Style
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify the audience, purpose, and setting before writing or speaking. They choose words, sentence patterns, tone, and delivery that fit the situation, then adjust when the style does not fit.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can write or speak about the same topic differently for a principal, classmate, family member, or public audience. They can point to specific words, greetings, sentence patterns, and details that fit each situation.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think formal language means using long words or sounding stiff. They may treat informal language as careless writing, overuse slang, or switch styles within one message without a reason.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Write the same request for help as an email to the principal and as a text to a friend. Label each style and explain one language choice.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Sort printed message cards into formal and informal groups, then underline the words, greetings, and sentence patterns that guided each choice.
Write two versions of a request for a deadline extension, one to a teacher and one to a close friend.
Play Register Switch: draw an audience card and revise a sentence in 30 seconds to match that audience.
Rewrite a school club announcement as a principal email, morning announcement, and group chat reminder.
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Related Standards
- 8.T.SS.2.c
Use formal or informal style characteristics as indicated by a text’s purpose, audience, and disciplinary context. (C)
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Use formal style when speaking or writing to establish credibility and tone. (C)
- 6.T.SS.2.c
Compare and contrast characteristics of formal style (e.g., jargon, complete sentences) with those of informal style (e.g., contractions, slang, sentence fragme...
- 9.T.SS.2.c
Use formal or informal style, as appropriate to audience, purpose, and context. (C)
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