The Six Traits of Writing

1
The Six Traits of Writing

• The keys to successful writing

2
What are the traits?

• Ideas
• Organization
• Word Choice
• Voice
• Sentence Fluency
• Conventions

3
IDEAS

• Powerful and Significant

4
Ideas

• It all makes sense.
• I know this topic well.
• My paper has a purpose.
• I have included interesting details not everyone
  would think of.
• Once you start reading, you wont want to stop.

5
ORGANIZATION

• Logical and Effective

6
Organization

• It starts out with a bang.
• Everything ties together well.
• You can follow it easily.
• At the end it feels finished and makes you think.

7
WORD CHOICE

• Specific and Precise

8
Word Choice

• This is the best way to say this.
• My words make pictures in the readers mind.
• I used words that are new ways to say everyday
  things.
• My verbs are powerful my nouns and adjectives
  are specific and precise.
• Some of the words linger in your mind after you
  read them.

9
VOICE

• Individual and Appropriate

10
Voice

• It sounds like a real person wrote it.
• You can tell that I care about this topic.
• This is what I really think.
• I want you to read this and feel something.
• You can tell that I am thinking about my
  audience.

11
SENTENCE FLUENCY

• Smooth and Expressive

12
Sentence Fluency

• My sentences begin in different ways.
• Some sentences are long some are short.
• It sounds good as you read it.
• My sentences have power and punch.
• My writing flows easily from sentence to
  sentence.

13
CONVENTIONS

• Correct and Communicative

14
Conventions

• I have used capitals correctly.
• Periods, commas, exclamation marks, and quotation
  marks are in the right places.
• Every word is spelled correctly.
• I indented each paragraph.
• My spelling, punctuation, grammar, and
  capitalization make my writing easy to read and
  understand.

15
Homework

• Create a 6 traits bookmark with a drawing and
  bulleted description of each trait
• On your bookmark put 3 traits on one side and 3
  traits on the other side. You must at least 4
  bullets per trait.
• Make sure it is neat, easy to read and
  esthetically pleasing.
• 18 points