Education Northwest created “6+1 Traits of Writing” as a method for teaching and assessing writing. This model consists of six “writing” qualities, ideas, voice, organization, conventions, word choice, and fluency, and one “appearance” quality, presentation. The main theme and the details of the writing are presented in the “ideas” of the piece. The “ideas” describe how clearly the writer shows his thoughts. The internal structure of the writing is presented through the “organization”, which lays out the sequence of the story, its strength and logic, and the connections in the written material. The writer expresses his feelings trough the “voice”. The “voice” distinguishes the writer as who he is. Through the “word choice”, the writer articulates …show more content…
Too often students think that they cannot write and that is because they do not know what is expected of them. With proper modeling and guiding, the 6+1 traits of writing helps students develop their skills. The rubrics aid students in evaluating their own writing and make improvements. These traits, which should be taught in English classes, can and should be applied in other classes, such as math, science, and history. For example, in math class students demonstrate “sentence fluency” when they explain their reasoning while solving problems. In science class, students practice and use the “convention” trait when applying formulas and assigning units of measurements, the same way they use grammar and punctuation in English classes. Although “6+1 Traits of Writing” has seven essential traits, which should be taught and assessed by English teachers, in my opinion, content area teachers, included myself, do not have to use all of them concurrently. In Math or Science classes, I can focus on one or two traits, depending on the information which is being taught during a certain lesson. A great way to implement and use this model would be writing a research paper with a theme from history or science in collaboration with the English teachers, whose focus would be teaching the sentence fluency and conventions. “Six plus one traits of writing” can be applied in core classes, but only if it is taught in English Language Arts
There are many who strive to become famous writers and although some succeed, many do not find such great prosperity. In the words of bestselling author Stephen King, “while it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and while it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, it is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one,” (142). King’s thesis from his novel On Writing can be debated because with “hard work, dedication, and timely help” it is possible for a writer of any skill level to improve to become better. On Writing is intended to teach the basic skills of writing so readers can develop writing skills to progress to be better writers. If one has passion for writing, patience, and the willingness to learn they will succeed in becoming great writers.
I have used the “D” variation of looking at individuals Student Writing from Katherine Bomer’s Hidden Gems to analyze and evaluate Melody’s writing. My first reactions to Melody’s writing are that her structure and conventions are strong and detailed and organized. Bomer and the list of “qualitative features of writing checklist” located in Hidden Gems, helped me analyze Melody’s work in a positive aspect located things such as the student “communicates thoughts and ideas, the story has a logical organizational structure of sequence, the story has an effective strategies for organizing information and the story has a sentence – to – sentence and word – to – word relationship” (Bomer, 2010, p. 83). All of these ideas that Bomer has listed
Instead of focusing on the different types of writing styles they will encounter in college and the workforce, most of the writing instruction students receive in their underclassman English courses at Carrizo Springs High School is primarily focused on preparation for the English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Written Composition test, which has standards that are different than the outcomes they will be expected to accomplish in their dual credit English class and future college writing courses. Therefore, there must be a method implemented at Carrizo Springs High School and Southwest Texas Junior College to help students become more successful in dual credit English before they even step foot in that class. Students must understand that how they perform in that class will have an effect on their
These essays show me how much I lack when it comes to descriptive writing. I often use simple vague words to get my point across quicker rather than taking the time to write about the details about the situation or the people or whatever I may be writing about.
Writing is an essential tool and has been noted as a precursor for great speaking by teachers at all grade levels. However, with writing being an important aspect throughout one’s academic career and beyond, it is one of the most tedious tasks to teach. It sounds like a cliché, but in order to get better at something, one has to keep completing the task and each time, accomplish something different while maintaining prior knowledge. There are various ways that enhance a student’s writing abilities and the focus of these research strategies will prove that encouraging students to write enhances writing.
From elementary school to high school, I was taught that my writing had to be structured and follow strict criteria. After I arrived in Mr. Mukherjee’s ENG 102 class, I was given the opportunity to express my creative freedom through words and graphical pictures. It can often be difficult and challenging to improve upon my own writing abilities unless motived with an idea in mind. When looking back on my time at ASU, I thought about the goals that I wanted to address for myself and the course goals that my instructor had set for the class. These goals include ones that I had accomplished to the best of my ability and ones that I need to address as well as improve.
Most elements of writing (development, organization, and style) fit task, purpose, and audience. Some identifiable mismatches.
Conn McQuinn from Puget Sound ESD in Burien, Washington guides teachers and students alike through a writing process with the analogy of creating a "Magnifique" pizza and Six Trait Writing Links. Pamela Arlov wrote a book titled Wordsmith: A guide to college writing, which explains the writing process. We are going to compare the six traits of writing by Conn McQuinn and the writing process by Pamela Arlov and determine which seems to work best.
Developing good writing skills can be compared to developing one’s personality. Over the years students will go through experiences that will shape who they are as a writer. Much like writing skills, a personality is formed when one goes through several life experiences. All of these things are processes that make us better people, students, and of course, writers. Writing in Mrs. Dominico’s class, Mrs. Bowling’s class, and Mr. Birdsall’s class have greatly influenced my writing skills and my outlook on writing.
Writing is a practice that most of us were taught when we were young. We were taught the basics of grammar, how to form a sentence, conjunction words, how to write paragraphs and more. Although we have learned this skill while growing up and have used the skill every year after entering kindergarten, this does not mean our writing process will ensure the best work. The authors that I chose each encourage their audience to excel in the art of writing in their own way to help with the writing process.
It is essential to understand that classes taken in grade school do not give students a full understanding of each subject. With the topic of writing, there will always be a new lesson to learn, an aspect to improve, or a differing way to explain. Author Craig Vetter states in Bonehead Writing, “This is your enemy: a perfectly empty sheet of paper. Nothing will ever happen here except what you make happen.” Each story, essay, or response comes from a writer’s experiences. With each attempt at a new piece comes an underlying story of emotions the writer is facing. Each person’s writing is unique and the ideas people have are related to their past experiences and what they believe to be familiar with when deciding which writing style to use. As a high school student, I have learned many things about writing that helped me become the improved writer I am today, but the most essential advice I have received is practice makes perfect. Although there is no actual perfect way of writing, I have discovered that each essay I write, my writing improves. It is easier to spot mistakes, find areas to improve, and ponder elevated word choice to use.
Furthermore, according to Duncan Carter’s article, Five Myths About Writing, “Years of well-intentioned English teachers have responded to students’ first drafts as if they were supposed to have been perfect. Combined with a pedagogy which suggests that revision is a form of punishment, it is not hard to see where students get the idea that good writers don’t have to revise” (Carter, 82). Growing up, high school teachers make it seem as if revising and editing your paper is the worst thing ever. Any student who worked long and hard on their assignment and turned it in to get revised, would hate to receive a paper back with nothing but red marks and errors written all over them. This initially gave people the mindset of forgetting about editing their work if all it did was tear them down and point out their mistakes.
A learner’s ability to communicate effectively through writing to his/her target audiences is a major prerequisite for academic success. It is also a major pillar of success in one’s career across all areas of practice. Even though, writing clearly is critical to one’s academic and career success, I have not always loved writing. In fact, for a long time I despised writing. At one point, I had a feeling that my writings skills were bound to remain stagnated throughout my life. However, time has proven that I was wrong. My attitude and outlook towards virtually all genres of writing has changed positively. The various helpful methods I have been exposed to by my English teachers through different grades have helped me
This semester I was surprised by how much I actually learned and developed my writing skills. I was given the opportunity to learn the many steps that it is required to become a good writer. Writing requires a lot of work. It consists of various steps; prewriting, drafting, rewriting, proofreading and publishing. . All of these components are extremely important, and necessary, and will need to be follow to improve student’s writing.
The nature of writing has changed in the past century. While writing still remains a form of visual communication, much of this change has been a result of technological advancements such as, from pen to paper or from a typewriter to a networked computer. The changes and expansion in the ways we are able to write today have brought about changes in writing pedagogy as well. The teaching of writing has been part of formal schooling in the United States for over 200 years (Kean 7). One major pedagogic change in United States’ education has to do with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. These standards have led to a change in the instruction of writing in schools. This paper, will focus on instructional changes of writing over time and current expectations for writing abilities as whole.