| A good psychological writingDorothy E. Bradbury started her book (Some principles of good writing and the library research) saying that “good writing is writing that does a good job of getting the writer’s thoughts across to his audience. Writing is never just good; it is good with respect to a specific subject and audience. If it is effective communication, it is good”. These ideas are likely to use in any kind of writing, which is why I started my essay with them. What I am really here to talk about is Psychological writing, and specifically, the Psychological Report so let not delay it a second more. My conclusion after some researches is that a decent psychological writing has to lean in theories, ideas and well done researches that lead the reader to understand the main idea the writer is trying to explain. In combining these three aspects you will obtain a concrete and rich statement. But first, let’s find out what is Psychology: It is the discipline in charge of the meticulous study of the “human mind”, going through uncountable subdivisions. It also is the total examination of “mental phenomena”, “behavior” and mental process, including sentiments, sensations, desires, identity and any attribute that defined us as human beings. (Funk & Wagnalls. Standard Dictionary. ) Well, this is as complicated as to achieve the target of having a good writing. Psychological writing is a manner of creation and as any kind of creation is very complicated to get through it without having difficulties. Stephen Lea (Psychological Writing) quoted in his paper the follow: "…Sir Frederick Asher, who once wrote an essay called, Aren't I lucky, I can write? … The point of it was that, though he was indeed a very good writer, he still found it a painful process, and one that required time and discipline". I was talking about theories in one of my first paragraphs, which are crucial when writing in Psychology. Having in power at least a small idea of what are you trying to reveal is the principal key of the game. It does not matter how good or how bad your hypothesis is if it demonstrates something. The ideas are also primordial in this kind of writing, even though if just half of them are yours and the other half are someone else’s. When a person writes, his hopes leans not only in looking forward to present a theory before an audience but to give to them his own thoughts in the matter. Ideas are exactly like weird dreams; you can have them in a simple way, just seeing memories of your past, or you can have them with a wonderful meaning or lesson. In order to write a good psychological paper, the author has to keep in mind that everything he writes is with the purpose to explain a theory or an idea. The possession of reliable information and clear data (statistics, charts, interviews, etc.) is basic to achieve the objective. A good writer manages to get the reader’s attention by talking about interesting things, and it is his duty to keep it. In the case of psychological writing having a thesis is crucial, no matter the audience. Although D.L. (I believe is Dan Lin) wrote in her interview summary (with an ESL professor) this: "The first you have to remember is who you're writing to. The writing depends on the audiences, which are formal and informal". I think that if you are writing for a group of academics, your ideas are expected with a critical eye, but even though everybody is capable to be critic, for regular people what you writes is expected with the desire of a good learning.Let’s take as example the Psychological Report, which is a written exposition, with detailed and historical elements of a psychological evaluation; it has the intention of transmit the results, conclusions and predictions, based in the obtained data, to a specific person or persons. The report will depend on the demand or petition of the evaluation. It can be done with the help of concrete previous experiences, brainstorms and deep analysis of the psychologist in charge or any other person, academic or not, connected somehow to the problem. It contains three parts: a proof certificate, a psychological report and the principal report. Every one of these parts has a specific value and has the function of handing fresh and detailed information depending on the studied case. The proof certificate contains a concept that explains the facts and situations of the analyzed person; it also has a purpose to illustrate the assistance of the patient to every session, the treatment, the schedule and the diagnosis. This certificate also include an organized structure that covers the personal data of the patient, such as full name, address, telephone, Social Security number, etc., as well as the psychologist’s information.The function of the psychological report is to order the data toward goalposts followed by the patient and by the doctor during the period concerning to the therapy. Besides this, its objective as a natural and scientific cause is to achieve a clear composition that provides an easy comprehension of the report. Its principal structure is composed for a headline, an introduction, a description and a conclusion. It starts with the headline, the one which is presenting the individuals records. It must have the author and patient’s information as well as the motive of the report. In the headline we will have the opportunity to uncover the principal statement that guide the doctor to generate certain judgment related to the patient. In the introduction is briefly mentioned the main events, the reasons of the evaluation, the collected information, the characteristics and symptoms of the evaluated person, the process description and the used of special techniques by the doctor. The introduction also counts on the proceeds and instruments used in the data collection, and it bestows credibility to the followed statements. It is not important the length of what is written, but it is essential the clear declaration of the above explained.
In the description the psychologist makes an evocative exposition in an objective way of every studied fact of the case, with total confidence of the previously obtained data. It also supports the ethical principles and the secrecy of the case which what the psychologist is working with. This part of the report is the one taken as reference for the psychologist in order to complete the requested evaluation and it also will help in the understanding of the patient. The doctor can rest his writing in quotations or records in existence that will reinforce the conclusions and its analysis. It is vital not to make affirmations without having the support of obtained data and of the exposed theories. Conclusions are the final part of the report. In it the Psychologist will give the right emphasis to the found evidence and to the references used in the made analysis. He shouldn’t forget to make a concise summary of every taken step that has helped in giving birth to his paper. What was written in the headline, introduction and body has to somehow be mentioned, obviously, avoiding repetitions; the idea is just to reanalyze and synthesize those to report a fine conclusion. It is important that his judgment remains in the same level as the considered facts; suppositions or hypothesis can’t be part of a psychological report. Once finished this part the doctor would give his final opinion on the diagnosis and perhaps, make some changes in it. In my opinion writing is not an easy ability, and psychological writing has proved to be very difficult. When you are doing this kind of writing it is necessary to have always present the confidence the patient has deposited in the doctor. Ethic has to become a constant. The use of consistent information, good ideas and theories full of sense; the application of special techniques and experiments, such as interviews, therapy sessions, etc., will help in the acquisition of a professional paper with a clear message. SOURCES:
- Brandury, Dorothy E. and Klein, Helen E. Some Principles of Good Writing and the Library Search. Washington: NationalAssociation of Social Workers, 1972.
- Funk & Wagnalls. Standard Dictionary of the English Language. International Edition. Volume two. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1971.
- At School of Psychology. Stephen Lea (http://www.ex.ac.uk/~SEGLea/psy6002/writing.htm) Psychological Writing. 1999 - Federacion de Psicologos de la Republica de Argentina. Normatizacion de las practicas profesionales(http://www.fepra.org.ar/CriteriosInfoPsic.doc) Argentina, 1998.
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