Written by the pioneer of 6-trait writing, this Fourth Edition brings everything up to date, offering a comprehensive overview of the best education strategies and philosophies from the worlds of writing assessment and instruction. It provides clear guidelines on helping students draft, assess, and revise their writing, as well as explicit criteria to show students precisely what they must do to succeed as writers in virtually any situation. Widely used at the state level, school districts are incorporating the 6 traits into their state standards or assessments. This is the only book on the market that effectively helps teachers of writing prepare their students for success on state tests.

Table of Contents:
Each chapter concludes with “Extensions” and “Looking Ahead.” FORWORD. PREFACE. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 1. Creating a Vision. Who Invented the Six Traits? Assessing to Learn: The Bridge to Revision. 10 Reasons to Make Six-Trait Writing Part of the Vision. Building a Personal Vision. Chapter 1 in a Nutshell. 2. Creating Assessment to Match the Vision. Keys to Quality Assessment. Making Assessment Support Instruction (not vice versa). Large-Scale and Classroom Assessment: Lessons Learned from Two Perspectives. Large-Scale Writing Assessment: How it Looks. Lessons Learned from Large-Scale Assessment. Classroom Assessment: How Does It Look? Lessons Learned from Classroom Assessment. Chapter 2 in a Nutshell. 3. Coming Face to Face with the 6 Traits. Building a Community of Writers. What Teachers Value in Writing. War of the Rubrics. Getting Ready to Score Papers. Suggested Scores and Comments. Making Your Scoring Consistent. Chapter 3 in a Nutshell. 4. Building a Foundation. Ideas: The Heart of it All. Practice Papers. Organization: Showcasing It. Practice Papers. Looking at Additional Papers. Chapter 4 in a Nutshell. 5. Adding Flavor. Voice: Fingerprints on the Page. Practice Papers. Word Choice: The Bridge from Message to Voice. Practice Papers. Sentence Fluency: Variety and Rhythm. Practice Papers. Looking at Additional Papers. Chapter 5 in a Nutshell. 6. Framing the Picture. Conventions and Presentation: Editing and Framing. Practice Papers. Examples of Presentation. Putting All Traits Together. Practice Papers. The Next Step. Chapter 6 in a Nutshell. 7. Supporting Writing Process. What Read Writers Do. We Need to Model It. Process First, then Traits, then Modes. Prewriting/Rehearsing: Giving Shape to the Instinct. Drafting: Creating Substance. Sharing: Playing to an Audience. Revising—Remodeling the House. Editing: Making the Reader “At Home” in Your Text. Publishing: Honoring and Preserving Writing. Assessing: A Partnership. Endnote. Chapter 7 in a Nutshell. 8. Unlocking the Door to Revision. Four Steps to Teaching Traits. Focused Lessons for IDEAS. Focused Lessons for ORGANIZATION. Focused Lessons for VOICE. Focused Lessons for WORD CHOICE. Focused Lessons for SENTENCE FLUENCY. Focused Lessons for CONVENTIONS. What to Tell Parents About Conventions. Chapter 8 in a Nutshell. 9. Troubleshooting. Dealing with Common Writing Problems. Helping Challenged/Beginning Writers. Helping Students Who Know Traits Well. Chapter 8 in a Nutshell. 10. Listening to Teachers' Voices. In Elaine's Self-Contained 6th Grade Classroom. In Jim's High School Classroom. In Billie's 7th Grade Class. In Ellen's AP English Class. In Judy's Grade 3 Classroom. In Penny's Grade 2 Classroom. In Arlene's K-1 Classroom. In Andrea's Multi-Age Second Language Classroom. In Sammie's “Tiger Learning Center.” Chapter 10 in a Nutshell. 11. Adapting the Traits to Fit You. The Simplest Adaptation: Being Selective. Simplicity Itself: The Checklist. A Scoring Guide for Informational and Research-Based Writing. Sample Papers: An Invitation. Adapting the Guide for Native Spanish Speakers. GUÌA DE CALIFICACIÒN PARA LOS ESTUDIANTES ESCRITORES. Chapter 11 in a Nutshell. 12. Exploring the World of Beginning Writing. Teaching Ourselves What to Look For. Helping Writers See Their Strengths. How Traits Look Early On. Ideas for Teaching Traits to Beginners. Continuums for Charting Growth. Give It Time. Chapter 12 in a Nutshell. 13. Communicating With Students. Comments. Conferences. Peer Response Groups. Grading. Chapter 13 in a Nutshell. 14. Believeing. Appendix 1. Copy for Posters. Appendix 2. Millard Public Schools. Appendix 3. The Pitcher. Appendix 4. “Finnel Fruters.”