The Six Traits of Writing are rooted in more than 50 years of research. This research reveals that all “good” writing has six key ingredients—ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.

The initial 6-Traits-of-Writing display The first lessons would introduce each writing trait to the students—ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. The teacher would define each writing trait, describe the purpose it serves in writing, and reveal a related graphic icon.

Not everyone uses the 6+1 traits: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. Some use four traits; some use more. However, these same six or seven characteristics show up on everyone's list in one form or another.

You can think of voice in your writing just like how you think of your speaking voice. It's determined not only by what you say, but also how you say it. Example: It was very unfortunate that Tina missed her bus because she had already been late once this week.