The 6 + 1 Traits of writing are what we use to help guide our writing to become better writers. These are seven areas of our writing that we try to develop as the year progresses.

The TRAITS:

• Ideas
• Organization
• Word Choice
• Voice
• Sentency Fluency
• Conventions
• Presentation

For more information on what each of these traits look like in good writing see the following websites...

• The Online Writing Lab
  http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/concord/teacherlinks/sixtraits/sixtraits.html
• 6 Traits + 1
  http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/langarts/sixtrtcrsmtrl.htm

To see how we use a rubric to score our writing, see the following websites...

• 4 point scale:
  http://home.mindspring.com/~lclifton1/id6.html
• 5 point scale:
  http://www.middleweb.com/ReadWrkshp/RWdownld/MvaleRubric.pdf