1. The Six Traits The Six Traits of Writing help us describe and improve our writing. Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions

2. Focus on Conventions Written work should be neat and correct. Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions

3. Correct conventions make a big difference. Read the following story. There are mistakes in spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. Notice how difficult the paragraph is to read. goin to the mal with my famly on saterday was fun we ate hmgers and saw a movey. we whent to lots of stors I likd the toy stor bes. wat dos yur family do on saterdays Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions

4. Now read the final draft of this story. Notice how the conventions have been edited, making the story much easier to read. Going to the mall with my family on Saturday was fun! We ate hamburgers and saw a movie. We went to lots of stores. I liked the toy store best. What does your family do on Saturdays? Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions Correct conventions make a big difference.

5. Editing for Conventions Spelling Sentence Structure Sentence fragments Run-on sentences Subject-Verb Agreement Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions

6. Capitalization First word of a sentence Proper nouns Titles Punctuation Periods, question marks, exclamation points Commas Quotation marks Hint: Edit your paper for one kind of mistake at a time. This strategy will help make editing easier. Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions Editing for Conventions

7. Handwriting A big part of conventions is making sure your work is written legibly, either in manuscript... Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions

8. Handwriting... or in cursive. Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions

9. Conventions include spelling, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and neatness. Correct conventions make your writing easy to read. When editing for conventions, check for one type of error at a time. Remember! Writing Trait Introduction: Conventions