Many earlier blog pieces have stressed on the importance of giving children sufficient opportunities to write for a variety of purposes. Some pieces have described the nature of emergent writing and have suggested allowing young children to use scribbles, drawings, talk and invented spellings as writing to begin to express themselves.

So, it is clear that teachers should provide children with such opportunities to do a variety of writing. Teachers should follow this up by monitoring the children’s writing, and provide appropriate feedback to each child that will help them become stronger writers. But if good handwriting and correct spellings are no longer the ways by which teachers can assess students’ writing and provide feedback, then, what criteria should they use?

In this piece, I discuss the “traits” approach to assessing writing. To put it simply, traits are what we believe to be the characteristics of good writing. The idea that writing can be discussed in terms of several dimensions or “traits” came up in the 1970s and 1980s when educators began a search for classroom assessment strategies that are helpful to writers. Various dimensions were proposed, researched and revised. In 1999, these were formalised as “6 + 1 traits” of writing. In 2003, educator Ruth Culham further revised and elaborated on these traits. The six main traits are: ideas, organisation, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and grammar, and conventions. The “plus 1” trait is presentation – how children present their stories on paper.

What do each of the six traits mean? Let’s look at each one, by turn.

The Six Traits

1. Ideas

Ideas make up the main message of a piece of writing. Children should be encouraged to write pieces that have a strong and clear idea. Initially, ideas may just be presented as labels (kite, boys, trees, etc.), or as simple descriptions, for example, “पतंग उड़ा रहा है| पतंग अटक गया|” (Flying the kite. The kite is stuck.) When the idea is more developed, then children are able to write with interesting details. For example, “…फिर से कोशिश की| फिर भी पतंग नीचे गिरा नहीं| फिर उन्होनें डोरी ली और हलके से खींचे पर पतंग नीचे आया नहीं|” (They tried again. Still the kite didn’t fall. Then, they took the string and pulled it gently, but the kite didn’t come down.) Details like “हल्के से” (gently) give us specifics on how the characters are moving — with patience, effort and gentleness — to try and coax the kite down from the tree. This helps us understand their effort better.

2. Organisation

Organisation refers to how the ideas are arranged in the writing. As described earlier, in the

initial phases of writing, children often just label the picture: “पतंग, लड़का, पेड़” (kite, boy,

tree); or describe the picture: “एक पतंग है| दो लड़के हैं| (There is one tree. There are two boys.) Sometimes, there is no particular organisation to the description, and ideas appear without any ordering. Younger children (and poorer writers) may start writing a story, but forget to end it. Later, we see children’s sense of sequence start to develop. Children begin to use words that give a sense of sequence, like “फिर”, and “बाद में” (then, and later). When organisation is mature, children’s stories start to have a clear beginning, middle and end.

 

3. Voice

Of all the traits, none is more difficult to teach than writing with a voice! When we talk about “voice” in a writing piece, we are basically talking about communicating a mood or feeling through writing. For example, is the writer trying to communicate excitement? Is she trying to make the reader feel scared? Or happy? It is difficult to detect the voice when the writer is merely labeling the picture or coming up with very basic descriptions. However, when the writer starts to include dialogue, for example, “घड़ी कितने रुपये?” (How many rupees for this watch?), we get the sense of questions and conversation, of what people are actually saying, and we can imagine the tone or feeling with which it is said. This becomes even stronger when the writer, directly or through a character, clearly expresses what she wants or how she feels. For example, “अरे! हमारा पतंग तो पेड़ पर अटक गया| अब क्या करें?” (Oh, no! Our kite has got stuck in a tree! What shall we do now?)

 

4. Word Choice

The words a writer uses in her writing are important. When young children write, they may begin by using common, everyday words. But as they develop as writers, they may have a larger set of words to choose from. Good writers choose to use words that are distinct, interesting and accurate. They make you take notice of what the writer is trying to say, and draw you into the writing. A mature writer uses interesting verbs: “पेड़ पर फूल खिले थे|” (Flowers were blooming on the tree); adjectives: “उसकी रस्सी बहुत लंबी थी|” (Its rope was very long); and adverbs: “हल्के से खींचे” (pulled gently).

5. Sentence Fluency and Grammar

Sentence fluency is how a piece of writing sounds when you read it. Does it sound like “real” language, or does it sound forced and artificial? When young children start writing, they may start with short sentences that have the same structure. For example: “एक पेड़ है| दो लड़के हैं| एक पतंग है|” (There is a tree. There are two boys. There is a kite.) Mature writers use varying sentence structures to keep the reader interested: “हवा आयी और दोनों बच्चों ने पतंग उड़ाया| और पतंग पेड़ पर अटक गया| उसने चढ़ने की बहुत कोशिश की| पर चढ़ नही सका|” (The wind blew and both children flew the kite. And the kite got stuck on a tree. They tried very hard to climb the tree. But they were not able to climb it.)

 

6. Conventions

This trait refers to the mechanical correctness of the piece and includes five elements: spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, grammar usage, and paragraphing. This trait is the one that we usually teach children in Indian classrooms. Are children able to write “correctly”? Can they spell words? Do they use punctuation (full-stops, question marks, etc.)? Do they use correct grammar? Do they separate longer pieces into paragraphs?

 

The Literacy Research in Indian Languages (LiRIL) team (Menon et al., 2017) adapted the writing rubric from Culham’s original to assess students in rural Maharashtra and Karnataka. We piloted the rubric on 250 children in these two states and we revised the rubric to suit the responses we actually got from the field. Our version of the rubric is appended to this blog piece.

 

Children in our sample did not write very much. Therefore, we added a dimension called “Total Amount of Text” to the original rubric. Of course, we all agree that longer pieces of writing are not necessarily better writing. But we found it useful to have this dimension to capture how children went from writing nothing to writing at least a little over the three years that we tracked them (from Grades 1 to 3).

 

Again, because the children wrote so little, their ratings on “Ideas” and “Organisation” were identical in many cases. Therefore, we clubbed these two traits, even though they are actually quite different! We also revised the descriptions of different levels of writing to suit our sample population’s responses.

 

We invite you to experiment with using our rubric to assess children’s writing in your classroom. You may find that some dimensions or descriptions need to be modified or adapted to your students’ needs. That is fine – please use this as a base to begin your own experiments!

 

Using the Trait Approach in the Classroom

 

Why is the trait approach useful in assessing and providing feedback on children’s writing? As we can see at a glance, typical Indian classrooms only emphasise the last trait – conventions. Most Indian classrooms have not taken the care to guide children on any of the other aspects of “good” writing. The assumption is that some children are naturally good writers, and others are not. When I was a young child in school, my writing attempts came back with “Good”, or “Excellent”, or 8/10 written on it; while some of my classmates may have received “Poor”, or “Fair”, or a different set of scores at the end of their papers. How did we make sense of this? We assumed that some of us were good writers, while others were not. I think our teachers assumed this too. No one seemed to know how to help all children become better writers.

 

The trait approach helps to demystify the aspects of good writing, and provides teachers with specific descriptors that help them see where their students are on different traits of writing. For example, one child may be spelling perfectly, but may have very poor ideas. This child would need to be coached on how and where to get strong ideas for writing. Another child may have great ideas and a voice, but poor spelling. This child would need help with spelling. A third child may have terrific ideas, but may not know how to organise these ideas in a way makes sense to readers. This child would need help with organisation. Thus, the trait approach permits us to respond to the different strengths and needs of learners in our classroom in a fairly nuanced manner. This is so much more useful than marking “6/10” at the end of a piece of writing, because three different writers may have got “6/10” for three completely different reasons!

 

Some considerations in using the rubric in your classroom

Before you use the rubric in your classroom, please ensure that you have started out with a strong writing programme. What would the characteristics of such a programme be?

1. Children write often and for a wide variety of purposes. Make sure that children in your classroom are writing regularly. Make sure that they are not just being asked to copy down answers and spellings from the board, but are writing to express, communicate and learn.
2. Children begin to write early – even before they can spell! If the children in your classroom are very young, too young to write conventionally, then please encourage them to draw, scribble, talk. Write down their dictated stories on a regular basis and consider the quality of ideas that they are expressing.
3. Children listen to you reading out a selection of good children’s literature. Good writers get their ideas, vocabulary, ideas for sentence formation, and so on from having heard many stories read out or told. They learn that stories are sequenced in a particular way, they learn ways to make their stories more fun or interesting or powerful from having heard and discussed lots and lots of stories. When they begin to write non-fiction, again, they will use ideas that they have come across in their reading. Make sure that children have lots of exposure to good fiction and non-fiction texts in your classroom!
4. Give choice. Good writers don’t always write well to topics given to them by others. How many times did you really want to write about your Summer Vacation or Diwali in school? Maybe you were dying to tell your friends a story about an interesting uncle who visited; or about a favourite pet who died. But, no, your teacher would only let you write about Diwali that day! Give the writers in your classroom a chance to write about topics they care about. Authentic reasons for writing sometimes produced excellent pieces of writing! Let the writer be emotionally connected to what they are writing about.
5. Use multiple samples of a student’s work to assess. I recommend that you keep “Writing Folders” of each child’s work, so that you can see the child’s progress over time, and so that you don’t base your assessment on the basis of a single piece of writing. Sit down with the child every few months or so, and discuss their writing with them, using the folder as the basis for your conversation. Tell them the trends you notice. Give them tips. Set expectations.
6. Be a writer yourself! I believe firmly that there is nothing more dishonest than an adult asking a child to do something that they won’t do themselves! If you are not willing to develop your own writing, how can you expect children to develop as writers in your classroom? Therefore, before assessing children’s writing, please spend a few months writing for yourself, seeking feedback from more experienced writers in your community, and developing a feel of the needs and challenges that writers face. Once you do this for a while, you will be in a better place to start a writing programme, and to assess children’s writing!



LiRIL Writing Rubric

Trait 1—Ideas and Organisation

Scribbles with Dictated Writing			Presents Ideas in Written Form
No evidence of oral or written ideas	Labeling stage of oral dictation	Oral elaboration of ideas	Labeling of pictures	Simple description of actions	Emergence of storyline	Developing storyline	Well developed, well organised story
No oral or written response. Written scribbles or drawing with no oral elaboration.	Written scribbles, marks, letters and non-label words (written down), accompanied by limited oral description upon prompting, typically oral labeling.	Written scribbles, marks, letters and non-label words, accompanied by extensive oral description upon prompting. Multiple ideas are shared.	Labels pictures or states ideas vaguely in writing. Some meaningful words are present, but there is not enough syntax to make judgments about organisation. No coherent storyline is present. (The child may write “A kite”, “A boy”, “here is a tree”, etc.)	Describes the picture in phrases or sentences. Sequencing of ideas is not present. Coherent storyline is not evident. Syntax is present but no sense of continuity in thoughts expressed. (“A boy is climbing the tree” or  “The boy is going to take the kite”)	Main idea is present but storyline is still emergent. Supporting details may be present, but do not coherently flesh out the main idea. Sequencing of ideas not present.  Transitions not present. A beginning may be attempted, but writing may lack clear middle or end.	Big idea is clear. Supporting details are present. Simple storyline is present with clear beginning, middle and end. Focus is generally on topic with few missteps. Sequencing may be imperfect, but reader can follow. Characters, settings, plot, themes may be present in a simple way. (Sometimes the child is included in the story while sometimes she is not)	Big idea is clear and fleshed out well. May have creative or imaginative elements. Supporting details are relevant and add to the big idea. Focus stays on topic. Some evidence of attending to character, plot, setting and /or theme. Structure showcases main idea and helps orient reader. Well sequenced. Transitions are smooth and varied. Clear opening and conclusion are present.



Trait 2-Voice

Largely Oral	Labeling	Simple Descriptions	Voice--Emerging	Voice--Developing	Voice--Proficient
Letter sequences or non-meaningful word sequences make it difficult to rate this dimension.	Not enough text is present to convey a mood or feeling.	General feeling is captured in words or pictures.	Feeling is more clearly specified, but may be minimal.	Feelings are present in parts, but not throughout the writing. Writer’s voice is clear. Engages the audience to some extent.	Writer’s feelings about subject are loud and clear. Expression of feeling is carried throughout the piece. Compelling to read.

 



Trait 3 –Word Choice

Largely Oral	Labels	Simple, General Descriptions	More Specific Descriptions	Interesting Word Use Emerges	Precise, Memorable Word Choice
Letter sequences or non-meaningful word sequences make it difficult to rate this dimension.	Very few words are used for labeling or signifying what is in the picture prompt. Rudimentary vocabulary.	Very limited, mundane word choices. Wording is sometimes repetitive. Descriptive words may not be present.	Vocabulary is mostly routine, but a greater variety of words begins to emerge. Descriptive words may be present.	Wording is becoming more specific. A few unusual/interesting words may be present. Adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and connectives are beginning to emerge (not all of these categories may be present in a single piece). Repetition occurs infrequently.	Striking memorable phrases. Precise, vivid and interesting word choices. Word choice contains moments of sparkle; everyday words used well. Wide vocabulary. Repetition occurs rarely or is selected for effect. Word choice conveys mood and sentiment appropriately.



Trait 4 -- Printing, Spelling, Punctuation and Paragraphing

 

Scribbling	Mock Handwriting	Mock Letters	Conventional Letters	Invented (phonetic) Spellings	Conventional Spelling - 1	Conventional Spelling - 2	Conventional Spelling - 3	Conventional Spelling - 4
Random marks or scribbles. Or refusal to write.	Children produce lines of wavy scribbles or circles as they imitate adult writing (letters or form). Some of the wavy scribbles may have conventional letter-like shapes.	Children make letter-like shapes that resemble conventional letters. Writing sometimes can be more vertical than horizontal.	Children’s mock letters become more and more conventional, real aksharas emerge. The children may or may not recognise these aksharas. Children often create “strings” of aksharas across a page and “read” them as sentences or a series of sentences. These aksharas may or may not be clustered into words and words, when present, may not be meaningful. End punctuation marks may or may not be visible. May not be used purposefully.	Recognisable aksharas and meaningful words are present with approximate spellings. Words may or may not be spaced correctly. Children apply sounds to aksharas to approximate the spellings of words (e.g., first or last sound of words may be represented). E.g.  गय दूते for गाय दूध देते Maatraas/jodaakshar omission is a common category that may be rated at this level if consistent across student’s writing. End punctuation marks may or may not be visible. May not be used purposefully.	Mixture of conventionally and phonetically spelled words. Errors may be present even in common/simple words but may or may not detract from understanding. Words with maatra, jodaakshar may be spelled incorrectly or words may be misspelled due to rasva-deergh. Spacing, mostly present, may have few deviations. Punctuation may or may not be visible.	If the child has only used simple words in the writing but spelled correctly, apply this rating. Difficult words like words with jodaaksharas may be spelled incorrectly. Errors do not detract from understanding. Spacing is consistently present. Punctuation may be emergent.	Child has spelled most words accurately. To get this rating, the child should spell some difficult words correctly. E.g, jodaakshar, words with multiple maatraas etc. Spacing is consistently present. End punctuation is consistently used for the most part. Other punctuations (comma, inverted commas) may be present.	All the words are correctly spelled and spacing is perfect. End punctuation is consistently used. Other punctuations (comma, inverted commas) may be present.



Trait 5—Sentence Fluency and Grammar

 

No Formation of Sentence	Incomplete Sentences (Labels)	Simple Sentence Structures –1	Simple Sentence Structure – 2	Beginning of Use of Connectives	Complex Sentence Structure
Letter sequences or non-meaningful word sequences make it difficult to rate this dimension.	Meaningful words stand alone.	Simple sentence structure is used for the most part. Complete sentences may not be present, or may be mixed with phrases. Rhythm is not present. Connectives are not present. Sentences may be repeated. Some grammatical markers are present. Grammatical errors may or may not be present.	Generally simple sentence structures. Sentence patterns could be repeated (e.g., they may begin the same way). Rhythm could be choppy. Sentence length and complexity might increase at this stage as compared to previous stage (e.g., there may be 1 or 2 sentences of 5+ words). Grammatical errors may or may not be present.	Some variability in sentence patterns appears at this stage. Simple connective words may be present, indicating more complex sentences. Fluidity in rhythm may be present, i.e., could be present in some sentences and not in others. Some grammatical errors may be present, but do not detract from understanding.	Sentences vary in structure and length. Complex sentences are present. Connective words are present and show some variation. Grammar is accurate. Rhythm is fluid, easy to read aloud.



Trait 6—Text Length

 

No Sentence Formation	Incomplete Sentences	Simple Sentence Structure, Less Text--1	Simple Sentence Structure, More Text--2	Varied Sentence Length, Longer Composition	Longer Sentences, Long Composition
No text, scribbles, or 1 – 3 recognisable letters not grouped into words.	1 or 2 lines of text, meaningful words or recognisable letters (4 or more) are put down. Lines may or may not make up coherent sentences.	At least 2 sentences. * Sentences may be short in length.	3 or 4 sentences. Sentences may be short in length.	5-8 sentences. Sentence length varied.	9+ sentences. Sentence length mostly not limited to very short sentences, except where appropriate.