1. The 6 Traits

2. Ideas  Discover a personally important topic.  Make the message clear and interesting to the reader.  Stay focused.  Expand and clarify the ideas with significant details.  Toss out what does not matter.  Generalities weaken ideas.  Specific examples are a must.  Beginning with an anecdote or image sets the scene.  Multiple examples make an argument convincing.  It isn’t the amount of detail that counts as how vivid it is.

3. Organization  Write a crackerjack lead.  Stay on the path. Don’t wander from the message.  Showcase information with a pattern or structure that fits.  Use transitions to link ideas.  Pace the piece, spending time where it matters.  Wrap it up with a thoughtful conclusion.  When doing a persuasive paper, choose a side.  Make sure your main idea is clear.  Small details add interest.  Gather enough information before writing an informational piece.

4. Voice  Discover personally important topics.  Write with honesty and passion.  Know the topic so that confidence explodes from the paper.  Think about the audience. What do they already know? What will they find interesting?  Bring the topic to life through detail, language, and energy.  Generalities weaken voice.  To be convincing, persuasive writing needs examples.  Anecdotes (stories) enhance (increase) voice and clarity (clearness).

5. Word Choice  Paint a verbal picture.  Choose words selectively—going for precision.  Embrace everyday language (not writing to impress).  Find a fresh, original way to say it.  Energize writing with strong verbs.  Keep it concise (short and to the point).  Avoid jargon, inflated language, and modifier overload.  Your word-choice score is a function of how often every word and phrase grabs your attention.  Simple, natural language has power.  If you enjoy writing it, the reader will enjoy reading it.

6. Sentence Fluency  Vary sentence beginnings.  Vary sentence lengths.  Combine short, choppy sentences to smooth the flow.  Use transitions words to keep the sentence-to- sentence rhythm going.  Write dialogue that rings true.  Use repetition and fragments sparingly—and only for effect.  Read aloud to see how it plays to the ear.  If you stumble while reading it aloud, there may be a sentence fluency problem.