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Traits Writing The Gold Standard of Writing Instruction and AssessmentBy Lois Bridges, Ph.D.

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2 Traits Writing: The Gold Standard of Writing Instruction and Assessment

Traits Writing: The Gold Standard of Writing Instruction and AssessmentIf students are to learn, they must write. ~ National Commission on Writing

With the advent of the Internet, written communication goes on apparently without interruption, and words are more vital than ever in our day-to-day lives and everyday transactions, especially as written material arrives in illuminated flashes via ubiquitous media unheard of even five years ago. Consider this:

• 1,052,803bookswerepublishedin2009—upfrom247,777in2002—a325percentincrease(Bowker2010).

• 107trillionemailswerelaunchedontheInternetin2010.

• 255millionwebsitesnowdottheInternet—after21.4millionwereaddedin2010!

• 25billiontweetstookflightonTwitterin2010.

• 600millionpeoplecohabitonFacebook.(Pingdom,2011)

Wanted: Skilled WritersAstheNationalCommissiononWritingmakesclear,“Writingtodayisnotafrillforthefew,butanessentialskillformany”(2003).Andthecontextsforwritingareexpanding.Wewritemorethaneverformultiplepurposesacrossawiderangeofmedia.Writinginthe21stcentury,dominatedbytechnology,is“definedbyitsfrequencyandefficiency,andmodernwritersmustexpressideasinwaysthatenablethemtocommunicateeffectivelytomanyaudiences”(NAEPWritingFramework,2011).Whatusedtobeaccomplishedfacetofaceoroverthephoneisnowmorelikelyaddressedthroughanemail,makingthe ability to write well more important than ever. Indeed, for corporate America, masterful writing has becomeacovetedskill—askillnot,however,easilyfoundinnewhires,asevidentinasurveyof120American corporations and in reports that assess student writing proficiency:

• WritingremediationcostsAmericanbusinessesasmuchas$3.1billionannually (NationalCommissiononWriting,2004).

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• Abouthalfofprivateemployersandmorethan60percentofstategovernmentemployerssaywritingskillsimpactpromotiondecisions(NationalCommissiononWriting,2004,2005).

• Poorlywrittenapplicationsarelikelytodoomcandidates’chancesforemployment (NationalCommissiononWriting,2005,p.4).

• Thirty-fivepercentofhighschoolgraduatesincollegeand38percentofhighschoolgraduatesintheworkforcefeeltheirwritingdoesnotmeetexpectationsforquality(Achieve,Inc.,2005).

AssummedupbySusanTraiman,adirectorattheBusinessRoundtable,anassociationofleadingchiefexecutiveswhosecorporationsweresurveyedinthestudy,theproblemshowsupnotonlyinemailbutalsoinreportsandothertexts.“It’snotthatcompanieswanttohireTolstoy,”saidTraiman,“buttheyneedpeoplewhocanwriteclearly,andmanyemployeesandapplicantsfallshortofthatstandard”(Dillon,2004).

Thewritingchallengeoftenstartswellbeforestudentsareapplyingfortheirfirstjob;theymayencountertroubleassoonastheylandincollege,arrivingwithoutthebasicacademicskillsneededforsuccess.ResearchersfromtheManhattanInstituteCenterforCivicPolicyfoundthatonly32percentofstudentsleavehighschoolacademicallypreparedforcollege(Greene&Foster,2003),andthispercentageisevenloweramongAfrican-AmericanandHispanicstudents(20percentand16percent,respectively).Thesefiguresareespeciallytroublingbecausethesestudentsarelikelytoneedwritingremediationincollege.What’smore,theyarelesslikelytocompletetheirdegreethanclassmateswhoenterwithstrongerliteracyskills.Andsurvivingintoday’s“knowledgeage”(TrillingandFadel,2009)withoutacollegedegreeaddstothechallengeoffindingmeaningfulwork.

What We’re Doing Wrong Aswemightexpect,therootsofthechallengemaywelllieinschoolwritinginstruction—eitheritsabsenceor,ifnotappliedwell,itspresence.The2007NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)reportssteadygainsoverthepast15yearsinthenumberofeighthgradersmovingfrombelowproficienttobasic;however,studentshavenotmovedsignificantlyfrombasictoproficient.Indeed,onlyonewriterinahundredachievedthedistinctionofadvanced.Multiplestudiesoutlinetheproblem:

• Worksheetsandpromptsstilldominateeventhoughweknowtheydonotleadtothoughtful,complexprose.Indeed,theyservetoreinforcethenotionthatwritingisasimpletaskwithoneprimarypurpose:writetosatisfytheteacher(Graham&Perin,2007;NationalCommissiononWriting,2003).

• Thetotaltimestudentsspendwritingisequaltoabout15percentofthetimetheyspendwatchingtelevision(Graham&Perin,2007).TheNeglectedRreportfromtheNationalCommissiononWritingmakesthisrecommendation:“Doubletheamountof time most students spend writing and require successful completion of a course in writingtheoryandpracticeasaconditionofteacherlicensing”(2003,p.3).

• Teachersarebombardeddailybylocal,state,andfederaldemands,sometimesatoddswitheachother.Weneedan“integratedsystemofstandards,curriculum,instruction,andassessment”—onethat“makesroomforwritingasakeyinstructionalstrategyinallsubjectareaswhileclearlycommunicatinghighexpectationsforstudentperformance”(NationalCommissiononWriting,2006,p.19).TheCommonCoreStandardsrepresentafirst step toward achieving this national goal.


The Writing Trait Model: Research ProvenMorethanever,strong,vigorouswritingisessentialtoAmericanproductivityandanengaged,intelligentcitizenry.Nosurprise,then,thatTheWritingFrameworkforthe2011NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgressdefineswritingas“Apurposefulactofthinkingandexpressionusedtoaccomplishmanydifferentgoals”(p.v).Forthoseofusentrustedwithfosteringnewgenerationsofcapableandconfidentwriters,wewanttomakesurethateveryinstructionalmomentisgroundedinsoundresearchandtheCommonCore State Standards, the state-led effort to establish a single set of clear educational standards aimed at providing students nationwide with a high-quality education. Our goal as teachers is nothing less than helpingstudentsbecomeskilled,flexiblewriterswhoknowtheirwayaroundapersuasiveessay,inspirednarrative,orexpositorypiecebrimmingwithconvincingfactsanddetails.Indeed,the2011NAEPWritingAssessmentwillevaluatestudents’abilityto“achievethreepurposescommontowritinginschoolandintheworkplace(thethreemodesofwriting):topersuade;toexplain;andtoconveyexperience,realorimagined”(NAEPWritingFramework,2011).

Tothisend,wecanturnwithconfidencetomorethantwodecadesofconvincingresearchundergirdingtheTraitModelofWriting,nowwidelyregardedasthegoldstandardofclassroom-basedanalyticwritingassessmentandtargetedwritinginstruction.WiththeTraitModel,teachersandstudentsalikearesupported by a continuous teaching-assessing loop.

The Research Behind the Writing TraitsFormorethantwodecades,theNorthwestRegionalEducationalLaboratory(nowknownasEducationNorthwest)andotherresearchershavestudiedtheeffectivenessoftheTraitModelandtheprofessionaldevelopment tools used to train the teachers who use it. In a nutshell, the traits represent the essential elementsofwritinginherentinallextendedwrittencommunication:ideas,organization,wordchoice,sentencefluency,conventions,andpresentation.EducatorswhousetheTraitModelcenterboththeirinstructionandtheirassessmentonhelpingstudentsunderstandhowtheseelementsworktogetherandinteracttocreateawell-written,cohesivepiecethataccomplishesthewriter’sgoal.MultipleresearchershavestudiedtheefficacyoftheTraitModelinbothlarge-andsmall-scalestudies:

1. Adefinitivefive-yearstudyaboutthetraitsofwritingisbeingconductedbyEducationNorthwest,Portland,Oregon,andwillbepublishedbytheDepartmentofEducation,IES(InstituteofEducationScience)in2011.Thegoalofthisstudyistoprovidehigh-qualityevidence on the effectiveness of the analytical trait-based model for increasing student achievement in writing.

2. InastudyconductedbyNauman,Stirling,andBorthwick(2011),theresearchersexaminedthealignmentbetweenteachers’underlyingattitudesandbeliefsaboutgoodwritingandtheirassessmentandteachingofwriting.Theyfoundthatteacherswhovalue conventions more than other aspects of writing put more weight on conventions intheirassessmentofstudentwork,whileteacherswhovaluecreativityandrisk-takingtendtorewardyoungwriterswhoexhibitthosequalities.Theresearchersconcludedthat although values varied, schools were consistent in embracing a standardized methodormodelofinstruction,suchastheTraitModel.

3. KozlowandBellamy(2004)examinedtheeffectsofprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersusingtheTraitModelandtheextenttowhichthetraininginfluencedstudents’writingskills.Theresearchersfoundthatafteronlyashortworkshop,teachersunderstoodandwereabletoimplementthemodel.Teachersalsoreportedthattheirstudentsunderstoodandwereabletoapplythetraitstheytaught.Theresearchersdid note, however, that a more robust form of professional development than a short workshopwouldhavehadastrongerimpactonclassroompractice.


4. Coe(2000)demonstratedthatwritingtraitassessmentsareusefultoidentifystudentswhomighthavedifficultyonstatewritingtestsandwhothereforeneedextrawritinginstruction.Forexample,CoefoundthatstudentsinthestateofWashingtonwhohadlowscoresondistrict-administeredWritingTraitassessmentswerelikelytoalsohavelowscoresonthewritingportionoftheWashingtonAssessmentofStudentLearning(WASL).

5. Arter,Spandel,Culham,andPollard(1994)asked:Doesthewritingofstudentswhohavedirectinstructiononassessingwritingusingthesix-traitanalyticalmodelimprovemorethanthatofstudentswhodonothavesuchinstruction?Theresearchersdiscoveredthatstudents’scoresincreasedindirectproportiontotheamountofinstructionalandpractice time spent on a trait and the order in which the traits were taught (meaning the earlier a trait was taught, the better students were able to apply it because of the increasedamountoftimeandguidancetheyreceived).Thestudyshowedthatwhenwefocusonthecriteriaofqualitywriting—thetraits—studentsshowwideroverallgrowthin writing.

6. Additionalsmall-scalestudieshighlightingtheeffectivenessoftheTraitModelarealsoavailable.Mostofthesestudiesexaminedtheuseofthetraitsinoneschooldistrict,onegrade,oroneclassroom.Allthestudiesshowincreasesinstudentwritingperformance(Jarmeretal.,2000;Bellamy,2000).NotethepromisingtestresultsforsixtraitsinthedatafromBlueSpringsDistrict,justoutsideKansasCity,MO.Approximately950studentsinkindergartenthroughsecondgradein13BlueSpringselementaryschoolsweretestedinthefallandagaininthespringontheirunderstandingofthesixtraits:Ideas,Organization,WordChoice,SentenceFluency,Voice,andConventions.Inapplyingallsixtraits,asDeputySuperintendentAnnetteSeagoeffused,theK–2studentsmade“phenomenalgrowth”(2011).Theproofisinthenumbers.Inthefall,forexample,whenthetestwasfirstadministered,only14secondgradersdemonstratedanoutstandinggraspofIdeas;byspringthatnumberhadshotupto262students.Inasimilarmanner,inthefall,10secondgradersscoredoutstandingonOrganization;17onConventions.Inthespring,afterimmersioninthesixtraits,thosenumbersshifteddramaticallyup:229and222studentsrespectively.Overall,afterayearlongintensivetraitswritingprogramwithDr.RuthCulham,thedistrict’sprimarystudentsdemonstratedsignificantwritinggrowthacrossthesixtraits.Forexample,inthefall,just27percentoftheBlueSpringsDistrict790firstgraderswereatorabovegrade level in their ability to effectively organize their own written compositions (organization isoneofthehardesttraitsforeverywriter,youngandoldalike,tomaster);byspring,thatpercentagehadsurgedto93percent(864firstgradersweretested).

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“Grade level and above” refers to those students who scored a 3, 4, or 5 on the Primary Traits Scoring Guide (Culham, 2005).

Why the Trait Model WorksConsidertheseexplanationsofqualitywriting—andhowtoachieveit—fromfourexpertsonthetopic:

Aneffectivepieceofwritingisproducedbyacraft.Itissimplyamatterofworkingbackandforth between focus, form, and voice until the meaning is discovered and made clear. ~DonaldMurray

Goodwritingisn’tforgedbymagicorhatchedoutofthinair.Goodwritinghappenswhenhumanbeingsfollowparticularstepstotakecontroloftheirsentences—tomaketheirwordsdowhattheywantthemtodo.~RalphFletche

Goodwritinghasanalivenessthatkeepsthereaderreadingfromoneparagraphtothenext…writewithclarity,simplicity,brevity,usage,voice,andtheeliminationofclutter.~William Zinsser

Omitneedlesswords.Vigorouswritingisconcise.Asentenceshouldcontainnounnecessarywords, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should havenounnecessarylinesandamachinenounnecessaryparts.~WilliamStrunk,Jr.

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Allfourexplanationsreflectanemphasisonthewriter’scontrolovertheessentialelements(ortraits)ofwriting—controlinformedbythelogicofthinking,insightshapedbyknowledgeoftopic,skillbolsteredbyexperience,and,always,afinalcompositionachievedthroughdiligenceanddetermination.Creatingwritingthathitsthemarkishardwork.Itmaybeeasytobelievethatonlythoseborntobewriterscanreallywrite—andtherestofuscan’t.Infact,though,eventhosewiththeirshareofnaturaltalentpursuewritingastheywouldanychallengingproject—deliberatelyandmethodically,withavisionofthefinalgoal and tight control over the traits alluded to above: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency,conventions,andpresentation.Itonlymakessense,then,toteachourstudentsaboutthesecriticalbuildingblocksofwriting:whattheyare,howtheyworktogether,andhowtocontrolthemeffectivelytocreateexemplarywriting.

Giventheparamountimportanceofthetraitsofwriting,itshouldn’tsurpriseusthatthe2011NAEPWritingAssessmentFrameworkwillteststudentsonthreebroaddomains—1)DevelopmentofIdeas,2)OrganizationofIdeas,3)LanguageFacilityandConventions—andtheessentialfeatureswithineachdomain,whichcoincidepreciselywiththetraitsofwritingandtheirkeyqualities,asdevelopedbywritingexpertDr.RuthCulham(Scholastic,2011).

2011 NAEP Writing Criteria for Evaluating Student Responses

Developmentofideasiseffectiveinrelationtothewriter’spurposeand audience.

• Depthandcomplexity

• Approachestothinking and writing

• Detailsandexamples

Organization is logical in relation tothewriter’spurposeand audience.

• Textstructure

• Coherence

• Focus

Languagefacilityandconventionssupportclarityofexpressionand the effectiveness of the writing in relationtothewriter’spurposeandaudience.

• Sentencestructure and sentence variety

• Wordchoice

• Voiceandtone

• Grammar,usage,and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation,andspelling)

Traits Writing: Chart Of Traits & Qualities

Ideas

Finding a Topic

Developing the Topic

Focusing the Topic

Using Details

OrganizationCreating the Lead

Using Sequence Words and Transition Words

Structuring the Body

Ending With a Sense of Resolution

VoiceEstablishing a Tone Creating a Connection to the AudienceConveying the Purpose Taking Risks to Create Voice

Word ChoiceApplying Strong Verbs Using Specific and Accurate WordsSelecting Choosing Words That Deepen Striking Words Meaning and Phrases

Sentence FluencyCrafting Well-Build Sentences Capturing Smooth and Rhythmic FlowVarying Sentence Types Breaking the “Rules” to Create Fluency

ConventionsChecking Spelling Capitalizing CorrectlyPunctuating Effectively Applying Grammar and Usage


A Writing Revolution: The Instructional and Assessment BreakthroughThegreatbreakthroughinwritinginstructionandassessment—showcasedinRuthCulham’sTraitsWriting(Scholastic2011)—isthatwenowunderstandhowtoteachwritinginwaysthatenableallstudentstobecomeskilled,effective,andthoughtfulwriters.TraitsWriting:

• breaksthetraitsdownintotheircomponentqualitiesandpresentstheminmanageable,spiraledpacketsofinformation.

• helpsteachersandstudentsreadanddiscussstrongexamplesofwhateachqualitylookslikeinexemplaryworksoffictionandnonfiction.

• encourageswritinginthethreemostcommonmodes(purposes)ofwriting:expository,narrative, and persuasive.

• sharesthecommonlanguageofwriting—madeavailablethroughthetraitsandthequalitiesofthetraits—tohelpstudentsunderstandwhat’sworkingintheirwritingandwhat’snot.

• targetsthespecificskillsstudentsneedtoimprovetheirwritingandgivethemtimetopracticethoseskillsbywritingontopicsthatmattertothem.

Culham’sTraitsWritingtakestheguessworkoutofteachingandassessing.Theinstructionalclarityitprovides—togetherwiththecommonlanguagetotalkaboutwritingandmentorstoshowtheway—makeitanextraordinarilyeffectivesystemforbothassessingandteachingwriting.

Full-Circle Support Switchinggearsforamoment,considerTheBikeKitchen,anonprofitbicyclerepairorganization,housedinacavernousSanFranciscogaragefilledwithbikeparts,biketools,andbikesinvariousstagesofbecoming.Here,bicyclistscanfindbothtoolsandexpertbikemechanicswhovolunteertheirtimeshowingothershowtofixtheirexistingbikesorbuildbrandnewones.Stepinsideandyou’reinstantlysurroundedbythelanguageofbicyclesandbikerepair:gears,chains,derailleurs.Expertandnovice,masterandapprenticeworksidebyside,immersedinthecraftofbikebuildingandrepair,onemodelingfortheother,theninvitingthenovicetotrywithguidance.Theconversationisspirited,theworkfocused,andthegoal,always,isquality.Youdon’twanttopointyourbikedownFilbertStreet(oneofthesteepestnavigablestreetsinthewesternhemisphere)anddiscoverhalfwaydownthatyourbackbrakesdon’twork!

TheBikeKitchenprovidesaspot-onanalogyforthekindofclassroomwewantforourstudentsaswestrivetohelpthemunderstandgoodwritingandcrafttheirown.Theeffectivewritingclassroomembracesthreebigideasaboutwhatdevelopingwriters(andbicyclists!)need:

• acommonlanguagetoshapeandguidetheworkathand

• mentorswhomodelandencourage

• anunderstandingofwhatconstitutesqualityprovided byexpertfeedbackandself-assessment

AllthreeareattheheartofTraitsWriting.Let’sconsidereachoneinturn.


Let’s Talk Writing! The Importance of Sharing a Common Language Writingishugelycomplexandinvolvesthesimultaneousorchestrationofdozensofmovingparts,eachattachedtodozensmore.Anditoftenfeelssomewhatmysterious—apiecethatcaninspireorinfuriate,enchantorendeararisesfromablankscreenorsheetofpaper.Howdoyouteachyoungstudentsaboutsomethingasabstractas“ideas”or“organization”?Thequestionbecomesevenmorechallengingwhenweconsiderthefactthatmanyteachers,duetolackoftimeorinterest,don’twritemuchbeyondlettershometoparents,emailstocolleagues,orlessonplansforprincipals.Theydon’twrestledailywiththeexactingworkofwritingbeyondthedemandsoftheseperfunctorywritingtasks.Howthentoexplaintoone’sstudentsthekindofmentalacrobaticsneededtowrite,say,asizzlingpersuasiveessay?

Asharedvocabularyofferstheentrypoint.JustasthenoviceenterstheBikeKitchenandlearnsthelanguageofbikeforksandgearcables,teachersandstudentsenterTraitsWritingandlearnthelanguageofwriting.RuthCulhamexplains:

Thetraitsareanassessmentmodelthatovertwentyyearsofdevelopmentandimplementationhasfounditswayintothelexiconofmany,manywritingteachers.Acknowledgingthatusingasharedvocabularycanbehelpfulacrossthegradesandover time, these teachers find the traits easy to understand and blend into their writing program—beithighlystructuredormoreinformal(2011,p.220).

Justknowinghowtotalkaboutwritingmakesallthedifference.AsEducationNorthwestsumsup:

Bysteppingbackandreflectinguponhowwritingincludesthinking,listening,reading,planning,speaking,anddrawing,wecanseeallsortsofpossibilitiesforusingthetraitlanguage with our youngest learners. We teach our children and ourselves what rubrics are and how to use them in many aspects of their learning and our teaching. If we focus onthelanguageofwriting,thecommonlanguage,thentogether,K–12,studentsandteachersalikewillcometotrulyunderstandtheskillsrequiredtobecomeastrongwriterwhileworkingthroughtheprocessofwriting(http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/464).

Writing Mentors: Showing Us the Way to Quality WritingTheBikeKitchenwouldn’texistifnotforthekindhearted,generousbikeexpertswhovolunteertheirtimedayafterday,weekafterweektohelpothersbuildandrepairbikes.It’sthebestoftheapprenticeshipmodel—bikeexpertdemonstratesinnonjudgmental,encouragingway;bikenovicegivesitago.

Andit’sthecollaborativeapprenticeshipmodel(Collins,Brown,Newman,1989),ourmosteffectivewayofteachingandlearning,that’satplayintheeffectivewritingclassroom.InaTraitsWritingclassroom,wefindmultiplementors—boththeteacherandtheworksofexpertwritersthatsurroundthestudentsonthebookshelves.That’sright!Whensummoned—fromeverybook,everywrittentext—authors,bothlivingandnot,offernovicewriterslessonsoneveryaspectofwriting.AsliteracyresearcherFrankSmith(1988)saidmorethan20yearsago:“Everytimeweopenabookwegetalessononwriting”—howtoframeandopenapiece,chooseamodetomeetourpurposeforwriting,selectjust-rightwords,infusethepiecewithvoice—alltheelementsthatmakewritingspiritedandapleasuretoreadareavailableinthepagesofpublishedwork.Theseso-calledMentorTexts,definedbyDorfanandCappelli(2007)as“piecesof literature that we can return to again and again as we help our young writers learn how to do what


theymaynotyetbeabletodoontheirown”(p.2)teachourstudentswhatqualitywritinglookslikeandsoundslike.

SusanCooper,NewberymedalwinnerandperhapsbestknownfortheseriesTheDarkIsRising,explains:

Everywriter’slifehasbeenmoldedbycertainkeybooks,readwhenyoung.MinewereKipling’sJungleBooks,Stevenson’spoems,thenovelsofE.Nesbit,ArthurRansome,CharlesDickens…AtleastIthinktheywere.Thetruthisthateverybookweread,likevery person we meet, has the capacity to change our lives. And though we can be sure our children will meet people, we must, must create, these days, their chance to meet books(1994).

Andhere,researchmeetsliteraryinsights:GrahamandDoloresPerin,authorsofWritingNext:EffectiveStrategiestoImproveWritingofAdolescentsinMiddleandHighSchools(2007),areportthatoutlineswhat’sneededtobringallstudentsuptogradelevel,notethepivotalrelationshipbetweenreadingandwritingbyidentifying11essentialelementsthathelpstudentslearntowrite.Numbertenontheirlistis“studyofmodels,”whichurgesteacherstoprovidestudentswithopportunitiestoreviewandlearnfrommodelsofexemplarywriting.Howmightthisbeaccomplished?Theauthorsexplain:“Thestudyofmodelsprovides students with good models for each type of writing that is the focus of instruction. Students areencouragedtoanalyzetheseexamplesandtoemulatethecriticalelements,patterns,andformsembodiedinthemodelsintheirownwriting”(p.20).

Thisjustseemstobecommonsense;nearlyeverythingwedoinlifewelearnbyemulatingthemodelsthatsurroundus—whetherwearelearningtosetthetablefordinner,buildourownroadbike,orcraftanessayforacollegeapplication—welearnbywatchingothersdowhatwemusttryanddoourselves.

Getting at the Heart of Quality WritingInaTraitsWritingclassroom,teachersareencouragedtoexposestudentstomultiplementors—notonlytopublishedauthors,butalsotofellowstudents.Everykeyqualityisshowcasedbystudent-writtenbenchmarkpapersthatstudentsassessfortheirapplicationofthekeyquality.Studentsdon’thavetoguesswhattheyareaimingtoaccomplish—theycanrefertoaclearexampleofwritingthatworks;plus,theteacherdeliversaFocusLessonthatspellsoutexactlywhatmustbedonetoapplythequalityskillfully.Nothingislefttochance:Helpingstudentsunderstandwhatwemeanby“quality”writingistooimportantnottoaddressdirectlyandexplicitly.Weshowstudentsexactlywhatwemeansotheycanworktowardcreatingqualitywritingthemselves.AsRuthCulham(2011)explains,“Writersusereadingforinspiration.Theyminetheirreading,andastheysluicethesludgefromgoldandpreciousgemstones,theyusewhattheydiscovertoadorntheirownwriting(p.218).”

What About the Common Core State Standards?TraitsWritingismeticulouslyalignedtowritingstandards—specificstatewritingstandardsaswellasthoseincludedintheCommonCoreStateStandards.TheCCSSaredividedintofourcategories,alladdressedinTraitsWriting:

1. Text Types and Purposes

Centeronthemodesofwriting—expository,narrative,andpersuasive;atleasttwounitseachyearinthetraitsprogramexploreandpracticeeachmode


2. Production and Distribution of Writing

Featurerevising(traits:ideas,organization,wordchoice,voice,sentencefluency),editing(trait:conventions)andpublicationofworkusingtechnology(trait:presentation).Allseven traits are covered within these standards.

3. Research to Build Writing

Promotelearningtowrite;throughoutthetraitsprogram,studentswritetodemonstratelearning(usinginformationcollectedfrommultiplesources)andtoexpressopinionsandideasabouttextsread(supportingtextualevidence).

4. Range of Writing

Requireshort-andlong-termwritingprojects.EachweekinTraitsWriting,studentswritesmallerpiecesaswellasworkontheirmode-specificunitproject.

Analytic Writing Assessment: Helping Students Understand Their Own Writing Strengths and ChallengesHelping our students discover themselves as writers who possess the control and confidence to craft clear, concisewritingisourclarioncallaseducators.Weknowourstudentsarepowerfullanguageusers.Everyday,inthehallwaysofourschools(andperhapstooofteninclass)wehearexamplesofourstudents’languagevirtuosity,switchingregistereveryfewminutesdependingonwhattheyaretalkingaboutandtowhom(e.g.,brash,boldbanteringwiththeirpeersoverlunch;adeferentialtonewhenapproachedbytheprincipal).Howcanweharnesstheirauthenticvoicesandhelpourstudentscreateequallypotentwrittenpieces?What’sneededtochanneltheirstrong,engagingorallanguageintowritingthatsings?

Tothisend,wemightask,whatmakeswritinggood?Howdoweknowwhenapieceofwritingisexemplary,andfurthermore,howdowehelpourstudentsunderstandandemulatesuchapiecesotheycancrafttheirownfinewriting?Oneofthegreatestweaknessesinourwritinginstructionthusfaristhattoooftenstudents(andoftentheirteachers)simplydon’tknowwhattheyareaimingfor.It’sakintospelunkinginsideadarkcavewithoutaheadlamptolighttheway.Enterthetraitsandtheirkeyqualities—amodelthatilluminateswritinganditsguideposts(prewriting,drafting,revising,editing,andfinishing/publishing).TheTraitModelpointsthewaytocompetentwritingandminimizesstumblesandspills along the way.

The Great Value of an Analytic StanceAnalyticassessmentisindividualized,focused,andprecise,becauseitrequiresustolookatwritingfrommultipleperspectives.Likescorersofholisticassessment,thosewhoengageinanalyticassessmentusea rubric or scoring guide. But they use the rubrics and scoring guides to determine multiple scores for apieceofwriting,ratherthanjustone.InTraitsWriting,bothteacherandstudentconsider28differentinformationpoints(seventraitstimesfourkeyqualities)astheyworktoassesspapersusingthesix-pointscoring guide for each trait:

The Scoring Guides’ Six Performance Levels*

6. Exceptional:thepieceexceedsexpectationsinthistrait.Itreallyworkswell.Thereisnoneed for revision or editing unless the writer wants to push further into new territory.


5. Strong:Thepieceisgoodandstrong.Itstandsonitsown.Itmayneedabitofrevisionorediting,butnothingthewritercan’thandleonhisorherown.

4. Refining:Thepiecehasmorestrengthsthanweaknessesinthetrait.Amoderateamountofrevisionandeditingisneeded.Papersthatscorea4areoftenconsidered“proficient,”whichmeanstheymeetmoststateandlocalstandards.

3. Developing:Thepiecehasslightlymoreweaknessesthanstrengthsinthistrait.Somerevision and editing is needed throughout.

2. Emerging:Thepiecehintsatwhatthewritermightdowiththetrait.Extensiverevisionand editing are required.

1. Rudimentary:Thepiecedoesnotcontainthecorefeaturesofanyofthekeyqualitiesforthistrait.Thewritermaywishtostartoverorabandonthepiececompletely.

* for Grades 3-8; performance levels for Grades K–2 are Exceptional, Established, Extending, Expanding, Exploring, and Emergent.

Intheprocessofworkingtoassignscoresforeachtrait,studentsandteacherssimultaneouslylearnthe“languageofwriting,”thecomponentsofeffectivewriting,andwhat’sneededtodrawtogetherandorchestrateallthemovingparts—everythingfromarichknowledgeofthetopic,tothecorrespondingvocabulary that describes the topic, to the mastery of the conventions such as spelling, grammar, and punctuationneededtodescribeandpresentthetopic.Again,ittakestheguessworkoutofbothteachingandlearning.Teachersandstudentsusethesamelanguagetodrawfromthesamesetofunderstandings.

What Writing Does for UsAs educators, we sometimes distinguish between learning to write and writing to learn. In some common-sense way, the two seem different. As our students are learning to write, they are concentrating hard on learninghowtomakewisechoices—evenabrandnewwriterisfacedwithcountlessdecisionsabouthowtousenearlyeveryaspectofwrittenlanguage,bothglobal(meaningandstructure)andparticular(languageconventions).Writingtolearn,ontheotherhand,providesanopportunityforstudentstousewritingasatool:1)todigtheirwayintothemeaningofatext,strengtheninganddeepeningcomprehension(Harvey&Daniels,2010;Tatum,2010);or2)tolearnsubjectmatter(Lane,2008;Gallagher&Lee,2008).Infact,learningtowriteandwritingtolearnareinterdependent.Theabilitytowritewellisessentialforallaspectsofourlives—inschoolandout.Andincreasingly,it’seventiedupintheeconomichealthofthecountry,promptingthisstatementfromtheNAEPWritingFramework:

Americansinthe21stcenturyneedto…communicateinavarietyofformsandmediums,createtextsundertheconstraintsoftime,andplayaproductiveroleinaneconomythatincreasinglyvaluesknowledgeandinformation.Thepaceofwrittencommunicationintoday’senvironment—thevelocityofwriting—reflectsthetransitiontoaninformation-basedeconomybuiltonspeed,efficiency,andcomplexity”(NAEP,2011,p.1).

The Traits: A Lifeline to LearningWritingiscomplex.Whetherwearelearningtolistenforourvoiceinthefirstpersonalnarrativewe’veeverattempted,ordocumentingourresearchofmetabolicsystems,weareengaginginextraordinarilycomplicatedcognitiveprocesses.Butteachingandassessingwritingneednotbecomplicated.TraitsWritingprovidestheframeworkandstrategies,mentorsandresources,thatpointthewaytowritinginstruction and assessment that are smart, streamlined, and aligned with Common Core Standards and theWritingFrameworkfortheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress.Andfortheindividualteacherandstudent,thetraitsarenothinglessthanalifelinetomagnificentlearningpossibilities—aswellastothe tremendous satisfaction and advantages that come from learning to write well.


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