Six+1 Traits of Writing

A lot of the six traits presented in Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk novel were done really well. I'd have to say my absolute favorite was the ideas, even though it is the second best trait he uses.. It is so creative how he was just able to think up all these little story lines and then be able to link them all together in a knit-tight way. I loved how everyone had their own background story, whether big or small, and it either all came out at once, was already known, or slowly spilled out over the course of the book. His characters are so unique and diverse and they all really pull you into their lives. The experiences they go through over the course of the year are difficult, but really interesting to watch.


The word choice in this book was great! Especially whenever Dan Hole was talking. I liked the way that he described everything without over doing it. An example of this is, "Dan Hole benefits most from that because he is first and foremost a student, and the very physics of swimming fascinates him." The words are perfect because he describes how Dan Hole benefits from the swim team in a simplistic and easy to read way.

The conventions and presentation of the book are nice. They aren't any typographical or grammatical errors that I could spot and it was presented in such a deep, emotional way without overpowering it. There is one thing though that is confusing with the presentation. The cover of the book has a white kid running in a lettermen jacket, so it confuses me on who it should be. The swim team doesn't get their lettermen jackets until the end of the year and T.J. isn't white, so the cover is a bit misleading.

The organization was pretty good overall. There were some parts that just randomly popped up, but eventually fit into the story line. If I could change anything, I would make the thought progression a little bit more logical, but Chris Crutcher pulled it off in a smooth way.

The sentence fluency in this story was really good. Some sentences could have been a little bit longer or shorter, but there were very few of these that I noticed.

Voice was the best overall in the six+1 traits of writing. Each character has an entirely individual personality, but all come together over a common ground or situation. He is able to give all these different voices to his character, like evil, horrible Rich Marshall to Andy Mott, who seems quiet and mean, but is really outspoken and full of stories and frankly, doesn't really care what others think about him. We see characters like Dan Hole, who is hardworking and intelligent to Georgia, who is kind, caring and softspoken. It is the best use of any of the traits in Chris Crutcher's novel, Whale Talk.