The 6 (+1) Traits Of Writing Are Key: The 6 (+1) traits of writing are essential in developing students' ability to write confidently and independently. These traits include ideas (the meaning and development of the message), organization (the internal structure of the piece - e.g. beginning, middle and end of a narrative) voice (the tone of the piece - the personal stamp the writer brings to it), word choice (the specific vocabulary the writer uses to convey meaning), sentence fluency (the flow of words and how they combine to form proper sentences), conventions (the mechanical correctness - spelling, grammar, punctuation), and presentation (the overall appearance of the piece, acts as the plus one). Before this class, I was unaware of the categorization of these traits and how often they are referenced when filling out assessment sheets for students on their writing or simply teaching students how to write in general. It has now been brought to my attention that one cannot write correctly unless these 6 (+1) traits are incorporated into their text to some extent. The more developed these 6 (+1) traits are in one's writing, the stronger the writing can be.