Learn how to make web and digital writing more effective using the 6 Trait Writing model. Prepared for the 2017 National High School Journalism Convention. Download presenter notes here: http://bit.ly/NHSJC-6Traits, and get more tips at www.thewordfactory.com/our-blog or in our award-winning book, Be a Better Writer (babw.me)

1. 6 Traits
of Effective Digital Writing
with
Margot Carmichael Lester
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

2. Presentation Slides:
http://www.slideshare.net/
Margot_Lester
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

3. Session Overview
Slug: Writing that gets results.
Story: It’s easier to improve our work when we
know the traits that make good digital content.
News: Good *digital* writing is just good
writing. Period.
So?: It’s not as hard as you think to be a
better writer — online or off.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

4. Why We Care About
Digital Writing
• Even print publications publish online
editions, because people want to consume
content online or on a mobile device.
• In today’s media-saturated world, it’s
hard to get and hold anyone’s attention.
Effective writing is sticky enough to keep
readers reading.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

5. So?
Researchers long ago identified the
6 Traits of Effective Writing.
We can adapt them to the digital
realm and improve the quality and
effectiveness of our online writing.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

6. Let’s Review
the 6 Traits of
Effective Digital
Writing
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

7. The 6 Traits
of Effective Digital Writing
1. Main idea, details and purpose
2. Organization (lede, ending,
sequence)
3. Voice and tone
4. Word choice
5. Sentence fluency
6. Conventions & formatting
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

8. cc:
nhuisman
-­‐
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27954776@N04
The 1st Trait
Ideas that are interesting
and important.

9. The 1st Trait
Ideas that are interesting
and important.
Ideas are the heart of the piece — what we
are writing about. Details are the
evidence, explanations and examples we
choose to support our ideas and address the
needs of our readers. Purpose is what we
want readers to think, feel and/or do.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

10. cc:
sciondriver
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/65576902@N00
The 2nd Trait
Organization that’s logical
and effective.

11. The 2nd Trait
Organization that’s logical
and effective.
Organization is the structure of our piece
— the order of our ideas and details, and
the way we move from one idea to the next.
A logical flow from lede to ending is
important to keep readers reading. Ideas
drive organization.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

12. cc:
Brisbane
City
Council
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/50553864@N06
The 3rd Trait
Voice that’s individual
and appropriate.

13. The 3rd Trait
Voice that’s individual
and appropriate.
Voice is the expression of the writer's
personality through words. Tone is how the
writing feels when we read it. The voice
sets the tone.
EXAMPLES: Formal. Friendly. Smart. Sassy.
Sympathetic. Authoritative. Excited. Angry.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

14. cc:
harvest
breeding
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/11590243@N05
.
The 4th Trait
Words that are specific
and memorable.

15. The 4th Trait
Words that are specific
and memorable.
Good writing uses just the right words for
an audience that say just the right things.
Sometimes that means technical jargon or
big words, other times it means smaller,
simpler language. When we write too far
above or below our audience's needs and
abilities, we lose them.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

16. cc:
skoeber
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/29662240@N02
The 5th Trait
Sentence fluency that’s smooth
and expressive.

17. The 5th Trait
Sentence fluency that’s smooth
and expressive.
Fluent sentences are easy to understand and
full of expression. They may be long or
short. This is where we establish the
rhythm that makes text easy to read and
keeps readers engaged. Reading our writing
out loud is a great way to check off sentence
fluency.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

18. cc:
dan
taylor
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/56783767@N00
The 6th Trait
Conventions that are correct
and formatting that aids scanning.

19. The 6th Trait
Conventions that are correct
and formatting that aids scanning.
Conventions are punctuation, spelling, usage
and grammar. Formatting includes design
elements like subheads, contextual links,
images and lists that help readers skim and
scan. These are the guideposts that help
readers navigate content, especially longer
descriptive writing read on mobile screens.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

20. How to Use the Traits
• Choose one trait for you or your whole
newsroom to focus on in your next few
assignments, then move on to another.
• Ask your editor/advisor which traits you’re
pretty good at and which ones you could do
better at.
• Use the traits to evaluate your own or other
writer’s copy.
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com

21. The 6 Traits
of Effective Digital Writing
with
Margot Carmichael Lester
Twitter: @word_factory
Blog: thewordfactory.com/our-blog
Instagram: @beabetterwriter
Thanks for attending
© 2017 by Teaching That Makes Sense, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information contact Margot Lester at margot@thewordfactory.com