Liberty Intermediate School

Goal One

How will we improve written language?

6 + 1 Writing Traits

Have you heard the new "buzz" word going around Liberty IS? It's 6 + 1 Traits writing.   6 + 1 traits writing guides students in the writing process helping them to become aware of their writing skills all the while developing their writing craft. It teaches students to evaluate their own writing pieces empowering them to grow as writers. LIS will focus on Ideas, Organization and Conventions this school year. That's not to say, the other traits won't be discussed!

So what are the 6 + 1 traits?

Ideas are the heart of the message. It's the content, the main theme or idea and all the details that enrich and develop the theme. It's important to have strong ideas so the message is clear and the story line is easy to follow.

Organization is what holds the story together. It's the internal structure of writing, similar to the framework of a building or the skeleton to a body. It gives the piece form and shape.

Voice is the writer showing his/her voice in their writing to best convey the message.   It's what brings a writing piece to life! It truly is the heart and soul of the writing. Strong voice has a way of breathing life into the piece and it's unique to each writer.

Word choice captivates the reader in a way that moves them and enlightens their sense of the story. Through rich colorful word choice, precise language is communicated in not only a functional way but in a way that entices the reader to keep reading.

Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of the language. It's the way writing plays to the ears, not just the eyes. With sentence fluency, you can hear the sound of word patterns. It's the natural flow of the words and language.

Conventions are what we are most familiar way. It's the nuts and bolts of writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar, paragraphs and capitalization. It's what makes it easy for us to follow text.

Presentation is the way we present our writing for others to read.   Even when we have all the other traits well executed in our text, if the presentation of the paper is not inviting, others won't be eager to read our writing pieces.

Find out more about 6 + 1 Writing Traits by visiting these websites.

The Creators of 6 + 1

More about 6 + 1

Liberty Intermediate School