Conventions! Yeah! You could call ‘em the rules Or put ‘em to work and you could call ‘em tools! Conventions! Yeah! You could call ‘em the rules Or put ‘em to work and you could call ‘em tools! Conventions! These are the rules you must obey Or your frustrated readers will turn away Punctuation like commas, apostrophes and periods Capitalization. You got to take this seriously Usage, grammar, paragraph breaks And spell correctly for goodness sake! Now conventions are difficult, but you've got to be keen Tune up your written work so it's fit to be seen By another reader and understood Without correct conventions the best writing’s not as good! Conventions! Yeah! You could call ‘em the rules Or put ‘em to work and you could call ‘em tools! Conventions! Yeah! You could call ‘em the rules Or put ‘em to work and you could call ‘em tools! Conventions! Yeah! You could call ‘em the rules Or put ‘em to work and you could call ‘em tools!

Word choice! Get the power of words! Choose the right words! Choose the right words! Word choice! Get the power of words! Choose the right words! Choose the right words! Word choice! Think richly. Think specifically Think broadly. Think precisely. “Which words are gonna tickle me?” Your reader has got to be wooed And a writer does this by the language he can choose It’s like, some words are worth a penny, and some are worth a dollar It's like, the difference between, "She yelled," and "Boy, she hollered!" One word may sound engaging while another one sounds trite One word may be ordinary and another one's just right You got to be striking, and learn to use variety Sound like you’re intelligent but not like you are tryin' to be Effectively paint a clear picture with your words If you choose the right words, you know that you'll be heard Word choice! Get the power of words! Choose the right words! Choose the right words! Word choice! Get the power of words! Choose the right words! Choose the right words! Word choice! Get the power of words! Choose the right words! Choose the right words!

Smooth direction! Smooth order! Smooth transitions! Smooth closure! Smooth direction! Smooth order! Smooth transitions! Smooth closure! Organization, that's the way you make things fit Direction and connection through ideas that you hit You start with a beginning that pulls your reader in And you build, and you build, and you close, and that's the end It's that simple, but you got to be smooth Get your transitions in place between the elements you use Each word, each sentence, each paragraph has its place They fit together. There's an order as you make your case Smooth direction! Smooth order! Smooth transitions! Smooth closure! Smooth direction! Smooth order! Smooth transitions! Smooth closure!

You need ideas and content. Find what you want to say Start with a topic you develop on your way, Through your writing. And you never leave your focus Get relevant, man, then you add your hocus pocus! But before there can be magic, you need to have a place Where you're coming, where you're going. Don't tour through outer space! So your details can be colorful, but just what are you coloring? There’s a purpose for your audience, or why else are you bothering? And go in depth with your exploration! Show some insight and connection in your clear communication I can write and explore my mind I’ve got good ideas and there are more I can find! Development of the topic as I write Now, focus your mind!

When you write you want to get it right. So check the six traits of writing and make your piece bright! You need ideas and content. Find what you want to say Start with a topic you develop on your way, Through your writing. And you never leave your focus Get relevant amigo, then you add your hocus pocus! But before there can be magic, you need to have a place Where you're coming, where you're going. Don't tour through outer space! So your details can be colorful but just what are you coloring? There’s a purpose for your audience, or why else are you bothering? And go in depth with your exploration! Show some insight and connection in your clear communication Ideas and content oh you gotta have ‘em Ideas and content, seek find and grab ‘em Word up! Word up! Word up! I’ve got the power of words! I’ve got control! Voice: Think of who is gonna read this How shall I sound so the reader best can heed this? It needs to sound committed, engaging, and sincere, Expressing my own self like l've got something I want you to hear You in particular, the audience in mind A different audience would bring a voice of a different kind And I communicate, and bring my topic to life, With honesty, conviction, and humor for some spice And it's original. This comes from me myself Voice is not from someone else's book up on a shelf Your voice gives your writing personality and spice Does it sound like you? If so, you’ve got it right! Word up! Word up! Word up! I’ve got the power of words! I’ve got control! Sentence Fluency: This is the rhythm and the flow One idea to the next connecting naturally, you know And it sounds effortless, like words are rolling off your tongue And there's variety of style in the way your sentences are begun. And the length of the sentences is varied, too Your sentence structure draws attention to ideas you want it to You can even use a sentence fragment once in a while, Because you've got control of your rhythm and style. So, you find the power, and you combine it with grace And your dialogue sounds like amigos talking face to face. Sentence fluency. Words flow like a river Find the rhythm and the flow in the words that you deliver Word up! Word up! Word up! I’ve got the power of words! I’ve got control! Organization: That's the way you make things fit Direction and connection through ideas that you hit You start with a beginning that pulls your reader in And you build, and you build, and you close; and that's the end It's that simple, but you got to be smooth! Get your transitions in place between the elements you use Each word, and each sentence, each paragraph has its place They fit together. There's an order as you make your case So smooth direction. Smooth order. So smooth transition. Smooth closure. Organization, clear and smooth Organization, clear and smooth Word up! Word up! Word up! I’ve got the power of words! I’ve got control! Conventions: These are the rules you must obey. Or your frustrated readers will turn away. Punctuation like commas, apostrophes and periods. Capitalization. You got to take this seriously. Usage, grammar, paragraph breaks. And spell correctly for goodness sake! Now conventions are difficult, but you've got to be keen. Tune up your written work so it's fit to be seen. By another reader and understood. Without correct conventions the best writing is no good. Conventions, you could call them the rules Conventions, put ‘em to work and call ‘em tools Word up. Word up. Word up. I got the power of words. I’ve got control. Word choice: Think richly. Think specifically Think broadly. Think precisely, “Which words are gonna tickle me?” Your reader has got to be wooed And a writer does this by the language he can choose Because some words are worth a penny, and some are worth a dollar It's like the difference between, "she yelled," and "boy, she hollered!" One word may sound engaging and another one sounds trite One word may be ordinary and another one's just right You got to be striking and learn to use variety Sound like your intelligent but not like you are tryin' to be Effectively paint a clear picture with your words If you choose the right words you know that you'll be heard Word choice, get the power of words! Choose the right words! Choose the right words! So these are the six traits! Put ‘em in your mind And your message will be excellent Yo, man it’s gonna shine!

Sentence Fluency! This is the rhythm and the flow One idea to the next connecting naturally, you know And it sounds effortless, like words are rolling off your tongue And there's variety of style in the way y' sentences ' begun And the length of the sentences is varied too Your sentence structure draws attention to ideas you want it to! You can even use a sentence fragment once in a while! Because you've got control of your rhythm and style! So, you find the power, and you combine it with grace! And your dialogue sounds like amigos talking face to face! Sentence Fluency! Words flow like a river! Find the rhythm and the flow in the words that you deliver!

Voice! Think of who is gonna read this How shall I sound so the reader best can heed this? It needs to sound committed, engaging, and sincere Expressing my own self like, like I’ve got something I want you to hear! You in particular, the audience in mind A different audience would bring a voice of a different kind And I communicate, and bring my topic to life With honesty, conviction, and humor for some spice And it's original. This comes from me myself Voice is not from someone else's book up on a shelf! How do you want your readers to feel? Show some interest in the topic and let it seem real! Your voice gives your writing personality and spice If it sounds like you, you know you’ve got it just right!