what are the six traits of creative writing

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6 Traits of Writing

Characteristics, Definitions, and Activities for Each Component

Janelle Cox

• Classroom Organization
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• M.S., Education, Buffalo State College
• B.S., Education, Buffalo State College

The six traits of writing model provides a recipe for successful prose writing. This approach defines the ingredients of effective writing for students to practice and teachers to assess, equipping both parties with tools for strategically analyzing written work.

Students can become self-sufficient and methodical writers when they learn to develop the following characteristics in their writing. To take advantage of this revolutionary model, learn what the six traits are and how to teach them.

What are the Six Traits of Writing?

The six key characteristics that define high-quality writing are:

Organization

Word choice, sentence fluency, conventions.

Please note that while this method is often called the 6 + 1 Trait Model, the plus one "presentation" trait is largely optional as it is a characteristic of the overall product and not the writing itself. This trait will not be described further here.

This writing component captures the main idea of a piece through detail. Only details that are relevant and informative of the main topic should be included. Strong writers have an awareness of how to use just the right amount of detail, using ideas that make the overall message more clear and leaving anything out that takes away from it.

How to Teach:

• Do an exercise with students where you tell a story using no detail while they close their eyes. Could they picture it? Ask them how to improve your story and introduce the concept that ideas need to be supported to be effective.
• Ask students to describe what is happening in a photograph. Have them do this in partnerships where only one partner can see the picture at a time and the other must convey the message of the photo in front of them.
• Have students compose a paragraph packed with as much supporting detail as possible. Tell them to choose a specific (true) event that happened to them and use their senses to describe it.

This trait describes how all ideas in a piece of writing must fit together within a larger message. The organizational structure of a written work needs to follow a clear pattern such as chronological order for narratives or logical order for informational writing. The writer needs to make strong connections from one point to another so that a reader can easily follow along. A sense of sequence is necessary for organizing.

How to Teach

• Take a piece of writing and cut it into chunks, having students piece the writing back together as best as they can.
• Jumble a list of directions and have students arrange the steps in order.
• Read two short informational books whose organization structures vary. Ask your students what is different about the organization of the books.

This trait describes the unique style of each writer. Through voice, a writer's personality permeates a piece but does not detract from the genre or message. Strong writers are not afraid to express their individuality and show readers their point of view. Good writing sounds like its writers.

• Discuss the personality traits of a few children's book authors, then read a variety of literature and have students try to identify the author by voice.
• Compare and contrast the voice in select fiction and nonfiction books.
• Have students write a letter to a grandparent about their favorite school subject. When they are finished, discuss how they cultivated their voice in the letter and whether they feel that their thoughts and emotions came through.

Word choice describes the effectiveness of each word in a piece of writing. Strong words enlighten readers and clarify ideas but too many large or misplaced words can muddle the message. Great writing is never verbose. Writers should be economical with their words and choose only the best ones because every word is important. Linguistic awareness and a robust vocabulary are necessary for effective writing.

• Keep a word wall, adding to and discussing it frequently.
• Show students a paragraph with words missing. Offer options for words to put in the blanks and explain why some of them are better than others.
• Introduce students to thesauruses. Teach that a well-rounded vocabulary is useful but caution against overdoing it by having them first replace as many words as they can in a paragraph and then only words that make sense to replace.

This trait describes the smoothness that sentences contribute to a piece. Fluent writing is rhythmic and forward-moving because its sentences are easy to read. Even more important to sentence fluency that correctness and grammar are meaning and variety. The best writers make sure that each of their sentences says precisely what it is supposed to say and vary their sentence structures so that they don't all resemble each other.

• Write a story where every single sentence begins and ends in the exact same way. Talk with your class about why this is problematic and have them help add variety to the sentence structures.
• Rearrange the sentences in a popular piece of writing. Have the students fix it and talk about why it matters that sentences flow easily into each other.
• Have students take a sentence in a piece of informational writing and flip the words around. Does it make more or less sense? Is their way better or worse?

This trait focuses on the correctness of a piece in terms of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other rules. Writing can only be great if it is technically correct. Great writers are proficient punctuators, capable spellers, and grammar savants. Conventions require time and patience to master but are easy to practice.

• Give your students a word to correctly work into a sentence. Begin with simple sentence parts such as subjects and verbs and progressively get more difficult with adverbs, adjectives, and more.
• Teach students to peer review each other's work for correctness. They do not need to correct every tiny detail. Rather, focus on one skill at a time (punctuation, capitalization, etc.).
• Use curriculum materials such as handouts and mini-lessons to teach conventions.
• Nast, Phil . “6 + 1 Trait Writing.”  National Education Association .
• “What Are the Traits?”   Education Northwest , Dec. 2012.
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Elementary Assessments

Six Traits of Writing: The Secret to Really Great Writers

The Six Traits of Writing framework is flexible and student-friendly.

Officially known as the 6+1 Traits Writing Model, this framework identifies six qualities of good writing: Ideas (main message), Organization (layout), Word Choice, (vocabulary use), Sentence Fluency (flow of thoughts), Voice (perspective of writer), and Conventions (grammar & mechanics).

Within this model, teachers choose various mini lessons and activities to teach each of the six qualities (traits) to students during writer’s workshop .

The Six Traits of Writing model is unique because it’s not a “canned” curriculum”; it’s a framework.

It nicely wraps all of the components of good writing into one package, and many of the contents seamlessly pair or integrate with other writing programs.

Teaching the Six Traits of Writing

Ideas is one of the six traits of writing. Ideas represent the “big idea” that the writer is trying to send to the reader.

Ideas are the foundation of a piece of writing.

Like a house, if the writing doesn’t have a strong foundation, it’s not going to be very stable and will have a negative effect on the rest of the construction.

To help the reader visualize and understand the message, authors use lots of details that show and not tell.  

Details add substance and imagery to the writer’s message.   Plus, they strengthen the foundation.

A writer can demonstrate good use of the other traits in his or her writing, but if the ideas present are not strong nor clear, he or she will have failed to do the very thing that writing is meant to do – communicate a message .

Ideas for Teaching Ideas Trait:

1. Give students an object, and ask them to describe it. They should focus on the details.

2. Have students focus on themselves. They’ll list all the things they love. This list gives them ideas for writing because personal experiences make some of the best stories.

3. Read books that help students generate ideas.

• All the Places to Love (Patricia McLaughlin)
• Pictures from Our Vacation (Lynne Rae Perkins)
• Thank You, Mr. Falker (Patricia Polacco)

4. Incorporate daily journaling prompts into your instruction. This helps students to generate ideas.

5. Students keep an “Ideas Sheet” in their writer’s notebook to jot down ideas anytime they have one.

2. Organization

Organization is another component of the six traits. It refers to the structure of a writing piece.  

Organization helps the reader transition from one part of the writing to another without much hassle.

When authors write for others, they have to remember to keep their writing organized so that the reader can follow along effortlessly.

Ideas for Teaching Organization Trait:

1. Do a sequencing activity. Take a common event such as brushing one’s teeth. Write each step on a notecard. Then as a class, put them in order discussing the importance of logical order. Ask students to place transition words on each card, explaining the importance of having signal words to help sequence flow.

2. Utilize graphic organizers to plan writing content.

3. Read to observe the structure of books.

• First Day Jitters (Julie Danneberg) – endings
• The Paperboy (Dav Pilkey)
• The Paper Crane (Molly Bang) – beginnings
• Roller Coaster (Marla Frazee)
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle) – beginnings

4. Model how to write a great lead (opening).

5. Show how to construct a good ending.

Voice is another piece of the six traits of writing puzzle. It is the personal tone or personality of the piece.

A writer’s voice should shine through the selection.

The message that the author is trying to send to the reader will determine the tone that the he/she uses.

Referring to the house visual, voice represents the people who live in the house. People give a home personality and a unique vibe.

Individuals use their own unique voices to address various audiences. Because of that, we need to sometimes alter our voice.

Students need to know that the voice they use within their writing will change depending on the purpose and to whom is their intended audience.

Writing a letter to a teacher will have a different voice compared to one to a friend.

Ideas for Teaching Voice Trait:

1. Practice letter writing to family, friends, teachers, etc.

2. Use point of view writing prompts.

3. Read books that show this trait.

• Amelia’s Notebook (Marissa Moss)
• Diary of a Worm (Doreen Cronin)
• How Are You Peeling? (Saxton Freymann) 
• The Math Curse (Jon Scieszka)
• The Recess Queen (Alexis O’Neill)
• Voices in the Park (Anthony Browne)

4. Word Choice

The six traits of writing also includes word choice.

Word choice is the specific vocabulary that a writer chooses to use. Those words add pizazz and flavor.

Doing so reduces monotony and repetition of “boring” and overused terms.

Variety in word choice is especially helpful when using verbs. Stronger verbs help to clarity the author’s message.

For example, if a student writes, “The girl said…” , he/she can instead use a synonym for “said” which will help to clarify how the girl said whatever she said.

“The girl screamed. ” or “The girl whispered. ” or “The girl joked. ”

Helping students dig a little deeper to find alternative words will make their writing more flavorful.

Great word choice makes our writing brighter and much clearer for the reader to understand .

Ideas for Teaching Word Choice Trait:

1. Instead of using the word “happy” repeatedly, teachers can encourage students to use similar but “spicer” words such as “excited”, “elated”, “over the moon”, etc. Do a thesaurus dig looking for synonyms of words are too often used and replace them with “spicy words”.

2. Have students edit their own pieces of writing, changing some of the verbs that are used too often.

3. Read books to observe this trait in action.

• Cotton Candy Skies and French Fries (Theresa Del Vecchio)
• Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra (Andrea Pinkney)
• I’m Dirty (Kate & Jim McMullan)
• Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster (Debra Frasier)
• Thesaurus Rex (Laya Steinberg)

5. Sentence Fluency

Sentence fluency is the rhythm and flow of the language.

Within the six traits of writing framework, teaching sentence fluency involves showing students how to write a variety of sentence structures that flow well together.

A combination of simple sentences, complex sentences, commands, onomatopoeia, etc. add style and variety to writing.

Genre, audience, and intended purpose of the writing will determine in what quantities each type of structure is used.

A variety of sentence structures within a piece of writing should flow together very nicely and to their own rhythm;   one thought should smoothly lead to another.

Ideas for Teaching Sentence Fluency Trait:

1. Have students perform a reader’s theater play. These short plays are great for getting students to practice pausing, espression, etc.

2. Read poetry and books with lots of play on words. Doing so helps students develop sensitivity to rhythm and patterns in words.

• Crab Moon (Ruth. Horowitz)
• Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping (Eileen Christelow)
• The Important Book (Margaret Wise Brown)
• Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp (Carol Diggory Shields)

6. Conventions

Conventions is usually thought of as grammar , but its only one piece of the puzzle.

Conventions signal readers when to stop, pause, change the sound of their voice, etc.

Strong conventions complete the overall feel of a piece of writing just like a roof completes a house.

Ideas for Teaching Conventions Trait:

1. Using editing checklists, have students edit pieces of writing as a class or individually.

2. Practice Daily Oral Language.

3. Read books to the students that teach this trait.

• Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: Why Commas Really Do Make a Difference (Lynne Truss)
• Lazily, Crazily, Just a Bit Nasally: More About Adverbs (Brian Cleary)
• Our Librarian Won’t Tell Us Anything! (Toni Buzzeo)
• Punctuation Celebration (Elsa Bruno)
• Punctuation Takes a Vacation (Robin Pulver) 

7. Presentation, the + 1

Although the six traits of writing represent the core areas of the model, you’ll sometimes hear the +1 used (e.g. 6+1 writing model).

The plus one stands for presentation. Presentation is the overall look of the writing.   It is essentially the publishing stage.

After the writing is done …

• How are students going to present their work to their audience?
• How will everything be packaged and put together?

Presentation is the overall look of the writing. This is where students can really get creative with displaying their work.

Final Thoughts

The six traits of writing is versatile, flexible, and great for differentiation.  Used consistently and well, your students will become better writers .

Related: Download six traits of writing rubric PDF

The Six Trait Writing Process

Blending the writing traits into the classroom.

Return from Six Trait Writing Process to Creative Writing Tips   Return from Six Trait Writing Process to Creative Writing Ideas and Activities  

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Six Traits of Writing: Why IDEAS is the Most Essential Trait

The Six Traits of Writing is a framework used to assess and teach writing skills. It focuses on six key qualities (aka traits) that are essential to effective writing: 1) Ideas, 2) Organization, 3) Sentence Fluency, 4) Word Choice, 5) Conventions, and 6) Voice.

In case you are wondering, the ideas are the content of a piece of writing. Are ideas important? Yes. Ideas are the most essential component of writing.

Paul B. Diederich is known for his work on writing pedagogy. In fact, Diederich’s 1961 Traits Model is a precursor to the Six Traits of Writing model and is considered one of the earliest systematic approaches to assessing writing. Diederich’s five traits were 1) Ideas, 2) Form, 3) Flavor, 4) Mechanics, and 5) Wording.

Diederich emphasized “ideas” as a fundamental aspect of writing. His traits model stressed the importance of originality, clarity, relevance, and depth of ideas presented in the text. Diederich believed that strong writing begins with strong ideas and that writers should strive to develop their ideas clearly and engagingly.

Once again, ideas are the most essential component of writing. According to Diederich’s research, it’s also what readers value most. Furthermore, Diederich thought that ideas and organization were the two most important traits, although readers valued mechanics above organization.

»   It became quite clear that the largest cluster (of readers, drawn from all six occupational fields) was most influenced by the ideas expressed: their richness, soundness, clarity, development, and relevance to the topic and the writer’s purpose. — Measuring Growth in English (1974) by Paul B. Diederich

Do Teachers Teach Students About Getting Good Ideas? Can They?

Diederich explains that despite Ideas being so important, many teachers fail to teach students about ideas, and some even choose not to teach students about Ideas. Teachers provided two reasons:

»   First, they hold that ideas are the product of Godgiven intelligence which teaching cannot alter; teaching can only help students express whatever ideas they may have more correctly and effectively. — Diederich

»   Second, they believe that students have an inalienable right to express any ideas or opinions they have, and any indication by the teacher that some are better than others, and hence deserve higher grades, borders on censorship. — Diederich

Diederich did say that some teachers believe that they can help students improve the quality of their ideas:

»   Other teachers reply that one can do something about the quality, development, and support of ideas in student papers by paying attention to them, raising questions about them, challenging them, and focusing attention on them in class discussion of selected papers. — Diederich

Furthermore, these teachers reported that their students liked it when teachers paid attention to their ideas:

»   Students like it better when teachers take their ideas seriously and react to them than when they confine their attention to errors in expression. — Diederich

Based on my experience, I’ll put it even more strongly: Students love their ideas! Even students who create rambling messes of stream-of-consciousness writing love every idea they put forth. In fact, even when the writing is unintelligible, it’s difficult to convince these writers that their ideas lack control and quality.

Rules are objective, but ideas are personal. In a sense, ideas are who we are. And while students don’t enjoy being critiqued for the quality of their ideas, they prefer it over their ideas being ignored.

Writing teachers may wish to consider these two quotes when they examine their students’ writing:

»   Seek first to understand, then to be understood. – Stephen Covey (1932-2012)

»   People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. – Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

In short, if you don’t care about your students’ ideas, they won’t care what you have to say about the rest of their writing. How do I know this?

I began teaching at the end of a bilingual debacle when the writing was truly terrible. As I learned to teach writing, I learned to read and understand the ideas and content of what amounted to chicken scratches. Years later, a frustrated teacher showed me a piece of student writing that she didn’t know what to do with. Her jaw dropped when I began to read it aloud to her. She exclaimed, “How can you read that?”

Admittedly, I learned to read this kind of writing because I had taught third and fourth-grade ELL students at the tail end of a failed bilingual program. I explained to her that I also learned to read this kind of writing because I believe what students say is important. The point is that teachers are sometimes so biased against errors that they don’t “Seek first to understand.”

By the way, these two programs are extremely helpful in getting students to create clear, organized, thoughtful, creative, and logical writing. Take a look!

»   Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay is the fastest and most effective way to teach students to get ideas, organize ideas, and create clear and organized multi-paragraph writing. That’s its purpose!

»   Academic Vocabulary for Critical Thinking, Logical Arguments, and Effective Communication creates a foundation of clear, logical, and organized thinking! It’s a vital resource for both academic and professional success!

The Benefits of Valuing Ideas in Writing

Valuing students’ ideas in writing is crucial for creating a classroom full of writers. Whether students are naturally gifted or struggling writers, acknowledging and respecting their ideas provides the foundation for writing growth, creativity, and academic success. Let’s explore how valuing students’ ideas in writing benefits students.

1. Valuing Ideas Promotes Critical Thinking: Encouraging students to get and express their ideas helps them develop critical thinking skills. Reading, writing, and thinking are all inherently linked. Joan Didion famously said, “I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” Years later, she expanded on that: “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”

2. Valuing Ideas Fosters Creativity: Every student has a unique perspective. Allowing them to express their ideas encourages creativity and innovative thinking.

3. Valuing Ideas Builds Confidence: When students feel that their ideas are valued, they feel valued. Feeling valued helps create confidence.

4. Valuing Ideas Increases Engagement in the Writing Process: Students are more likely to be engaged in the writing process when they are expressing ideas that interest them.

5. Valuing Ideas Encourages Ownership of Learning: Giving students the opportunity to share their ideas in writing promotes a sense of ownership over their learning. They become more invested in the writing process and take pride in their work.

6. Valuing Ideas Develops Communication Skills: Expressing ideas in writing requires students to communicate effectively. By focusing on their ideas, teachers help students improve their communication skills.

7. Valuing Ideas Prepares Students for Real-World Communication: People must express their ideas and opinions in real-world situations. Teaching students to articulate their thoughts effectively prepares them for various academic and professional contexts. Furthermore, it teaches students that good ideas count in both writing and real life.

8. Valuing Ideas Promotes Emotional Intelligence: Writing can be a powerful tool for emotional expression. Allowing students to share their ideas enables them to express their feelings, thoughts, and concerns, fostering emotional intelligence and well-being.

9. Valuing Ideas Encourages Reflection and Growth: When students are encouraged to express their ideas, they often reflect on their own thoughts and beliefs. This process of self-reflection can lead to personal growth, self-awareness, and a deeper understanding of oneself and the world.

10. Valuing Ideas Prepares Students for Academic Success: In academic settings, students are often required to communicate their ideas both orally and through writing. By improving their ability to express their thoughts effectively, teachers are preparing students for future academic success.

11. Valuing Ideas Encourages the Exploration of Complex Topics: When students are encouraged to express their ideas, they are more likely to delve into complex topics and issues. This exploration allows them to develop a deeper understanding of the subject matter and fosters intellectual curiosity.

12. Valuing Ideas Facilitates Peer Learning: When students share their ideas in writing, it creates opportunities for peer learning. Students often explain things in ways that teachers don’t. Furthermore, students are often more open to engaging with ideas presented by peers.

Valuing Ideas Supports Different Levels of Writing Skill, Including Struggling Writers

If you don’t value ideas, you will likely have difficulty teaching writing to your class’s struggling writers. You may even have trouble getting them to write at all.

One of the greatest signs of valuing a person is to value their ideas. The reality of school is that students vary in their writing ability. When we value their ideas, we value what struggling writers have to say. To be clear, I’ve taught in some extreme situations in the inner city, and I know how bad it can get. But 20 years later, I still haven’t forgotten one struggling fourth-grade ELL student’s writing about how to clean a house. In fact, I haven’t thought about cleaning a house the same way since. As much as this student struggled in school, I read her paper and thought, “She will probably be okay in life.” And I was correct.

Point being: When we put ideas first, every student will eventually write. When we put ideas first, students soon want to improve their writing. Struggling writers learn to care about their writing because they care about their ideas. Caring about ideas is required to improve struggling students’ writing.

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