6 Traits of Writing

Ideas

writing has good ideas when...

• You can tell the writer knows about the subject
• The topic is narrowed and not too large
• Information is specific
• Relevant and interesting details are included

Practice: Narrowing Topics

• Baseball >>>_______>>>_______
• School >>>_______>>>_______
• Music >>>_______>>>_______

ORGANIZATION
The internal structure of the piece, like a skeleton or the framework of a building.

WRITING HAS GOOD ORGANIZATION WHEN...

• It has an engaging lead (a hook!)
• It has a thought provoking close
• Ideas are linked by transitions
• The structure makes sense for the type of writing 
• It's easy to follow

transition words

PRACTICE: Write a statement. Then write a statement that indicates a sequence. (Ex: I picked up the pen. Then, I wrote on the paper.)

PRACTICE:
Write a statement. Then write a statement that clarifies.
(Ex: My brother runs fast. As a result, he won every race.)

PRACTICE: Write a statement. Then write a sentence beginning with “for example.” (Ex: Sally is a helpful girl.
For example, she helps her father prepare breakfast.)

PRACTICE: Write a statement. Then write a statement that adds to your previous statement. (Ex: I’m addicted to watching American Idol. As well, I like to envision what song I’d sing as a contestant.)

voice

writing has good voice when...

• The writer is interested in the topic
• The writer sounds confident about the topic 
• You can tell who wrote it
• Reader feels connected to the writer 
• Reader can interpret writer's attitude toward the topic 

PRACTICE WITH VOICE:
What is one food you could never live without?

Write one sentence about the food item you have chosen. Your sentence should tell your readers that you enjoy this food item very much without actually writing “I love…”
DESCRIBE it in a way that shows you love it.

PRACTICE WITH VOICE: What is the one food item that you would NEVER eat, even if someone paid you to eat it?

Write one sentence about the food item you despise. Your sentence should tell your readers that you are not a fan of this item without actually writing “I hate…” DESCRIBE it in a way that shows you hate it.

word choice

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” –Mark Twain

writing has good word choice when...

• The wording is accurate. DON'T BE A THESAURUS PICKER!
• You use original wording- NO CLICHES! (AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE)
• There is minimal redundancy
• The writer uses strong verbs
• No DEAD WORDS (good, bad, great, awesome, a lot, very, big, little, etc.) 

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practice with word choice

Some words just don’t tell your reader EXACTLY what you want them to know. For each of the following words, give two examples of words that are more specific.

Got: 1) Obtained 2) Acquired
Mad: 1) 2)
Ran: 1) 2)

sentence fluency

writing has good sentence fluency when...

• It is easy to read aloud
• Has varied sentence length
• Has varied sentence structure
• Use of creative phrases
• Use of alliteration and figurative language

sentence fluency example...

This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals--sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

PRACTICE: Rewrite this choppy paragraph so that it sounds beautiful! You should vary the sentence length and structure.

I woke up on Saturday. I took a shower. I went to the store. I bought a pair of shoes. I bought shoes that are purple. I have one pair of purple shoes. My husband hates shoes. My husband says I have too many shoes. I don’t care what my husband says. I like shoes.

conventions

Writing has good conventions when...

• It has appropriate use of capitalization
• Appropriate use of punctuation
• Spelling is correct
• MLA style is used correctly

PRACTICE:
Correct the following paragraph for errors (10).
Many inventions has odd story behind them. The hot dog is one of those odd storys. It was invented by a sausage seller in St. louis. Sausages could be messy, so Anton Feuchtwanger gave his customers white gloves to where while they ate the problem was that many customer's did not return the white gloves. Thats why Feuchtwanger asked his brother-in-law, a baker to make a special roll to hold the sausage. The result: the first hot dog!

Many inventions has odd story behind them.

The hot dog is one of those odd storys.

It was invented by a sausage seller in St. louis.

Sausages could be messy, so Anton Feuchtwanger gave his customers white gloves to where while they ate the problem was that many customer's did not return the white gloves.

Thats why Feuchtwanger asked his brother-in-law, a baker to make a special roll to hold the sausage. The result: the first hot dog!