Use the conventions of language and communication to deliberately convey meaning when engaging in speaking, writing, and other forms of representing.

Consistently apply the conventions of oral and written language and the conventions of visual and multimedia texts.

Pragmatic: Select and use the language appropriate for specific audiences and purposes including the celebration of special events and accomplishments; use language that demonstrates respect for others; address communication to a specific audience; ensure voice/tone is appropriate to audience and text type; recognize and explain function and purpose of texts including informing, persuading, narrating, and describing; use standard Canadian English that follows accepted rules of usage; use appropriate register, tone, and usage; use standard Canadian English.

Textual: Understand and use a range of standard forms for texts including paragraphs and multi-paragraph compositions; use appropriate point of view (including third person) for purpose; use common organizational patterns within texts (e.g., chronological, enumerative, problem/solution, cause/effect, comparison/contrast); craft strong leads and effective conclusions; maintain focus from beginning to end; use transition words; include covering page and list of references.

Syntactical: Use clear sentence structures that contain a verb and its subject (average spoken sentence length – 9.5 words; written sentence length – 9.0 words).; combine closely related ideas into compound structures using conjunctions or joining words; include some subordination and modification; use phrases, clauses, and a variety of qualifiers; ensure that sentences are complete, interesting, and on topic; combine sentences to form compound and complex sentences for variety, interest, and effect; ensure that the subject, pronouns, and verbs agree; ensure that the sentences use appropriate verb tense (e.g., "I have seen...."); ensure that qualifiers are not misplaced; vary sentence beginning; avoid double subjects (e.g., "Bill, he....") and double negatives with verbs (e.g., "I don''t have nothing."); use effective punctuation and capitalization including periods, commas, quotation marks, colons, dashes, and hyphens.

Semantic/Lexical/Morphological: Use words that are appropriate for audience, purpose, and context and capture a particular aspect of intended meaning; avoid overused and misused words (e.g., "could of"); use common homonyms (e.g., their/they''re/there; its/it''s; too/two/to) and commonly confused words (e.g., who/whom) correctly; use words figuratively and for imagery; spell most words correctly using Canadian spelling, use a variety of strategies and resources (e.g., dictionaries, thesauruses, spell check) to learn the correct spelling and meaning of words.

Graphophonic: Enunciate clearly and carefully; pronounce words correctly; recognize onomatopoeia and alliteration; use basic spelling strategies, rules, and word families to spell words correctly at grade level; spell derivatives correctly by applying the spellings of bases and affixes.

Other Cues: Use volume and presentation techniques appropriate to audience and purpose; use appropriate gestures, physical movements, facial expressions, sounds, visuals, and multimedia aids to enhance presentation; combine print and visuals; use printing (e.g., for labels on a map) and cursive writing (e.g., for writing a report) appropriate to purpose; write legibly with appropriate speed and control; include clear representations (e.g., electronic illustration); underline and/or italicize names of books and periodicals; use quotation marks correctly in speech, songs, poems, and short stories.