What is The Culham Writing Company?

We're a dedicated and experienced team of educators who know the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing model inside and out. We've been working with the traits as an assessment model and as a powerful instructional tool since the beginning.

In the early 1980's, many creative and experienced teachers examined stacks and stacks of student papers with a common purpose. They wanted to identify the core qualities of great writing and describe the skills required to achieve excellence.

As leaders in this twenty-year process, we have worked hard to advance and refine the work, developing the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing over time -- a shared language that demystifies great writing and provides an excellent foundation for teaching the writing process and assessing student progress.

Ideas: The meaning and development of the message
Organization: The internal structure of the piece
Voice: The way the writer brings the topic to life
Word Choice: The specific vocabulary the writer uses to convey meaning
Sentence Fluency: The way the words and phrases flow throughout the text
Conventions: The mechanical correctness of the piece
+1 Presentation: The overall appearance of the work