WHAT MAKES WRITING GOOD?
What type of writing is it?
What is it intended to do?
Universals:
- Clear: You should be able to get it without busting your braincells. You’re going to have to do some thinking, but the point should be visible.
- Creative: Good writing should be creative, interesting, unexpected.
- Carefully-crafted: There’s a great attention to detail.
- Correct: Good writing should be correct in terms of grammar and syntax.
- Clean: You are going to pick up a nice, clean copy of a book. It’s going to look professional.
- Compelling: It should pull the reader in. Make them not let go until the end.
THE SIX TRAITS (PLUS ONE!)
Ideas: What do you have to say?
Organization: Do ideas follow logically from each other? Are thoughts arranged for maximum effect? Have you chosen an order to paste things to best impart your message to the reader?
Voice: Does it have your thumbprint? Does it sound like something you would write and only you can put this personal seal on it?
Word Choice: Do your descriptions and explanations ” pop?” Do they make your words come to life?
Sentence Fluency: Do the pace and flow pull you along through the piece? Do they speed up when they should speed up and slow down when they should slow down?
Conventions: Are grammar and other conventions observed? You do need good grammar in your work but it should not be the main focus when you write.
Presentation: Does it have your thumbprint?? (hopefully not!) A clean paper is important. It looks like you take pride in your work if the ink isn’t smudged and the page isn’t bent. Make it look professional.
THE WRITING PROCESS AND SIX TRAITS
Remember the writing process: Prewriting, Drafting and revising, Editing, Publishing
- Prewriting is when ideas and organization are thought about and formed.
- In drafting and revising, you don’t stop working with ideas and organization. You’re also going to be working with work choice, voice and sentence fluency. You’re going to set it all out and try to improve things specifically
- While editing is when you should only worry about conventions. You shouldn’t deal with grammar until this step.
- Publishing is presentation.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’VE GOT IT?
Here is the rating system:
- NOT YET: a bare beginning; writer not yet showing any control
- EMERGING: need for revision outweighs strengths; isolated moments hint at what the writer has in mind
- DEVELOPING: strengths and need for revision are about equal; about half-way home
- EFFECTIVE: on balance, the strengths outweigh the weaknesses; a small amount of revision is needed
- STRONG: shows control and skill in this trait; many strengths present
