With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task and purpose. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.)
Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What W.3.4 Means in Plain English
Third graders learn that the job decides the shape. A thank-you note to a visiting tuba player needs a greeting, the thanks up front and a sign-off. A report on bats needs a topic sentence and grouped facts. The teacher guides the choice with models and charts.
W.3.4 is the first standard of its kind, and second grade has no version of it. Fourth grade (W.4.4) drops the adult guidance from the wording, asks for clear and coherent writing, and adds the audience: the reader shapes the piece too.
W.3.4 I Can Statements
I can tell what job my writing has to do.
I can choose a shape that fits the job, like a note or report.
I can use my teacher’s model or chart to organize my writing.
W.3.4 Worked Example
Both students wrote to the same visiting musician. Only one wrote something that works as a thank-you note.
Prompt
Ms. Halloran, who plays the tuba in our city orchestra, visited our class, played some low notes and let each of us buzz our lips into her mouthpiece. Write her a thank-you note. Use our class chart of the parts of a note.
Not YetA tuba is the biggest brass instrument. It plays the lowest notes. Ms. Halloran plays in the orchestra.Every fact is true, but it is organized like a report about tubas. It never thanks Ms. Halloran, never speaks to her, and has no greeting or closing, so it cannot do the job a thank-you note has.
Meets the StandardDear Ms. Halloran, Thank you for visiting our class on Thursday and bringing your giant tuba. My favorite part was when you played the lowest note and the windows rattled. I did not know that if you stretched out all of a tuba’s tubing, it would be about as tall as a giraffe. Now I listen for the tuba every time the town band plays in the park. I hope you can come back and play for us again in the spring. Your friend, JuniperIt is shaped for the job: a greeting, the thanks in the first sentence, one specific moment and one thing learned, what changed because of the visit, and a friendly closing with a name, in the order the class chart showed.
Moves to Use
Ask first: who will read this, and what is it for?Open with a greeting and say thank you in the first sentence.Name one specific moment instead of retelling the whole visit.Close with a friendly sign-off and your name.
Common Mistakes with W.3.4
A report where a note belongs
“A tuba is the biggest brass instrument. It plays low notes.” handed in as a thank-you
Try this: Have students name the job in one line before drafting, “This is a thank-you note for Ms. Halloran,” then check the draft against it.
Everything that happened, in order
The note retells the whole visit, from the morning bell to the goodbye
Try this: Ask students to pick the one moment they would tell a friend about, and build the middle of the note around it.
One shape for every job
Every piece opens with “Hi, my name is Juniper,” the report on bats included
Try this: Compare two models side by side, a note and a report, and have students list what each one has that the other lacks.
Writing Prompt GeneratorFree ToolPrompts of different kinds for grades 3 to 5. Hand out two at once and have students say how each piece should be shaped before anyone writes.InformativePersonal Narrative3-5
Rubric GeneratorFree ToolBuild a short rubric with a “fits the job” row, so students check that a note looks like a note and a report like a report.Fits the jobOrganizationGrade 3
What job does the writing in the prompt have to do?
Thank Ms. Halloran for her visit, in the form of a note written to her.
Name the parts of the strong note in order.
A greeting, the thanks, Juniper’s favorite moment, something she learned, what she does now because of it, a hope Ms. Halloran comes back, and a closing with her name.
The weak response has true facts. Why does it still fall short of W.3.4?
It is organized like a report about tubas, not a note to Ms. Halloran, so its shape does not fit the task or its purpose of thanking her.