Lucky Number ... Six?

Writing is not as hard as you might think it is. Really. All it takes is some effort and some know-how. I can help you with both. Teaching and tutoring English for a number of years has given me the opportunity to train with a multitude of methods that all have beneficial effects on a student's writing. As one quickly learns in the area of writing, what seems like an abstract, ephemeral process can be turned into something that is concrete, doable, and most of all, writable. And, that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is where six, does indeed, become your lucky number. Really.
It has nothing to do with games of chance, the same suite of five, or three "sevens" matching across a quarter slot game. It does, however, have everything to do with a thing called the Six Traits of Writing. And what are they? A group of teachers came together and graded many pieces of student writing (hey, some things in life never change). As a result of their collaborative grading, they came up with six traits of writing that strong papers in the pool all had, as a unifying theme: ideas and content, mechanics, word choice, organization, voice, and sentence fluency. What developed out of this collaboration can help your student become a skilled writer. Really.
So, here is the breakdown of the six traits: each trait is graded on a scale of one to six, with six being the highest. What is also given under each score is some written text that exemplies, for better or for worse, what makes a score what it is. There is a total of six numbers, and those numbers are then averaged for a score that ranges anywhere from a zero (the student wrote nothing) to six (highly improbably, but it has happened). Aiming for a total score of four to five is a goal that can be reached. Really. So, how do you get your student there?
Well, hiring a tutor that has a mastery of the English language, but also, who has a mastery of the types of rubrics school districts are using is a step in the right direction. Taking writing step by step, in addition to teaching the traits in chunks, can solidify an exemplary writing model that your student can use in any classroom. Since many students have difficulty with developing and elaborating ideas, I usually start tutoring with the trait of "ideas," and show them with graphic organizers, with the recalling of prior knowledge into other subjects that they know, and with showing them the cause/effect relationships their own ideas have, how to turn a one sentence wonder into a beautifully substantial paragraph with innumerable possibilities for discussion and thought. All it takes is the introduction of the process and some practice.
Really.
For more information about students being tutored in the Scottsdale and Phoenix areas, please visit www.excellenceinacademicstutoring.com.

For more information about the six traits (now Six Traits +1), please visit www.nwrel.org.