10 Tips for Effective Writing

Elizabeth Winslow, PhD, RN, FAAN, editor-in-chief, The PHD Nurse May 30, 2004 The tips listed below will help you improve your writing whether youre writing a nurses note, a letter to a friend, a hospital policy, a school paper, or a manuscript for publication. 1. Use simple, familiar terminology. Short, simple words usually communicate more effectively than long, complex ones. When 2 words mean the same thing, choose the simpler one. For example, say use rather than utilize, try rather than endeavor, and give rather than administer. 2. Omit unnecessary words. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words. One way to omit unnecessary words is to avoid empty phrases. For example, say except rather than with the exception of and consider rather than take into consideration that. Also, avoid it is and there is/there are constructions. Instead of saying It is the responsibility of the nurse to do patient teaching say The nurse is responsible for patient teaching. Avoid the use of qualifiers. Qualifiers such as rather, very, little, pretty, sort of, and quite suck the blood out of words.1 Dont say you were rather tired and very annoyed and quite dejected. Be tired. Be annoyed. Be dejected. Good writing is bold, not very bold or sort of bold. Deleting qualifiers from your writing will result in stronger, clearer writing. 3. Avoid useless adverbs and adjectives. Avoid cluttering your writing with redundant or useless adverbs or adjectives. Why say the patient clenched his teeth tightly? All you need to say is that the patient clenched his teeth. Why say the alarm blared loudly when an alarm cant blare softly? Phrases such as close scrutiny, exact same, each and every, close proximity, and new innovation are duplicative; only one of the words is necessary to convey the message. 4. Use specific language. Avoid vague, general terminology. Instead, use specific, concrete words that paint pictures in the minds of the reader. Instead of saying, The weather was terrible (what does terrible mean?) say It rained every day for a

2 week.. Do not say, Recently, the number of new nurses in our hospital seems to be increasing; instead say, Four new nurses joined the staff this month. 5. Use the active voice. Active voice means the subject of the action acts, whereas passive voice means the subject is acted upon. The active voice gives life to the English language and usually requires fewer words. The passive voice lends itself to ambiguity and avoiding responsibility. Simply using the active rather than passive voice makes your writing more precise and lively. Instead of saying, The night nurse was hit by the confused patient, say The confused patient hit the night nurse. The passive voice is appropriate when the agent of the action is irrelevant or unknown; otherwise, prefer the active voice. 6. Use first person pronouns. People once believed that using third person pronouns (e.g., the writer, the author) represented a more scholarly approach than using first person pronouns (e.g., I, we). Fortunately, times have changed and many editors not only encourage but require the use of first person. Most of the articles in professional journals such as the American Journal of Nursing and New England Journal of Medicine are written in first person. Writing in first person is usually easier, more natural, and more concise than using the third person. Its also easier on the reader. We conclude that writers should use first person pronouns is clear; It is the conclusion of the authors that writers should use first person pronouns is awkward. 7. Avoid nounification. Verbs are the life of the English language and generally are preferable to nouns made from them. The nurse provided assistance to the patient is an example of nounification, using the noun assistance rather than the verb assist. The nurse assisted the patient is a stronger way to write this sentence. Another example of nounification is The drug produced relief of symptoms instead of The drug relieved the symptoms. Good writers recognize and eliminate nounification. 8. Avoid personification. Personification means giving lifelike characteristics to inanimate objects. Personification is rampant in our writing and reduces the clarity of our message. The hospital announced that the new bed tower would open in September is an example of personification. A hospital can not announce. Its preferable to say Mark Merrill, the CEO, announced that the new bed tower would open in September.

3 9. Read books and articles about how to write effectively. Numerous books are available to help you improve your writing. I encourage every nurse to read and reread, Elements of Style by William Strunk and EB White.1 This famous 85 page little book is filled with pearls about how to write with clarity and grace. Another excellent book is The Book on Writing by Paula LaRocque.2 10. Rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. The secret of all good writing is not in the writing but in the rewriting, the editing, the revising, and the pruning. Words, sentences, and paragraphs do not flow from us in perfect form. We must struggle to make them say what we want in a concise, accurate, interesting way. Many famous novelists are known to have rewritten their pieces over a dozen times before they were satisfied. Its often helpful to let a paper sit a few days between revisions to allow us to become more objective about it and to better see what to keep and what to toss. Its also helpful to have a colleague review our work and give us suggestions. Unfortunately, good writing does not just come naturally; it takes effort and persistence. But, its worth the effort if we are to make a difference in health care Effective writing is a key to both personal and professional advancement. I hope these tips will help you to improve your writing. References 1. Strunk W & White EB. Elements of Style. New York:Macmillan, 1979. 2. LaRocque P. The Book on Writing. Oak Park, IL:Marion Street Press, 2003. Short words are best and old ones when short are best of all. Winston Churchill The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. Mark Twain What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure. Samuel Johnson Once precision is abandoned as a linguistic or literary virtue, vague generalization is one of the two remaining possibilities, gibberish being the second. Wendell Berry