What is the required manner for fasting the six days of Shawwal to achieve the stated virtue?

Primary text

The six days of Shawwal can be observed consecutively or separately, at the beginning or end of the month, because the hadith concerning its virtue is stated absolutely without restriction. The virtue is attained because fasting thirty-six days (Ramadan plus six days) yields a reward equivalent to 360 days when multiplied by ten, which constitutes an entire year of fasting, thus fulfilling the description of fasting a lifetime when done every year.