I have been teaching writing to my high school students which has been great because it has helped me refresh myself on some of the basics. This week we worked on the traits of effective writing. I wanted to share them with you.
1. Your writing should present interesting and engaging ideas that hold your reader’s attention.
2. Your story should be organized in a logical way with a clear beginning, middle and ending.
3. You need to allow your natural voice to come through and show your passion for the subject you are writing about.
4. Choose your words carefully, using words that make your writing come alive. Avoid to be (is, are, was, were) verbs where possible.
5. Your sentence structure should vary in length, beginning and word choice.
6. You should use correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.