Mentor Text for The

6 + 1 Traits of Writing
Compiled  Fall  2018  
 
 
 
 
Trait #1 IDEAS  
Content,  the  main  message  or  purpose.    May  include  genre  
 
 
Books  that  present  such  a  variety:    
 

A  wordless  book  that  “tells”  the  

Text  is  the  “story”  of  a   story  of  mysterious  events  on  
drop  of  water;  connects   Tuesday  evenings.   So  many  things  you  can  do  
to  science   with  an  idea  –  so  many  ways  
to  tell  information  or  a  
story.  

 
 
 
 
Points  for  teaching:  
§ Ideas  can  be  the  topic  of  writing  
§ Ideas  can  be  twisted,  exaggerated,  straight-­‐forward,  factual,  imaginary  
§ Ideas  can  entertain  (story,  fiction,  creative)  
§ Ideas  can  give  information  (report,  nonfiction,  informative)  
§ Ideas  can  persuade  (expository)  
§ Ideas  can  be  creative  (poetry)  
 
Trait #2 ORGANIZATION  
The  internal  structure  of  writing.  
 
 
Books  that  illustrate  a  variety  of  organizational  patterns:    

An  example  of  
cause/effect.    If  …  then.  
Ideas  build  in  sequence.   An  example  of  parallel  events  
in  two  characters  lives.  
An  example  of  comparison  and  
contrast.  

 
 
 
 
Points  for  teaching:  
 
If  You  Give  A  Pig  A  Party  
§ Steps  
§ Logical  sequence  
 
I  Am  The  Dog  I  Am  The  Cat  
§ Comparable  pattern  
 
The  Tiniest  Tumbleweed  
§ Repetitive  pattern  
 

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Trait #3 VOICE  
The  personal  tone,  mood,  or  “flavor”  of  the  writer.    This  is  closely  connected  to  Word  Choice.  
 
 
Books  with  a  variety  of  voice  and  tone:  
 

The  young  homeless  boy  tells  of  his  

life  from  his  perspective.  

Two  perspectives,  two  

characters,  two  voices  including  
A.  Wolf  tells  his  side  of  the  story  …   dialect.  
great  for  point  of  view,  unreliable  
narrator.  

  Sarcastic  tone,  maybe?  Here’s  

  the  voice  of  an  unhappy  couple  
  who  rediscover  the  fairy  tale  
ending.  
 
 
 
 
 
Text  Examples:  

“  I  can’t  believe  I  actually  kissed  your  slimy  lips.”    (The  Frog  Prince  Continued)  
 
“Lord,  Lord,  I  never    thought  I  would  see  my  dear  boy  again.”    (Pink  and  Say)  
 
"Everybody  knows  the  story  of  the  Three  Little  Pigs.  Nobody  knows  the  real  story,  because  nobody  
has  ever  heard  my  side  of  the  story.  I’m  the  Wolf.  Mr.  A.  Wolf  and  I  was  framed.”    (The  True  Story  of  
the  Three  Little  Pigs)  
 
“I’m  saving  money,  too,”  I  tell  him.  ….  Dad  smiles,  “Atta  boy!”      (Fly  Away  Home)  
 

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Trait #4 WORD CHOICE  
Conscious  vocabulary  and  wording  choices  by  the  writer  to  convey  meaning,  tone,  mood,  voice.  
May  include  terms  and  vocabulary  specific  to  a  topic.  
 
 
Books  with  rich  written  expression  and  creative  use  of  vocabulary  or  language:    
 

A  twisted  tale  told  by  a  lively  character.  

A  fun  story  based  on  two  
similar  and  confusing  words.  

Words  can  have  more  than  

one  m eaning.  Who  or  what  
is  “art?”  

 
 
 
 
Text  Example  of  Vivid  Vocabulary:  

The  Old  Man  and  His  Door       Seen  Art?       The  Boy  Who  Cried  Wolf  
stampeding           “MOMA”       came  dragging  home  
el  puerlo           intense       pluck  a  farm  boy  
scruffy  feathers         composition       snatch  a  shepherd  
gleaming  scales         restlessness       crept  away  
ay,  dios           provocative       Granny  Smith  Pie  
tinkled     puzzling                                                        crunched  on  Chipmunks  
                                                                                                                                       and  dip      
   
 
 
 
 
 
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Trait #5 SENTENCE FLUENCY  

The  rhythm  and  flow  of  the  language  and  expression.  
 
 
Books  that  illustrate  aspects  of  fluency  and  flow:  
 

Written  in  a  series  of  short,  subject-­‐

verb-­‐object  sentence  patterns.  

Combines  dialog,  text,  action,  

commentary,  and  effective  repetition  
of  idea.  
Rhyme  creates  the  fluency    
and  rhythm  in  this  tale  with  
a  twist.  

 
Mini  Lesson  Ideas:  
 
§ Short  sentences  for  emphasis,  effect,  action,  suspense  
§ Variety  of  sentence  lengths  and  patterns  
§ Sentences  starters  
§ Transitional  words  and  phrases  
§ Transition  of  idea  
§ And  ______________________  J  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Trait #6 CONVENTIONS  
The  mechanical  correctness  of  the  writing.    All  rules  have  been  applied:    punctuation,  
capitalization,  usage,  spelling,  etc.  
 
 
Books  that  illustrate  writing  skills:  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
Fun  nonfiction  book  about  all  the    
conventions.    
 
 
 
Rhyme,  dialog,  exclamation  points,  
 
oh  my!    
 
 
Mini  Lesson  Ideas:  
 
§ Nouns  (proper  and  common)  
§ Subject-­‐verb  agreement  
§ Adjectives  
§ Adverbs  
§ Active  verbs  
§ Pronouns  
§ Dialog  
§ Punctuation  
§ And  ______________________  J  
 
 
 
 
 

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+1 PRESENTATION  
The  appearance  (shape,  format,  size,  font  style,  color,  visual  appeal)  of  the  writing  of  the  page.  
Includes  a  variety  of  possibilities,  additions,  embellishments,  illustrations.  
 
 
Books  that  present  such  a  variety:    

Series  of  communication  types  (letters,  

postcards,  flyers,  etc.)  embedded  with  
text.  
Written  as  a  daily  journal.  
text.  

Illustrated  with  a  variety  of  realia  

–  newspaper  articles,  etc.  from  the  
historic  time.  

 
 
Sample  ideas  for  writing  beyond  paragraphs  and  essays:  
 
diary,  journal  entries     newspaper,  magazine  article     cartoon  strip  
graphic  story   (comic)   shape  poem           play,  script,  readers’  theatre  
recipe         brochure           newsletter  
resume       pamphlet,  flyer         catalog  
report         chapter  book           storyboard  
invitation       letter,  memo,  email         postcard  
 

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