Response for Class on 3/28

The Six Traits of Writing
I don't think I was ever explicitly taught these six traits. What I mean is I was never given a list with these traits on it, saying, "This is how you write successfully." As I've said in previous posts, I only had a few teachers who actually taught writing, so I'm not all that surprised. For the most part, I gathered that these things were important through trial and error. I wrote reports that weren't organized well, so they didn't make sense. I wrote essays where there was no sentence fluency. I wrote stories in which the word choice was bland. I had to practice these six skills to improve m writing.

When I look at this list, I can see that a good piece of writing needs all six traits to be truly successful. There needs to be a strong idea that has well-organized arguments, a voice that comes through, and proper use of conventions. The words should be rich and specific, but not too flowery, and the sentences should feel natural to the reader. I think it is impossible to teach writing without focusing on these traits. Whether they are taught explicitly, as a checklist to have in a writing repertoire, or an implicit focus throughout a writing curriculum, these are the areas we should seek to develop in our students.

I love that the conventions are last on the list. Whether this was an intentional choice or not, I think it is something to take notice of. So often, teachers spend so much time with a red pen, correcting grammar and punctuation. In reality, that is not as important as making sure the organization of the paper makes sense, or the fluency is on target. I work at the Writing Center on campus, and one of the things we are told is to leave grammar alone and focus on the more important aspects of writing. While conventions are clearly an important part of successful writing, there is nothing more discouraging than a paper filled with red marks. I think back to one of the first readings we did that advised against finding everything wrong with a student's paper in favor of finding the talent inside of it. Teachers need to keep in mind that teaching organization and sentence fluency and how to develop an idea will grow a student's confidence in their writing; the conventions will come.

When I have my own classroom full of students, I want to use these six traits in my curriculum. I think they need to be incorporated into every possible assignment, developing strong writers with every opportunity.