Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Common Core State Standards, Grades 6-8, Writing: History, Science & Technical Subjects · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What WHST.6-8.4 Means in Plain English
Students shape subject knowledge differently for different jobs. A lab report for the teacher, a timeline caption for families and a safety card for younger students each need their own organization, detail and wording. The test is whether the intended reader, doing the intended task, can use it.
Fifth graders (W.5.4) already match development and organization to task, purpose and audience. In grades 6 to 8 style joins that list, so word choice and tone must fit the reader too, in every subject class. Grades 9 to 10 (WHST.9-10.4) hold the same expectation for longer, more technical tasks.
WHST.6-8.4 I Can Statements
I can name my task, my purpose and my reader before writing.
I can organize my writing so my reader can actually use it.
I can choose words and a tone that fit my reader.
WHST.6-8.4 Worked Example
Both students know how to run the printer; only one wrote for the sixth grader standing in front of it.
Prompt
Our tech class is opening the makerspace 3D printer to 6th graders. Write the instruction card that will hang beside it, for a reader who has never used a 3D printer and will read the card while starting a print. Include clearing the print bed, loading a file from the USB stick, waiting for the nozzle to heat, watching the first layer, and never touching the nozzle, which reaches about 200°C.
Not YetTo print, ensure the bed is leveled and PLA filament is loaded, then slice your STL file and load the G-code via USB. Wait for the extruder to reach temp and monitor first-layer adhesion. Don’t touch the hot end.Every fact is right, but it is written for someone who already knows the machine. G-code, extruder and hot end will stop a 6th grader cold, the steps run together in one paragraph, and the burn warning comes last, in a sentence no beginner would recognize as a warning.
Meets the StandardWARNING: The metal tip that squeezes out melted plastic, called the nozzle, heats to about 200°C, much hotter than boiling water. Never touch it. 1. Look at the flat plate where your object gets built, called the print bed, and make sure nothing is on it. 2. Put the USB stick in the slot, turn the knob until your file name appears, and press the knob once. 3. Wait while the number on the screen climbs to about 200°C, because the printer is heating the nozzle. 4. Watch the first layer, and if the plastic lines are not sticking to the bed, press Stop and get a teacher.The card puts the danger first, because the reader’s safety matters more than the print. Numbered steps follow the order the 6th grader will act in, each technical term is defined by something the reader can see, and every command is short enough to read mid-task. The last step tells a beginner exactly what to do when something goes wrong.
Moves to Use
Write down the task, the purpose and the reader before the first sentence.Put the most important information where the reader looks first.Order the steps the way the reader will do them.Define each technical term by what the reader can see or touch.Test the draft on someone like the real reader.
Common Mistakes with WHST.6-8.4
Writing for the teacher instead of the reader
“Wait for the extruder to reach temp and monitor first-layer adhesion.”
Try this: Have students name their reader at the top of the draft, then circle every word that reader would need explained.
One format for every task
A five-paragraph essay taped beside the printer
Try this: Show students a real example of the genre first, such as a safety card or lab report, and list what its layout does.
Talking down to the reader
“The printer is super fun but also super dangerous, so be careful, okay?”
Try this: Rewrite each friendly filler sentence as a direct command with one fact, so the card stays simple without sounding babyish.
Rubric GeneratorFree ToolBuild a rubric for one real task, such as a safety card for younger students, with a row asking whether that reader could use it.AudienceTaskPurpose
Who is the audience for the card, and what is its purpose?
A 6th grader who has never used a 3D printer. The purpose is to let that student start a print safely while reading the card at the machine.
Why does the strong response put the warning first instead of last?
Safety matters more than the print, and a beginner may stop reading partway. Putting the warning first is an organization choice made for this purpose and this reader.
How does the strong response handle technical terms like nozzle and print bed?
It keeps the real terms but defines each by what the reader can see: the metal tip that squeezes out plastic, the flat plate where the object is built.