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Common Core LiteracyGrades 6–8History & Social Studies

RH.6-8.6: Point of View and Loaded Language

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6 · Cluster: Craft and Structure.

All 29 Grades 6–8 Literacy Standards

The Official Wording

Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).

Common Core State Standards, Grades 6-8, Reading: History & Social Studies · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RH.6-8.6 Means in Plain English

Students look for the clues that give away a history writer’s slant: loaded words, flattering or insulting labels, and facts chosen or left out. A Loyalist merchant’s letter about the 1765 Stamp Act protests calls the crowd “a drunken mob of idlers” and never says why it was angry.

Fifth grade (RI.5.6) compared several accounts of one event and noted the points of view they represent. Grades 6 to 8 study a single source closely for the choices that reveal its writer. Ninth and tenth grade (RH.9-10.6) compare how two or more authors treat the same topic.

RH.6-8.6 I Can Statements

  • I can name a history writer’s point of view or purpose.
  • I can find loaded words and explain the feeling they carry.
  • I can notice which facts a writer includes and which are missing.

RH.6-8.6 Worked Example

The writer of this invented letter never says “I am biased,” but his word choices and his silences say it for him.

Read the Story
From an invented letter by a Boston merchant loyal to the Crown, August 15, 1765: Yesterday a drunken mob of idlers, stirred up by a few loud men in the taverns, hanged a straw figure of Mr. Oliver, the man named to sell the stamps here, from a great elm.By night the same gang had torn down his new building near the docks and broken into his house, smashing windows and furniture.This morning the poor gentleman, fearing for his family, gave up an office he had not even begun.And for what? The tax is a small one, and it helps pay for the troops who defended these colonies from the French.Such ungrateful children deserve a firm hand from their mother country.
A short passage written for this page.
Question: What is the letter writer’s point of view, and which parts of the letter reveal it? Look at his word choices and at the facts he includes or leaves out.
Not Yet“The writer is against the protest because the crowd destroyed a building and broke into Mr. Oliver’s house.”The point of view is right, but the answer treats the letter as plain reporting. It never looks at the loaded words, or at the colonists’ reason for protesting, which the writer leaves out entirely.
Meets the Standard“The writer is a Loyalist who sees the protesters as criminals and the tax as fair. His words give it away: the crowd is ‘a drunken mob of idlers,’ Mr. Oliver is ‘the poor gentleman,’ and the colonists are ‘ungrateful children.’ He includes facts that help his side, that the tax is small and pays for troops who defended the colonies, but never mentions why the crowd was angry: the colonists had no vote in the Parliament that taxed them.”It names the point of view, quotes the loaded words, and spots both the facts the writer chose to include and the one he left out.
Question Stems to Use
Which side is the writer on? How can you tell?Which words carry strong feelings? What neutral word could replace each one?What facts does the writer include, and whom do they help?What would the other side say is missing from this account?Why might the writer describe the event this way, and to whom is he writing?

Common Mistakes with RH.6-8.6

Reading a slanted source as plain reporting

“The letter tells us the protesters were drunk.”

Try this: Have students ask who wrote the source and for whom before using any of its details as facts about what happened.

Spotting the opinion but not the words

“He doesn’t like the protesters.”

Try this: Have students list the loaded words and swap each for a neutral one, such as crowd for mob, to feel the difference.

Missing what the writer leaves out

“He is fair because he explains why the tax exists.”

Try this: Ask students what the other side would add to this account, then check whether the writer mentions it anywhere at all.

Where RH.6-8.6 Fits

Comes BeforeRI.5.6Compare several accounts of one event and the points of view they show.
AlongsideRI.8.6Find an author’s point of view and how the author answers opposing views.WHST.6-8.8Judge each source’s credibility and accuracy while researching a history topic.
Comes NextRH.9-10.6Compare how two or more authors treat the same topic, including what each emphasizes.

Practice RH.6-8.6

Quick Check

  1. Which phrase is the clearest example of loaded language?
  2. Which fact does the writer include because it helps his side?
  3. What important fact does the writer avoid?

RH.6-8.6: Other Names

RH.6-8.6CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.