September 16 - 6 Traits of Writing
English 9/16/13: Introduction to the 6+1 Traits of Writing
Warm-Up Activity: Read the following poem and complete questions 1-3 underneath the poem.
Warm-Up Activity: Read the following poem and complete questions 1-3 underneath the poem.
1. On your iPad, write as quickly as you can about everything that this poem makes you think about. Your response must be at least FIVE complete sentences.
2. Borrow one of the lines and write as quickly and specifically as you can, letting the line lead your thinking. Your response must be at least THREE complete sentences. [Example: It takes an unexpected turn. Your life may rise and fall like a roller coaster, leading you on a path you had never anticipated...]
3. Think about "adolescence" and describe this time period in your life. Write at least THREE specific sentences. (Adolescents are young people and/or teenagers.)
Class Notes: 9/16/13
What are the 6+1 traits of writing?
1. Ideas
2. Organization
3. Voice
4. Word Choice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions
7. [+1] Presentation
2. Borrow one of the lines and write as quickly and specifically as you can, letting the line lead your thinking. Your response must be at least THREE complete sentences. [Example: It takes an unexpected turn. Your life may rise and fall like a roller coaster, leading you on a path you had never anticipated...]
3. Think about "adolescence" and describe this time period in your life. Write at least THREE specific sentences. (Adolescents are young people and/or teenagers.)
Class Notes: 9/16/13
What are the 6+1 traits of writing?
1. Ideas
- Have one main idea, thesis, center, sense of purpose.
- Use important details to support your main idea.
- Holds your reader’s attention.
- Show, don’t tell.
- Draws on the writer’s experiences.
- Example: “When I was five, I dug a hole in the strawberry patch, filled it with hose water, and lobelia buds. It was my cauldron, and I stirred it with a stick. Knee-deep in dirt, my feet planted firmly in earth, I was a child-weed creature.”
2. Organization
- Have one central idea with threads of information woven throughout your story.
- Include a beginning, middle, and ending.
- Has a logical order or pattern.
- Begins with an opening hook.
- Ends well by tying up all loose ends.
- Example: “All and all, Billy Bafford was the most stinky, ugly, red-headed, big eared, loud-mouth bully you could ever dream of. I should know. He was my best friend.”
3. Voice
- Sounds like YOU wrote your story.
- Writing has style and flavor.
- Reaches out to the reader through emotion.
- Makes the reader respond and feel.
- Example: “Most of the chickens were dead anyway. By the time he decided the chickens had to go, most of them were already dead. The whole thing was Dad’s idea; some crazy notion about bringing a bit of the old days on the Saskatchewan prairie to suburbia. Dad was like that. Sometimes that line between story and reality got a little fuzzy for him.”
4. Word Choice
- Uses words that show your thoughts, rather than just telling.
- Your words paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
- Long after reading, words still stay in your mind.
- Words are chosen wisely.
- Example: “An uninterrupted carpet of snow lay before us.”
5. Sentence Fluency
- Uses both short and long sentences.
- Has a pleasant rhythm when your words are read out loud.
- Sentences begin in different ways.
- Example: In yesteryear, when Moby Dick was just a tadpole and the seas rolled and thundered over the jetties and onto the shore…”
6. Conventions
- The entire story is proofread and polished.
- Words are spelled correctly.
- Grammar and punctuation are used correctly.
7. [+1] Presentation
- Use neat handwriting.
- Illustrations, graphs, and other visuals serve a purpose.
In-Class Assignment
Choose one of the 6 traits of writing above and design a poster to represent your trait without writing any words of explanation on the poster. You may title your picture with the trait you chose, but everything else on your poster must be a picture. On the back of your poster, please write your name and a brief 3-sentence paragraph explaining how your pictures represent the trait of writing that you chose. |