These resources were created for researchers at the University of Toronto by Letitia Henville of Writing Short is Hard Consulting company. Please do not circulate these resources.
Five Steps:
Step 1: Prepositions | look for short pink-highlighted words, and either revise “___ of ___” to “___’s ___” or make a straightforward cut.
Step 2: Passive Voice | look for yellow-highlighted words, see if you can find what should be the subject, and then shift that person or organization into the subject position in the sentence.
Step 3: Nominalizations | shift abstract purple-highlighted nouns into verbs
Step 4: Given-to-New | to reduce choppiness, ensure that any content in a sentence that is new appears at the sentence’s end.
Step 5: Compare Before & After* | look for measurable differences between your original and your edited text.
*or, compare to a text that you consider to be an example of good writing, and continue to revise your text to align stylistically with your chosen reference text.
Sample Text (Before)
“This research builds on a program of research in the field of interdisciplinary, inequities-based cancer research. In order to increase impact of the research, integrated and end-of-project knowledge translation activities have been built into the proposed project, including: (a) knowledge user engagement at all stages of research; (b) participatory methods of data collection and interpretation; and (c) the production of actionable recommendations for improving [First Nations, Inuit, and Metis] cancer care. The use of photography as data and for eliciting data marks an innovative and inclusive approach to studying challenges within FNIM cancer care, while extending the reach of established projects. Through strong partnerships and a stakeholder-driven agenda, this research promises to build timely knowledge exchange initiatives between professional stakeholders and to identify viable pathways toward improving cancer care for FNIM peoples in Ontario.” [140 words]
Source: ogrants.org
Sample Text (After)
“This project builds on a research program in the field of interdisciplinary, inequities-based cancer research. To increase our impact, we developed integrated and end-of-project knowledge translation activities, including: (a) engaging knowledge users throughout the project; (b) collecting and interpreting data using participatory methods; and (c) producing actionable recommendations for improving [First Nations, Inuit, and Metis] cancer care. We have planned an innovative and inclusive approach to studying challenges within FNIM cancer care, as we will use photography as data and to elicit data. These participatory methods will also extend the reach of established projects. Through strong partnerships and an Indigenous-led agenda, this research promises to build timely knowledge exchange initiatives between professional stakeholders and to identify viable pathways toward improving cancer care for FNIM peoples in Ontario.” [131 words]
Source for my claim that more-readable text is perceived as more true than less-readable text: Alter, Adam L., and Daniel M. Oppenheimer. “Uniting the tribes of fluency to form a metacognitive nation.” Personality and social psychology review 13.3 (2009): 219-235. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309341564
Relevant Articles from “Ask Dr. Editor”
- “Reducing the weight of your words” — on cognitive load, readability, and the space between your main subject and verb in your sentence
- “Literature reviews that work” — on editing out choppiness by integrating given-to-new constructions
- “Emphasize this: structuring highly readable sentences and paragraphs” — on the strategic use of the ends of your sentences and paragraphs
- “Writing for peer reviewers from outside your field: lessons from non-fiction” — how to use contextual queues and sensory metaphors to help readers from other disciplines understand your work
Writing Well is Hard
I created writingwellishard.com as a free resource to help people to compare the writing patterns that underlie two different texts. Here are some more details on how the tool works:
I made writingwellishard.com because I’m not persuaded there’s only one way to write well, and I don’t like that the norms of “good” writing are too often white, cis, male, and dead. I want academics to be able to edit your own work strategically and with intentionality, modelling your work on whatever writer or writing you decide is good.
So while, like other digital tools, writingwellishard.com aspires to help you to write clearly, persuasively, and succinctly, it also allows you to set the bar as to what constitutes clear, persuasive, succinct, and good for your audience and your context.
I’ve written about this tool for a few different publications, including in my University Affairs column:
- “Writing well is hard: how to write like the best writers in your discipline”
- “Zombie-proof your writing: tips for making the conceptual concrete”
If you share your email address with me, I’ll send you my 13-page PDF Writing Well is Hard: Guide to Interpreting Your Results, along with notice when new “Ask Dr. Editor” articles are published, links to my favourite writing and editing resources, and details of new materials and resources for refining academic writing.
