The Writing Process and the 6+1 Traits of Writing

 The creation of strong writers begins with the writing process and the incorporation of the 6+1 traits of writing. These two concepts work hand in hand to guide young writers in forming structured paragraphs in their writing, develop fluency, build on their vocabulary, and encourage collaboration amongst each other.

So what then is the Writing Process? 

The Writing Process is Broken down into five (5) parts. 

Pre-Writing, Drafting, Revising, Editing, and Publishing.

Each component of the Writing Process is very important and neither of them should be skipped. So here is my reflection on what I would have learned about the Writing Process. 

First, do you remember when you were in Primary School and your teacher started teaching you about writing in composition, whether it was Narrative, Expository, Persuasive, or Descriptive? Do you remember your teacher saying something along the lines like,' Jot down your ideas on a separate page before you start writing, remember to break up all the information into the different parts of your essay before you put everything together.'?

Prewriting

Well if you do, that was the beginning of the Writing Process. This stage is called the Pre-Writing Stage. Back in Primary school I genuinely do not remember hearing about this stage but as I have started re-learning the writing process again I realized that I definitely would have taken part in it from Primary up until my tertiary education. The pre-writing stage is not just jotting down your main points of thought. It is the storm in your brain that you are writing down on paper. the possibilities for your writing piece that you want to add to your paper. Then you go through it and decide what you think are the important things that would help you as the writer to convey your message to the reader. 

 Drafting

Once the pre-writing is over, my teacher would then say, "Start your writing, follow the plan that you have, and put it together", this is the drafting stage. I did not recognize the split between the two because I would have sometimes added information in my draft that I never wrote at my pre-writing stage. But that is definitely not something to beat myself up for because I have learned that the writing process is recursive, which means that it is not linear one can go backward and tweak a previous component, and that flows into the process after. Therefore while I would have added something new to my draft I can put it into my pre-writing as well. You may see that your young writer may do something like this in their own writing as well. Encourage them to know that it is fine. 

Revising 

At this stage back in primary school you would carry your finished draft to your teacher and he/ she would highlight the parts that need correcting. the revising stage is simply a way of making changes to a draught while it is being written, or alterations that work to make it more consistent with the writer's shifting intentions. 

Editing

What I would have learned at this stage is that at this stage it asks for a more in-depth analysis of the piece that has been written, examining each sentence carefully to ensure that it is well-designed and meets its objective. essentially this is the way the writer takes after the revising and makes their changes for the piece they are writing on. 

Publishing

At the end of the passage, the teacher gives her final mark. This is the final piece.  

To understand the relationship between the 6+1 traits of Writing and the writing process, One must first know the Traits and understand their Value. 

The Taits 

Voice: Refers to the person behind the words.

Ideas: This is the main message that stems from an interesting topic 

Conventions: Focus on rules that guide readers towards meaning. Writers check on spelling, capitalization, and grammar. 

Organization: The structure of the piece. distinguishes between the beginning, middle, and end. 

Word Choice: Writers choose specific words that align with the topic of the writing piece and the type of writing. Writers would use synonyms and antonyms when needed over regular everyday words. 

Sentence Fluency: The writing is made easy to read aloud. This is facilitated by the structure and flow of sentences. 

Presentations: Writers make sure that the appearance of the written work is pleasing to the eye of the reader. 

These traits are used as a way of teaching, modeling, and assessing the instruction of writing. 

Therefore the relationship between The Processes and The Traits is, as follows. The Process of Writing engages the writer in getting words on paper and making sure that every thought/ vision, all the important information that a writer believes to be worthy for their writing piece is put together in a well-defined structure. As writers make sure that corrections are made and ready to be shared. the traits enhance the process, allowing the writer to intertwine their voice into their written work. Which makes the work more genuine and true to the writer. in addition to assisting the writer to share their ideas and make them as fluid as possible. They then get the opportunity to utilize new vocabulary that aligns with the idea and would also grasp the reader's attention in the process. Lastly, it provides the reader with a style format that would appease the reader. This can be evident in Storywriting, especially with the inclusion of illustrations. and essay writing on a researched item.