6-TRAIT WRITING

A PREVIEW

Presented by: English 11 TALONS

WHAT’S UP?

Understand the concept of each of

the 6 traits

Recognize examples of these traits

Apply these traits to your own

writing

WHAT’S WHAT

The 6 traits you will need to know and learn are:

1. Ideas

2. Organization

3. Voice

4. Word Choice

5. Sentence Fluency

6. Conventions and Presentation

IDEAS

The heart of the message

What the writer wants to say

Specific and Original

Pick a team (No sitting on the fence)

ORGANIZATION

Effectiveness of Introduction and

Conclusion

Writing is easy to follow

Logical placement of points

Clear direction and purpose

Cheese, in my opinion is the best food on earth. It has many

health benefits to be reaped as well! My family enjoys the

succulent, tart, and satisfying sensation of cheese almost every

night. I’ve always wondered about where those amazing wheels

came from; so I decided one day to sit down in front of my black

and blue computer to get to the bottom of it. The amazing abilities

of cheese also include giving a healthy dose of calcium. The

calcium in the cheese aids the development of your bones! Among

all my friends, I adore the bright yellow wheels and blocks of

savoury cheese the most. I cannot wrap my mind around how they

can resist the pull cheese!

VOICE

Presence of the Author in a work

Bridge from Reader to Writer

Words are connected and personal

to the writer

Adds dimension to writing

*Emoticons can be considered crude

voice :D

Trees are very strong plants. They put their roots

down into the ground to keep from falling over.

Through storms trees stand tall and rarely fall over.

Throughout the many years they live, trees only

grow stronger and taller. A lot of the time it seems

like they are permanent.

Amongst all flora, trees rise high above the foliage and

jut out like castle turrets beside their lesser comrades.

Ferociously digging their steel roots down into the firm

ground, and shooting into the reaches of the sky, the

bark and leaves make their presence known for miles.

Come wind or gale, the pillars of strength stand tall. As

flowers wither and die, father time only sees these leaved

leviathans grow taller and stronger. Trees stand,

indestructible to mere mortals.

WORD CHOICE

Using the right word in the right

context

Connotation and Denotation

Picking words that create the

desired impact

Strong and moving verbs to bring

life to writing

“Time to get on the bus!” impeached Dad. We were

of—that is, off to Oregon. My softball team was

travelling to the Nation Tournament in Salem. We were

riding on a massive bus that would drive two days

straight. Michelle brought a movie and we all scanned

it with pleasure

The word choice errors are distracting

aren’t thay?

SENTENCE FLUENCY

Variety of sentences

Links between sentences pulls the

reader along

Adds fluidity to writing

The dog jumped over the box. Then he ran into the kitchen

when he heard the dinner bell. He munched on his food

happily. Then he jumped onto the couch. Then he took a nap.

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Hearing the dinner bell, the dog jumped over the box and ran

into the kitchen. After munching on his food happily, he

jumped onto the couch for a nap.

CONVENTIONS

Proper presentation of writing

• Spelling

• Punctuation

• Grammar

• Usage

• Capitalization

• Paragraphing