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PubMed2005

Expressive writing intervention for young adult cigarette smokers.

This investigation examined the feasibility and magnitude of the effect of a stress management intervention involving expressive writing as an adjunct to brief office smoking cessation intervention for young adults. Participants aged 18-21 years were randomized to brief office intervention (N=30) or expressive writing plus brief office intervention (N=30). Biochemically confirmed 30-day point-prevalence tobacco abstinence, smoking reduction, perceived stress, negative affect, and treatment compliance were assessed at 4, 12, and 24 weeks post randomization. The expressive writing adjunct was not found to be effective. The 30-day smoking abstinence rates were 0% versus 0% ( p=1.000) at week 4, 20% versus 3% ( p=0.103) at week 12, and 20% versus 10% ( p=0.472) at week 24 for the brief office intervention only versus expressive writing plus brief office intervention groups, respectively. Participants stated they benefited most from the support and structure associated with the brief office intervention. Enthusiasm was lacking for the expressive writing treatment adjunct.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2007

Aspects of fluency in writing.

The notion of 'fluency' is most often associated with spoken-language phenomena such as stuttering. The present article investigates the relevance of considering fluency in writing. The basic argument for raising this question is empirical-it follows from a focus on difficulties in written and spoken language as manifestations of different problems which should be investigated separately on the basis of their symptoms. Key-logging instruments provide new possibilities for the study of writing. The obvious use of this new technology is to study writing as it unfolds in real time, instead of focusing only on aspects of the end product. A more sophisticated application is to exploit the key-logging instrument in order to test basic assumptions of contemporary theories of spelling. The present study is a dictation task involving words and non-words, intended to investigate spelling in nine-year-old pupils with regard to their mastery of the doubling of consonants in Norwegian. In this study, we report on differences with regard to temporal measures between a group of strong writers and a group of poor ones. On the basis of these pupils' writing behavior, the relevance of the concept of 'fluency' in writing is highlighted. The interpretation of the results questions basic assumptions of the cognitive hypothesis about spelling; the article concludes by hypothesizing a different conception of spelling.

Automatism↗

PubMed1990

Disruption of semantic influence on writing following a left prefrontal lesion.

We report a patient with impaired spontaneous writing, written naming, and homophone spelling, consistent with a disruption of semantic influence on writing. However, writing to dictation by both the phonological and lexical spelling systems was intact. In addition, general semantic abilities were spared, as indicated by preserved auditory and reading comprehension. We propose that our patient could not incorporate meaning into writing because of a disruption of both direct and indirect connections between semantics and the orthographic output lexicon. The writing dysfunction was accompanied by a similar impairment of speech output, suggesting that it was part of a more general disturbance of semantic influence on language production following left prefrontal damage.

Anomia↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Sentence combining as a technique for increasing adjective use in writing by students with autism.

A multiple-baseline across-subjects design was used to determine whether reinforcement alone or in combination with sentence-combining exercises would increase the number of descriptive adjectives used in daily writing samples by three adolescents with autism. The cumulative number of new adjectives (adjectives never before used by a student in the entire study) was also recorded. Experimental conditions were baseline, sentence combining, and maintenance. Writing sessions consisted of a 20-min worksheet period followed by a 20-min writing period. The addition of sentence-combining exercises increased the number of adjectives in the students' writing samples. Maintenance of this increase occurred in the absence of sentence-combining lessons and in the presence of reinforcement for use of adjectives. The addition of sentence-combining exercises also increased the cumulative number of new adjectives, although new adjectives did not occasion reinforcement, and we had not expected their use to increase in students with autism without specific instruction. Maintenance of new adjective use also was demonstrated. Finally, for all three students, minimal terminable unit (T-unit) length, a measure that facilitates comparison with normative data, increased from baseline to maintenance, and independent raters judged writing samples written during maintenance as better than those written during baseline.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Writing for publication: pressures, barriers and support strategies.

This paper details the increasing pressure that exists on academic and clinical staff to publish in the context of personal and professional development. Numerous barriers to writing for publication are considered along with suggested strategies for encouraging staff to work towards publication. Although the paper identifies a wealth of literature describing how to go about writing for publication, it is argued that this is of limited use in the support of individual authors, and that most authors learn academic writing skills through a process of trial and error. The paper is intended to encourage those wanting to write for publication, whilst trying to persuade those with influence on developing academic writing to think more broadly in regards to the support provided and need for research.

Faculty, Nursing↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The UCLA reading and writing program: an evaluation of the beginning stages.

Some individuals with developmental disabilities fail to acquire functional speech despite extensive teaching efforts. To help such individuals develop functional communication skills, a "reading and writing" program was developed. This study was designed to evaluate early parts of the program. Acquisition, transfer, and maintenance of "reading and writing" skills was examined and compared with the acquisition, transfer, and maintenance of sign language. Participants were four children with autism, who scored within the mentally retarded range on standardized tests of intellectual, adaptive, and language functioning, and three 3-year-old non-disabled children. A simultaneous-treatment design was employed to compare the rate of acquisition of "reading and writing" skills to the rate at which the participants acquired receptive and expressive signs. For the participants with autism, acquisition of "reading and writing" was more successful than receptive and expressive signing on all variables assessed. All non-disabled participants acquired all of the "reading and writing" and sign language skills, but participants with autism did not. However, "reading" was acquired slightly quicker by the participants with autism than the non-disabled participants, and the participants with autism also showed some evidence of better transfer and maintenance than the non-disabled participants did.

Autistic Disorder↗

PubMed1998

Writing poetry: a way of knowing nursing.

Carper's patterns of knowing expose the relevance and importance of different knowledge to the enterprise of nursing. She noted that the aesthetic pattern enables nurses to know unique perceptive experiences. Poetry captures particular perceptive experiences and reconstructs them into universal wholes. The opportunity for nurses to write poetry can illuminate and legitimate their perceptive experiences which often become worn or hidden in the everyday work world and in other ways of knowing. Expressing nursing experiences through writing poetry generally involves three phases: (a) creating an image of experience, (b) fully articulating the image, and (c) sharing a clear, new meaning of the image. A poem, written to express one author's unique nursing experience, is used to explore the knowledge gained through the process of writing poetry. Writing poetry can help nurses connect with and maintain their personal and professional history. Moreover, writing poetry increases our awareness of the sensibilities of nursing practice and the meanings that these sensibilities add to the depth and design of the discipline.

Esthetics↗

PubMed2000

Medical students' essay-writing skills: criteria-based self- and tutor-evaluation and the role of language background.

OBJECTIVES: An exercise is described which aimed to make clear to first-year undergraduate medical students the expected writing skills required for an essay examination in one discipline. SUBJECTS: Many students were from a non-English speaking background and over one-third of students, regardless of language background, had limited experience in this type of essay writing. PROCEDURE: For this exercise, a practice essay was written by each student for formative assessment. The essay was rated by a tutor and by the student according to well-defined criteria. This allowed for comparisons to be made in a structured and objective way between the judgements of the student and the assessor. RESULTS: Students found the exercise to be very useful, although whether essay writing skills actually improved could not be established. Students from non-English speaking backgrounds tended to be most harsh in their self-evaluations, yet tutor-evaluations generally showed these students to have better writing skills than other students. Indeed, correlations between self- and tutor-evaluations were quite low. CONCLUSIONS: It is evident that students and their educators may be unclear about each others' expectations. By making explicit the requirements of an exercise, misunderstandings may be minimized and it is possible that student performance could improve, though further research is required to verify these hypotheses. It is suggested that students should be encouraged to evaluate their own work and should be instructed in writing skills throughout their medical degree education.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗

PubMed1988

Effects of the neuropeptide PLG (L-prolyl-leucyl-glycinamide) on writing pressure and speed in healthy subjects.

There has been accumulating evidence that PLG influence behavior in humans after peripheral administration. In a randomized double blind study with 10 healthy male subjects in each group, the effect of 25 mg PLG i.v. on writing regulation was investigated and computer evaluated. The writing pressure test was selected as a sensitive parameter to ascertain an effect of PLG on motor behavior. As compared to the placebo group, PLG effects an increase of writing time and a reduction of writing pressure. The results suggested an peptide effect on writing performance in healthy subjects.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

General principles of forensic report writing.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to provide an update of principles of forensic report writing, to guide and assist registrars, junior consultants and psychiatrists considering working within the forensic arena. METHOD: The literature was reviewed for information on principles of report writing from a variety of jurisdictions. Additionally, literature on medical ethics was examined. RESULT: Writing reports is a professional activity that most psychiatrists undertake at some point in their careers. The report represents the psychiatrist's professional opinion. It is important that information is accurate, relevant and ethical. In writing medico-legal reports, psychiatry deviates from traditional medical ethics. CONCLUSION: It is important that psychiatrists who write reports have a good understanding of the process and behave ethically and competently.

Australia↗

PubMed2000

Does writing about the bereavement lessen grief following sudden, unintentional death?

Writing about traumatic events produces improvement in an array of areas including physical and psychological functioning. To see if these improvements extended to improved bereavement recovery after the accidental or homicidal death of a loved one, 64 undergraduates (51 women, 13 men) began, and 44 completed, a writing project. At pretest, they completed measures of depression, anxiety, grief, impact, and non-routine health visits. Then, they were randomly assigned to write about either the bereavement experience (profound condition), or innocuous topics (trivial condition). They wrote for 15 minutes a day for four days, then completed the same measures a second time (posttest). Six weeks later, they were mailed the same measures again (follow-up). A 2 (CONDITION: Profound versus Trivial) x 3 (Time: Pre-, Post-, or Follow-up) MANOVA yielded a significant main effect for time, but no main effect for condition and no interaction. Follow-up ANOVAs indicated that, across conditions, from pretest to follow-up testing participants reported less anxiety and depression, less impact, greater grief recovery, but about the same health center visits. A 2 (CONDITION) x 4 (Writing Day) MANOVA and follow-up tests indicated that those in the profound condition reported less subjective distress from Day 1 to Day 3, compared to those in the trivial condition. Combined with Kovac and Range (1999), present results suggest that writing projects may be more beneficial to those experiencing the unique bereavement of suicidal death, rather than those experiencing the nonintentional death of a loved one by accident or homicide.

Accidents↗

PubMed2003

Writing therapy for the bereaved: evaluation of an intervention.

Bereavement is a risk factor for a wide range of well-documented negative outcomes. As such, a range of sensitive and appropriate interventions are needed to support people adjusting to their new roles and change in identity. Writing has proven to be useful for people adjusting to traumatic experiences. Translating experiences into language and constructing a coherent narrative of the event enables thoughts and feelings to be integrated, leading to a sense of resolution and less negative feelings associated with the experience. Using a writing therapy intervention tailored specifically for bereaved individuals in Western Australia, this study asked: "Does a writing therapy intervention reduce grief, lead to greater health and wellbeing and lead to greater self care for bereaved individuals?" The results indicate that for grief and General Health Questionnaire-30 (GHQ-30) scores there was an overall improvement for all participants regardless of whether participants received the intervention or not. The results for the effect of writing therapy on self-care demonstrate that there is a greater increase in self-care for the intervention group than for the control group; however, this trend does not reach statistical significance. Writing therapy offers a useful, cost-effective, and private way of supporting bereaved individuals who may not practice self-care. The main limitation of the current research is the low number of participants, which limits the generalizability of the results. Future research could be directed toward evaluating the intervention for recently bereaved people or those identified by screening as being particularly vulnerable.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Writing tasks performed by doctor of pharmacy students during clerkship rotations.

The range of writing tasks undertaken by students during doctor of pharmacy clerkship rotations was studied. Data collection involved a review between August and November 1998 of writing samples selected by postbaccalaureate Pharm. D. students at Albany College of Pharmacy for inclusion in their required writing portfolios. The first 200 samples (accounted for by 35 students each submitting two documents for each of three clerkship rotations) were reviewed. Of these, 198 were coded to identify the four rhetorical components of clerkship location, document type, intended audience, and rhetorical purpose. Institutional sites served as the clerkship location for 164 (82.8%) of the 198 documents analyzed. The documents were placed in 28 categories; 5 of these accounted for 126 (63.6%) of the documents: 45 inservice presentations, 32 summaries, 18 patient case write-ups, 16 formulary reviews, and 15 newsletters. Students wrote most frequently to health care providers (34.8%), other pharmacists (32.3%), and teachers (16.7%), with the most frequent rhetorical purposes being informing (73.2%) and demonstrating (14.6%). Analysis of writing samples prepared by pharmacy students during clerkship rotations revealed a variety of clerkship sites, document types, audiences, and rhetorical purposes.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2003

Facilitating writing by practitioners: survey of practitioners who have published.

The profession would benefit if practitioners viewed disseminating knowledge, including writing for publication, as part of professional practice. The literature has acknowledged the importance of practitioners' contributions to the profession's knowledge base, but little is known about what facilitates practitioners' writing for publication or what barriers they experience. A survey was mailed to practitioners who had published in social work peer-reviewed journals to obtain information about practitioners' experiences and to solicit their ideas on what the profession, human services agencies, and schools of social work could do to enhance the ability of practitioners to write for publication. Practitioners' recommendations for efforts that might increase writing for publication include continued collaborative efforts between academic researchers and practitioners, as well as suggestions for what social work educators and social services agencies can do to enhance the ability of practitioners to write for publication.

Female↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Finding voices through writing.

Assisting students to find their writing "voices" is another way to emphasize writing as a professional tool for nursing. The author discusses a teaching strategy that required students to write using a variety of styles. Students wrote fables, poetry, and letters, and used other creative writing styles to illustrate their views and feelings on professional nursing issues. Creation of a class book empowered students to see versatility with writing styles can be a powerful communication tool to use with peers, clients, and society.

Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Respect: improving student writing.

Respect is central to the process of teaching writing, especially the respect that flows from asking students to write about their own personal experiences. The author offers suggestions on how to help students overcome their dislike of writing, address some of their writing deficits, and ultimately begin to enjoy writing.

Attitude↗

PubMed1998

Writing scholarly papers as a team.

Use of a team approach is a technique that can facilitate writing for professional publication. There is an art to writing with a team, which includes carefully selecting a writing partner who will complement personal skills and expertise and being able to work in a collaborative way through the writing process. There are benefits in the team approach that are of particular significance in mentoring novice writing in the publication process. However, there are also obstacles that should be anticipated and planned for.

Authorship↗

PubMedDate not supplied

10 lessons on writing for publication.

All nurses have the potential to be an author. Each nurse can make wonderful contributions to the body of nursing literature, whether you're a staff nurse, educator, manager, or even a student. Your perspective can help others gain insights into our profession. The biggest barrier to writing for a nursing journal is that nurses assume that authors easily come up with great ideas and write wonderful articles. That's not how it works! Investigation and preparation before writing play a large part in any successful author's work. This work is time-consuming, I admit, but if you do it, you'll be better prepared to write and you'll increase your chances of having your manuscript accepted by a journal. The information in this article will help you write for both formal and informal style journals.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗