Six Trait Writing
for assessment and instruction
Jen Madison
Educational Service Unit No. 6
jmadison@esu6.org
http://esu6writing.wikispaces.com
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
What makes writing work?

Record one specific characteristic of good writing.

Musical Cards
– Trade cards while the music plays.
– When the music stops, partner with the person currently trading
with you.
– Read each card and together
distribute 7 points between
importance and
What makes good
the two cards to represent the degree of
relevance toward the question:
writing work?
THE 6+1 TRAITS
Ideas

The heart of the message
Organization

The internal structure of the piece
Voice

The feeling and conviction of the writer
Word Choice

The precise language chosen to convey meaning
Sentence Fluency

The rhythm and flow of the language
Conventions

The mechanical correctness
Presentation

How the writing looks on the page
Purpose of Traits

“an answer to the question: What makes writing work?”

consistent “writer’s language that opens the door to
revision” (a how to for revision)

a way to
–
–
–
–

organize and clarify good writing instruction
encourage consistent assessment
empower and motivate young writers
encourage thinking skills and self-monitoring
NOT meant to replace instruction of writing process!
(Spandel, Creating Writers, 2005, p. 1-2)
Trait-based Writing


Form and language
Vision of success
“If we had called them the six keys to good writing, people likely
would have made the instructional connection immediately.
This is where the true power of trait-based instruction lies—
showing students the keys to writing well.”
Spandel, V. (2008). Creating Young Writers
“…the keys to writing well:”
Have a strong, clear idea.
– Use details and pictures to paint a picture in year
reader’s mind.
 Write with authority and voice.
 Organize your information so that a reader can follow it.
 Use words that make sense—and that are lively as well.
 Write with fluency and variety—the way good dancers
dance.
 Make your conventions as strong as you can so that
readers can figure out your message.

(Spandel, 2008, Creating Young Writers, p. 7)
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
What do you notice?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I can just see it. I feel like I’m in
that car.
I love the line “her eyes were as big
as her fists.”
He’s having a good time [most
readers assume the writer is male].
I know these people.
Lively!
I sympathize with Mom-- I hate mice
too!
I like the pickle jar-- I can even smell
the pickles.
Great images-- love Dad backing
into the tree and mom in her
nightgown.
You get every point of view- even
the mouse’s!
What do you notice?










Boring-- it put me right to
sleep.
Flat, empty.
Safe.
She was writing just to get it
done.
Mechanics are pretty good.
It doesn’t say anything.
The organization isn’t too bad.
What Redwoods? The title
doesn’t go with the paper.
She (he?) seems like a nice
kid- I want to like it.
It’s not that bad for fourth or
fifth grade-- I assume that’s
what it is right?
Rubrics and Scoring Guides
a few ideas

A Developmental Continuum
for Early Writing

– Pre-K to K


– K-2
– Ruth Culham,
http://www.culhamwriting.com/lib
rary.html
K-2 Illustrated Beginning
Writer’s Rubric
– Pre-K to 2 (or until student
consistently scores 5 or 6)
– Education Northwest, 2010
6+1 Traits Condensed 5Point 3-12 Writer’s Rubric
(“One-Pager”)
– 3-12
– Education Northwest, 2010
My First Scoring Guide
(Student-Friendly Scoring
Guide Primary)

Student-Friendly Scoring Guide
Grades 3-5
– Ruth Culham,
http://www.culhamwriting.com/lib
rary.html
Exploring the Traits Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for ideas/content
– Note the words that best define the trait characteristics (the
criteria) and proficiency levels.

Read the writing thoroughly:
– Look for strengths
– Score traits
– Discuss reasons for your score(s)
Holistic vs. Analytic Scoring
Holistic
Analytic

Each trait scored separately

One overall score

Provides more detailed
feedback to guide instruction
and monitor progress

Intended to generalize overall
effect

Cannot provide specific, needsbased feedback

Usually reserved for
summative assessment (after
instruction and practice)

Used for most classroom
practice and formative
assessment (during instruction
and practice)
Using Rubrics:
One Way to Respond & Assess

Many formats and varieties
– Thoughtfully select traits for assessment
 informational/technical writing
 creative/personal writing
– Have students help create indicators
– Provide student friendly versions
– Engage students in activities using rubrics
– Be consistent
– Score certain traits
Using Rubrics
One Way to Respond & Assess

Always read the entire paper first

Refer to the scoring guide often

Stronger or weaker?

Score each trait separately

Remember:
– 1 indicates beginning performance, not failure
– top score represents strengths and proficiency, not perfection

Watch out for rater bias
Objectivity Issues and
Sources of Bias
Physical characteristics
 Personal reaction to particular tones, content, or
students
 Length
 Positive-negative leniency

– Tendency to be too hard or too easy on everyone
Fatigue
 Skimming
 Sympathy
 “Self-scoring”

– Score the writer’s work, not your skill of putting the puzzle
pieces together.
Objectivity Issues and
Sources of Bias

Sources of rater bias
– Pet peeves, such as….
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Big LOOpy writing (with stars and hearts)
Teeny, tiny writing
Writing in ALL CAPITALS
Tons! Of exclamation (!!!) points!!!!
Mixing it’s and its
The End (like I couldn’t tell)
Total absence of paragraphs
What’s one of your pet peeves?
Using Rubrics

More opportunities
–
–
–
–
–
–
Create with students
School-wide
Collect anchors/samples
Subject or genre specific
Student self-assessment submitted with writing
Some traits
 e.g., always ideas & conventions, randomly select one other
A note about grading…

Focus on feedback
– Recognizing improvements & strengths (to replicate)
– Providing appropriate instruction & challenges

Translating to grades…be careful!
– Be certain that the percentage you assign is appropriate for the
rubric rating!
3
4
3
3
5
3
= 21/30
= 21/6 (#of criteria)
= 70%
= 3.5 or 85%
YIKES!
MORE APPROPRIATE
Raw
Avg.
%
5
100
4
90
3
80
2
70
1
60
+ 1% for
each
additional .1
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait: IDEAS
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
IDEAS: Look for the following…

Clarity and Focus of the Content

Rich and Vivid Details

Clear Sense of Purpose

Accuracy

Fresh and Original Thinking

Quality not Quantity
“Too many scoring systems reward
students for including merely more
arguments or examples; quantity is not
quality, and we teach a bad lesson by
such scoring practices.”
-Grant Wiggins
Exploring the Traits
Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait
– Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics
of proficient
– Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification

Read the writing thoroughly:
– Look for strengths
– Score each trait
– Prepare to discuss reasons for your score
Ideas
Lesson Ideas

Take Out the Details
– Take the details out of a known story.
– “What’s missing? What makes the original better?”

Graphic Organizers
– Make expected content explicit
– Model transfer from organizer to writing

Snapshot
– “I want to see it, like a photo in an album.”
– What would I see if I would “zoom in” on this part?
“Don’t say the old
lady screamed.
Bring her on and
let her scream.”
--Mark Twain

Teach the Genre
– How do writers express the main idea?
– How do they support the main idea (e.g., characterization,
examples, explanation, facts, logic, sensory details)?
Teaching the trait of Ideas

Talk about where ideas come
from.

Model differences between
generalities and good details.

Read aloud from books with
striking detail or strong imagery.

Use questions to expand and
clarify a main idea.
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait: ORGANIZATION
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
ORGANIZATION: What to look for…

Enticing Lead Sentence
– The first sentence and introduction should be engaging.

Thoughtful Transitions
– One paragraph should set the scene for the next paragraph.

Logical Sequencing
– There is a systematic approach to exploring topic.

Controlled Pacing
– Details are provided in the right amounts.

Satisfying Conclusion
– The piece should have meaningful ending.
Exploring the Traits
Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait
– Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics
of proficient
– Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification

Read the writing thoroughly:
– Look for strengths
– Score each trait
– Prepare to discuss reasons for your score
Organization

Study Logical Order
– Separate sentences/paragraphs from a writing
– Ask student to put classify them, put them in order,
and identify key phrases.

Compare Leads or Endings
– Find different examples in children’s books, content
text, your own (not so great) examples, brainstorm
examples with students.
– Which do you like best? Why?
– Host a “Bad Leads Awards Ceremony.”

Teach transition and signal words appropriate
for the type of writing.
Lesson Ideas
The shark’s jaw is located back beneath his long snout, but this does
not prevent him from biting directly into the flesh. When he opens the
jaw, the lower jawbone is thrust forward while the snout is drawn back
and up, until it makes almost a right angle with the axis of his body. At
this moment, the moth is located forward of the head and no longer
beneath it. It resembles a large wolftrap, equipped with innumerable
sharp and gleaming teeth. The shark plants this mechanism in the
body of his victim and uses the weight of his own body in a series of
frenzied convulsions, transforming the teeth of the jawbones into saws.
The force of this sawing effect is such that it requires no more than an
instant for the shark to tear off a splendid morsel of flesh. When the
shark swims off, he has left a deep and perfectly outline hole in the
body of his victim. It is terrifying and nauseating to watch.
(from Jacques-Yves Cousteu, The Shark: Splendid Savage of the Sea, p. 37)
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait: VOICE
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activity

Statewide Writing Assessment
VOICE: Look for the following…

Expression of individuality

Reader wants to keep reading

Commitment to the topic

Suits the audience

Fits the purpose
Voice

Creative Writing
– Feelings
– Enthusiasm
– Individuality
– Passion

Technical /
Research Writing
– Perspective
– Level of Formality
– Level of Objectivity
Voice is often
the reason I
read!
Voice in Informational writing
“If we were randomly inserted into the Cosmos, the
chance that we would find ourselves on or near a
planet would be less than one in a billion trillion
33, a one followed by 33 zeroes). In
trillion (10“The
Cosmos is a very big place.”
everyday life such odds are called compelling.
Worlds are precious [1980, p. 5].”



Confident
Knowledge-driven
Inspiring
Exploring the Traits
Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait
– Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics
of proficient
– Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification

Read the writing thoroughly:
– Look for strengths
– Score each trait
– Prepare to discuss reasons for your score
Voice

Lesson Ideas
Write voice IN or OUT
– Take the voice out of a passage and have students put their own in.

Bored vs. Excited?
– What do these look like? (Students demonstrate kinesthetically.)
– “I want to see an ‘excited’ face in my mind when I read your writing.”
– Show them two sample paragraphs using the same facts. Which was
written by an “excited” writer? How can you tell?

Read aloud from works that have strong voice.

Help students identify an audience.
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait: WORD CHOICE
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
Word Choice: What to look for

memorable words and phrases

accurate use of words

awareness of different ways to say things

appropriate choices for the purpose and
audience

not inflated or overused
Exploring the Traits
Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait
– Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics
of proficient
– Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification

Read the writing thoroughly:
– Look for strengths
– Score each trait
– Prepare to discuss reasons for your score
Word Choice
Lesson Ideas

Study connotation (subtleties of word variation)
– Put related words on a continuum
– said, whispered, barked, exclaimed, shouted, screamed,
commented murmured, declared, mentioned, hollered
– Apply movement to variations of verbs & discuss differences

Trash overused words & display interesting, lively, or
content appropriate words
– Use wall displays, bulletin boards, etc.
– Brainstorm appropriate alternatives.

Show students examples of writing in your content and
together analyze words.
– Identify specific nouns and strong, active verbs
– Identify powerful, meaningful words
– Rate level of formality and objectivity
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait: SENTENCE FLUENCY
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
Sentence Fluency: What to look for

Rhythm and flow

Varied sentence structure
– Length
– Beginnings

Reading ease…not just punctuation
Sentence Fluency Chart
# of words
first 3 words
Analyze the mode, genre,
author’s style:

How long are sentences?

How do sentences begin?

What kind of verbs are
prevalent?

What kind of sentences
are used?

What is the purpose of
each sentence?
Exploring the Traits
Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait
– Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics
of proficient
– Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification

Read the writing thoroughly:
– Look for strengths
– Score each trait
– Prepare to discuss reasons for your score
Sentence Fluency

Lesson Ideas
Read fluent passages out loud
– “Do you like the way this sounds?
– “How many different ways does this writer begin sentences?”
– “Describe the lengths of the sentences. What effect does this create?”

Mentor Sentences
– Collect powerful sentences to use as models of specific techniques
– (prepositional phrases…a strong way to add detail) “Over bushes,
under trees, between fence posts, through the tangled hedge she
swoops untouched” (Davies, 2004, p. 12).

Chart expert and student writing fluency
– Analyze a passage for sentence lengths, beginning variety, and other
characteristics.
Agenda

Welcome!

Introducing the Traits
– What Makes Writing Work?
– Qualities of Writing

Using Rubrics and Student Papers

Trait by Trait: CONVENTIONS
– Language of the trait
– Scoring student work
– Teaching and learning activities
Your students should ask…
(beginning writers)
Did I leave spaces between words?
 Does my writing go from left to right?
 Did I use a title?
 Did I leave margins on the sides? At the bottom?
 Did I use capital letters? Why?
 Did I use periods? How about question marks?
 Did I do my best on spelling?
 Could another person read this?

Your students should ask…
(more mature writers)
Have I used fragments or run-ons only for a conscious
effect?
 Do I have agreement (subject-verb, pronounantecedent, etc.)
 Does my punctuation accurately guide the reader?
 Have I used the correct spellings for homophones?

– Their/there/they’re

Is the format appropriate? (Does it meet the
expectations of the audience?)

Have I cited sources appropriately?
Exploring the Traits
Through Student Writing

Read the proficient level descriptions for the trait
– Underline/highlight the words that best define the characteristics
of proficient
– Mark (?) descriptors requiring clarification
Conventions
Lesson Ideas

Teach & model (I do it. We do it. You do it.)
–
–
–
–
Editing marks
Editing with text that’s not their own
Editing their own before publishing with scaffolding
Process for spelling a word (i.e., spell it the way it sounds, look
it up, ask someone else)

Demystify Students: display, explain, and provide
alternatives for your pet peeves

Focused Peer Editing
– “Circle all of the second-person words (i.e. you, your).
Help your partner find two alternatives for each.”
What do you know about the traits?
A.
Ideas / Content
B.
Organization
C.
Voice
D.
Word Choice
E.
Sentence Fluency
F.
Conventions
Modeling and Examples

Write with your students!
–
–
–
–

Live writing
Think-aloud
Allow students to contribute to revision decisions
Exaggerated writing
Use appropriate literature
– Passages from known literature
– Make the text visual

Use student writing
– Stress strengths, specific skills/craft techniques
Strategies for Better Instruction

TEACH the language to speak and think like writers.

MODEL specific craft techniques.
– Name it. Describe it. Explain why it’s good.

READ, SCORE, and JUSTIFY scores on anonymous sample papers.

Provide focused PRACTICE for REVISION.

WRITE. (Yes, you.)

READ and DISCUSS strengths and weaknesses in all kinds of writing.

DEMYSTIFY writing in your class.

Provide thoughtful, effective PROMPTS
Recognizing Craft Techniques:
One Way to Respond

Be a collector of the recognizable, replicable, small things that
effective writers do.
Example or
Description
Specific Craft
Why is it good?
I was sad.
inside sentences
reader can understand how the
author feels
boats, trains,
airplanes, and
cars
using commas in a
series
reader understands that items are
separate
Band-Aid box
brand name
gives an extremely details image
in only a few words; can also
evoke familiarity or nostalgia
Hale, Crafting Writers K-6, 2008
R.A.F.T.S: a way to prompt

Role of the writer
–

Audience
–

helps writer organize ideas and employ format conventions for letters, interviews, story
problems, and other kinds of writing
Topic or subject
–

reminds writer he/she must communicate ideas to someone else: helps determine content
and style
Format of the material
–

helps writer decide on point of view and voice.
helps writer zero in on main idea and narrow the focus
Strong verb
–
directs writer to the writing purpose, e.g. create, defend, analyze, persuade, evaluate, etc.
Building R.A.F.T.S.

Use writing to help students explore a concept from different
perspectives and through different formats.
– Role
– Audience
– Format
– Topic
– Strong Verb

More Examples:
– You are a vegetable plant in a garden. Write a letter to the sky to
explain why you need rain and sunshine.
– You are a semicolon. Write a journal entry to a student writer
beginning with “I wish you understood where I really belong.”
– You are a kidney in the human body. Write a letter to your host to
explain what you need to stay healthy and why the host will be better
off if you ARE and STAY in tip-top condition.
A Few Resources

Northwest Regional Laboratory (NWREL). (2007). 6+1 Trait
Writing. Retrieved October 2008 from
http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/department.php?d=1.

Spandel, V. (2008). Creating young writers: Using the six traits to
enrich writing process in primary classrooms. Boston: Pearson,
Allyn and Bacon.

Spandel, V. (2005). Creating writers: Through 6-Trait Writing
Assessment and Instruction. Fourth Edition. Boston: Pearson,
Allyn and Bacon.
Two Stars & a Wish
Please record two of the most important and/or
relevant ideas you heard.
Please record something you wish about this
session.