One Way To Improve Student Writing

What is the #1 way to encourage a student to improve his writing? Write a note to tell him what he’s doing right! And while you’re note writing, wouldn’t it be great to reinforce the 6 traits at the same time? You can simply write in the focused trait on a Post-it, or visit The Literacy Store to see some special 6-Traits sticky notes I made just for complimenting writers. You can use them for other purposes, but they work perfectly for a quick compliment/comment on a student’s writing.

As you read through a student’s work, pick out one trait to compliment. Did the student come up with an innovative topic idea? Can you see a creative hook right away? Does the ending match? Any obvious WOW! words? Make a quick note specifically tying the compliment to a trait. Students can’t know what they did right unless we tell them. And if they receive a compliment for having a great beginning, chances are they will repeat their performance and include a good beginning on future work.

In addition to complimenting a student, I try to pick one comment (suggestion for improvement) for each writing. Often I will compliment a couple of things, but I only comment on one. Writers can’t change everything about their writing at once, but, if you refer to one specific item (e.g. trying an action beginning, or revising out passive verbs) they can reenter their writing in a meaningful way. Follow-up with the student on the next assignment to see if there is improvement in that area.

When filling out these little sticky notes, take the time to jot down the student’s name, the date, and the title of the work. Or you can encourage the students to fill in that information when you return their writing to them. Ask students to keep their sticky notes in a special place in their writer’s notebooks or writing folders. This will allow you to follow-up on the compliments/comments you’ve made. When you conference with students, take a moment to check with them on some of the more recent comments you’ve made. Ask them to identify how they think they’re doing on particular skills. This reinforces ownership of skill mastery and lets students know that you care about their improvement as writers.