THE SIX TRAITS OF WRITING

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THE SIX TRAITS OF WRITING
Annette Bennett Gail Bradley Jennifer Hughes MED
672 Summer 2002
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OBJECTIVE
Students will gain a basic understanding of the
six traits of analytical writing.
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1. IDEAS CONTENT

• This is the main focus or purpose for the
  writing.
• Clarity
• Focusa small, easy-to-manage topic
• Good Informationfrom experience, imagination, or
  research
• A Fresh Perspective
• Important, helpful details that go beyond the
  obvious.

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2. ORGANIZATION

• Organization is the internal structure of the
  writing.
• A paper that is well-organized has
• a snappy lead that gets the readers attention.
• order and logic.
• clear connections to a main idea.
• an easy-to-follow order, but is not too
  predictable.
• a graceful endingdoesnt just STOP.

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Intro to Shrek
Once upon a time there was a lovely princess. But
she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful
sort... Which could only be broken by love's
first kiss. She was locked away in a castle
guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many
brave knights had attempted to free her from this
dreadful prison, but none prevailed. She waited
in the dragon's keep in the highest room of the
tallest tower... for her true love and true
love's first kiss.
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Tell me EXACTLY how to make a peanut butter
sandwich
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3.VOICE
The personal voice of the author comes through.
This gives a sense of a real person speaking.

• Individuality
• Liveliness
• Enthusiasm for topic
• Confidence that comes from knowledge
• Tone fits audience, purpose
• Sensitivity to audience needs
• Appeal to keep readers reading

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Donkey Hey, wait a minute! I got a great
idea! Ill stick with you. Youre a mean,
green, fightin machine. Together well scare
the spit out of anybody that crosses us.
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Compare the two samples that follow. In one
there is voice, flavor, life! The other is flat
and dull. Why are they so different? After
reading both , work with a partner to revise one
of the dull paragraphs that follow.
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EXAMPLES

• 1. Some people just do not know how to drive
  well. Roy is one of them.
• 2. You do not want to be a passenger when Roy
  is at the wheel. He either cannot recognize the
  color red or else he does not know what red
  lights are for. He never stops. I pity drivers
  who get in his way. He zooms right up behind
  them and hits the horn full blast. Whats
  worse, he passes everything on wheels, even if he
  has to go into the ditch to do it!

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CHOOSE ONE
1. Ted stares at TV all night. He watches
anything that is on. He must like TV a lot. 2.
Mary Ellen is fearless. It is amazing. She is
just not afraid of anything. 3. I have this one
thing that I love to do with my friends after
school. It is so cool. It is just really,
really neat.
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4.WORD CHOICE
Word Choice is the use of precise, colorful, and
rich words to communicate.

• Accuracy
• Precision
• Everyday words used in fresh ways
• Avoidance of jargon
• No ponderous let me impress you language
• Language that fits audience, purpose
• Lively verbs
• Words that paint pictures

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Princess Fiona You did it! You rescued me!
Youre amazing. YoureYoure wonderful. Youre
a little unorthodox Ill admit. But thine deed
is great, and thine heart is pure. I am
eternally in your debt. No its destiny. Oh,
you must know how it goes. A princess locked in
a tower and beset by a dragon is rescued by a
brave knight, and then they share true loves
first kiss.
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Think of your favorite unique or unusual
relative. Write a paragraph describing this
person in detail. Remember to choose words that
show what this person is really like. If you
dont have a unique or unusual relative choose
one of the characters from Shrek or another movie
and describe your favorite character. Remember
the importance of good word choices.

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5. SENTENCE FLUENCY
Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of
sentences that makes a text easy and pleasurable
to read. When sentence fluency is strong, it is
easy to read a text aloud with lots of
interpretation and inflection it dances
gracefully from one sentence to the next. Strong
sentence fluency is also marked by variety in
both sentence length and structure.
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5. SENTENCE FLUENCY

• Easy rhythm and flow
• One sentence glides into another
• Variety in length
• Variety in structure
• Delightful to read/hear
• Easy to read with expression
• Easy to follow

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EXAMPLES
Underwater basket weaving should be taught. It
should be taught because it will increase the
fitness level of students. Students in America
are not that fit. This class will increase lung
capacity. It will build muscle.
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MAGIC MIRROR So, just sit back and relax My
Lord, because it's time for you to meet today's
eligible bachelorettes. And here they are!
Bachelorette number one is a mentally abused
shut-in from a kingdom far, faraway. She likes
sushi and hot tubbing any time. Her hobbies
include cooking and cleaning for her two evil
sisters. Please welcome Cinderella. Bachelorette
number two is a cape-wearing girl from the land
of fancy. Although she lives with seven other
men, she's not easy. Just kiss her dead, frozen
lips and find out what a live wire she is. Come
on. Give it up for Snow White! And last, but
certainly not least, bachelorette number three is
a fiery red head... from a dragon-guarded castle
surrounded by hot boiling lava! But don't let
that cool you off. She's a loaded pistol who
likes pina coladas and getting caught in the
rain. Yours for the rescuing, Princess Fiona! So
will it be bachelorette number one, bachelorette
number two or bachelorette number three?
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6. MECHANICS
Mechanics include the correct usage of spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, and
grammar. Final papers should look clean, edited,
and proofread.
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6. MECHANICS

• Control over conventions
• Evidence of proofreading/editing
• Easy-to-process text
• Conventions enhance meaning
• Only light touch-ups needed
• Appealing layout

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EXAMPLE
Some animals can run some cant. Some jump some
fly some die the other ones live then there is
strong animals there are cute animals. And the
other mean animals.
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(No Transcript)
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Princess Fiona Well, yes. But Idont
understand. Im supposed to be beautiful. Shrek
But you are beautiful. Donkey I was hoping
this would be a happy ending.
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THE END