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Writing to Clients and Referring Professionals About Psychological Assessment Results
a handbook of style and grammar
J. B. Allyn
forewords by stephen e. finn and constance t. fischer
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Allyn, J. B. (Janet B.)Writing to clients and referring professionals about psychological assessment
results : a handbook of style and grammar / Janet B. Allyn.p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 978-0-415-89123-3 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-0-415-89124-0 (paperback)1. Psychology--Methodology. 2. Behavioral assessment. 3. Psychodiagnostics.
4. Report writing. 5. English language--Writing. I. Title.
BF38.5.A458 2012808.06’615--dc23 2011033325
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v
ContentsForeword xiStephenE.Finn,PhD
Foreword xiiiConstanceT.Fischer,PhD,ABPP
Acknowledgments xvIntroduction xvii
Part I Building Blocks of the report: attitude, tone, Style, and Voice
Chapter 1 Attitude:The Writer’s View 5
WhatIsAttitudeinWriting? 6AttitudeTowardYourOwnWriting 7AttitudeTowardYourSubjectandAudience 9
WhatInfluencesAttitude? 10AttitudeandYourReader 12
Chapter 2 Tone:Words and More 17
FormalityinTone 19FormalityandContractions 22WordChoice 22
AccuracyandClarity 23ClarityVersusVariety 25DenotationandConnotation 26
SelectingMaterialandSubtext 27JuxtapositionandFinn’sLevels1,2,3 28
Chapter 3 Style:Content Plus Structure 31
Beginning,Middle,andEnd 33CommunicationQualities:ClarityandAccuracy 34CommunicationQualities:Specificity 35
ConcreteVersusAbstractTerms 37AbstractionandHayakawa’sLadder 38
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CommunicationQualities:Sensitivity,Compassion,RespectforYourSubjectandReader 40JettisonUnnecessaryJargon 42ClearAwayClutter 43EnergizeText 44
DynamicVersusLinkingVerbs 45“Smothered”Verbs 47ActiveVersusPassiveStructure 48
Chapter 4 Voice:What Is It and How Do I Find It? 49
ActiveVersusPassiveVoiceinSentenceStructure 49UsingActiveandPassiveVoice 52NarrativeVoice/PointofView 53
ThirdPerson 54FirstPersonandSecondPerson 55
StylisticVoice 55NarrativeStance 58NeutralVoiceandObjectivityinWriting 59
Part II Mortar to Fortify the Building Blocks: Grammar and Editing
Chapter 5 Big Picture, Small Details:Format, Write, Edit, Proof 67
Formatting 68ChoosingFont:StyleandSize 68OrderingSectionsandContent 69PossibleFormats 72UsinganOutline 74AnAlternativeApproachtoOutlining 76
Writing 77EvaluatingandEditing 78Proofing 79
Chapter 6 Content that Communicates:Sentences and Paragraphs 81
Sentence:WhatIsItandHowIsItStructured? 81InitialDecisions 82
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Contents ■ vii
SentenceStructure 83BasicSentence 83SentenceOrder 84VaryingYourSentences 86
Paragraph:HowDoSentencesBuildIntoParagraphs? 87BuildingtheParagraph 88StandardPhrasesforReports 89
ParallelStructure 90Fillers,Redundancies,andUnnecessaryPhrases 92AssessingReadability 93
ReadabilityTools:VariousFormulas 94
Chapter 7 Reaching Agreement:Subject–Verb, Pronoun, and Gender 99
VerbTenses 100“Mood”inGrammar 101VerbPairs:WhichtoUse? 101
Used ToVersusUse To 102CanVersusMay 103FewerVersusLess 103LayVersusLie 104RaiseVersusRise 104Set VersusSit 104
Subject–VerbAgreement 105InterveningWords 106CompoundSubjects 107CollectiveNouns 107AdditionalSubject–VerbAgreementChallenges 108
Pronouns 109SelectingPronouns 110IndefinitePronouns 111GenderNeutralityinPronouns 111PronounasSubjectorObject 114
Prepositions 116
Chapter 8 Modifying the Main Idea:Adjectives and Adverbs 119
Adjectives 120Articles=Adjectives 120UsingAdjectivesofQuantity 120CompoundAdjectives 122
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PlacingAdjectives 122Adverbs 124
SplittingVerbsWithAdverbs 124Adjectives,Adverbs,andLinkingVerbs 125DegreesofComparisoninAdjectivesandAdverbs 126AvoidingAmbiguityandAwkwardness 127
SeparatingRelatedWords 129MisplacingModifiers 129ConstructingAwkwardAdverbs 129AddingTooManyAdjectivesorAdverbs 129ModifyingAbsolutes 129UsingHopefullyandHowever 130
To+BaseVerb:ToSplitorNottoSplit 131
Chapter 9 Precision:Right Word, Right Spelling 133
SpellingintheBodyofaWord 135PrefixesandSuffixes 135SpellingPluralNouns 136Numbers:DigitsorWords? 137SpellingWordsThatSoundAlike 138
Effect VersusAffect 138OtherWordsEasilyConfused 142
AbbreviationsandAcronyms 142CapitalLetters 144WhenNottoCapitalize 147SpellingVariationsandModernUsage 147
Chapter 10 Guiding the Reader:Punctuate and Connect for Clarity 149
IndependentandDependentClauses 150ConnectingforClarity 150PunctuationMarks:HowandWhyWeUseThem 151
PeriodsandSemicolons 152Commas 153RecognizingFragmentsandRun-onSentences 154Colons 157HyphensandDashes 159Apostrophes 161QuotationMarks 162Ellipsis 165
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ConnectingWordsRevisited:SpecialChallenges 165Although, Though, While 166Since 166LikeVersusSuch as 166ThatVersusWhich 167BeginningaSentenceWithaConjunction 168
Part III Beyond the report: Extending Clear and Effective Communication
Chapter 11 Continuing the Therapeutic Goals:Writing Letters and Stories 173
LettertotheIndividualAssessed:AnOverview 174ToneinLettersWrittenasFeedback 175CanaLetterofWrittenFeedbackBe“Therapeutic”? 175
AClinician’sApproach:AssessingPersonalWarmthinLetterstothePersonAssessed 177Metaphor:ABridgeBetweenFactandTruth 178
ConceptualMetaphor:EverydayLife 180MetaphorandtheBrain 183
TherapeuticStories 184Children’sStories:Fables 185AdultandAdolescentStories:Allegories 187NarrativeandDialogue 188
Chapter 12 Richness, Texture, Safety, and Risk:Communicating Verbally 191
WrittenVersusSpokenCommunication 193RichnessandTextureinCommunication 194“Voice”inSpeech 195
PacingandPauses 196LoudnessandPitch 196InterruptionsandOverlap 197Report-TalkVersusRapport-Talk 198
NonverbalCues 198ActiveListening 200CommunicatingWhenFearEqualsRisk 202
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Glossary of Terms: Grammar, Style, and Communication 205
References 213
Index 221
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5
ChaPter 1AttitudeThe Writer’s View
Youmustnotcomelightlytotheblankpage.
Stephen King, American writer
“Inever takethis lightly. Iworryeverystepof theway—aboutmywriting and abouthow Iphrase facts and inferences inmyreport,” commented a psychological assessor after reading theKingquote thatopens the chapter (D.H.Engelman,personalcommunication,September2010).Attitudemarkstheassessor’sstarting place for crafting the report; attitude is often values-drivenandsubliminal,thoughsimplewordsorphrasescanrevealit.Consciouslyrecognizingattitudegivesthewritergreatercon-trolovertheimpactofwrittenmaterial,strengtheninghisorherabilitytocommunicateessentialdata.Whoistheintendedreaderof your report? Is the relationship between assessor and readerdirector implied?What is thepurpose incommunicatingwiththatperson?Isthereasecondaryaudience?Who?Andnotleastimportant,whatistheassessor-writer’sattitudetowardhisorherown writing abilities? These questions and their answers guideawarenessofattitudeinwriting(seeFigure 1.1).
Thischapterdiscusseshowwrittenmaterialcanconvey theassessor-writer’s view of the subject of a report. This materialcanalsodemonstratehisorherstancetowardtheintendedaudi-ence,whetherthatbethepersonassessed,ajudge,aneducator,or a clinician. Attitude and tone—the latter discussed in thechapterthatfollows—arelessaboutthebasicstepsineffective
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writingandmoreaboutyourmotivationforcommunicatinginthefirstplace.
What Is Attitude in Writing?Thewordattitudeinpopularusagereferstoapersonwhoappearshaughty,cocky,or“fullofhimself.”Whilethatmay,indeed,applyinsomecases,wewilldiscussattitudehereinitslargerdefinition:“Amannerofacting,feeling,orthinkingthatshowsone’sdisposi-tionoropinion[italicsadded]”(Webster’s,2001).
Regardlesshowobjectiveawriterintendstobe,attitudewillbe the grounding for what becomes the written word. Evenfactual material conveys the writer’s attitude toward a subjectthroughthechoicetoincludeornotincludefactsaswellasbythewordsusedtodescribethosefacts(Gerard,2000).Attitudecanremain unconscious. Yet, when left unconscious, it complicatesthewriter’stask.Itcanselectivelyinfluencewhichfactsaregivenandthewordsusedtoexpressthem.Thewritermighteasilybeunawarethatattitudeisdrivingthebus.Bybringingattitudetoconsciousness,wecancarefullychooseourfactsandwords.Thisconsciouschoicegivesgreatercontroloverourmaterialandour
Clear Communication
Voice
Style
Tone
Attitude
FIGURE 1.1 Buildingblocksoftheassessmentreport:Attitude.
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Attitude ■ 7
abilitytocommunicateimportantinformation.(Formoreoncareinchoosingwords,seeChapter2.)
Twoformsofattitudecanaffectyourwriting:
◾ Attitudetowardyourselfandyourabilities(inbothwritingandassessment)
◾ Attitudetowardthesubjectoftheassessmentaswellastheaudiencewhowillreadthereport
Wewillexamineboththroughthelensofcognitivepsychol-ogyof thepast30years, focusingondevelopment inchildren’swriting.Weallbeganaschildren.WethenwentthroughvaryinglengthsanddepthsoftraininginwritingandEnglish,sowecanreadilyapplythefindingstoourwritingasadults.
Attitude Toward Your Own WritingStudiesindicatethatthosewithamorepositiveattitudetowardtheir ability to write are likely to be more productive with thewrittenwordthanthosewhoseattitudeisnegative.Inaddition,negative writing attitudes may demand more effort cognitivelythandopositiveattitudes(Zumbrunn,2010).Byextension,themoreapersonknowsaboutwritingandhas confidence in thatskill,themorelikelys/hewillmeetprofessionalwritingrequire-mentswitheaseandaccomplishment.Skill levelcanalsoaffectthewriter’sabilitytowritewithdepthandbreadth.Twomodelsfrom Bereiter and Scardamalia (1987) differentiate the writingprocessesofnoviceandexpertwritersintoknowledge telling and knowledge transformingapproaches.
Knowledge telling represents a straightforward, less complexapproachthatinvolvesthefollowingsteps:
1.Mentallydefinethetopicandpurposeofwriting. 2.Store both knowledge of topic and knowledge of writing
processinlong-termmemory. 3.Putthetwotogetherintotheprocessofcreatingtext ina
linearfashion,thatis,intoknowledgetelling.
Whileadequate, thismodeldelivers shorter, lesscomplete,andlower-qualitywriting(Graham&Harris,2000).
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Knowledge transforming embeds knowledge telling into amorecognitivelycomplexprocess:
1.Mentallydefinethetopicandpurposeofwriting. 2.Plan and set goals, using both knowledge of content (e.g.,
assessmentprocessandresultingdata)andknowledgeofthewritingprocess.
3.Create text while continuously analyzing content andreframinggoals,text,orboth.
Thislaststepallowsthewritingprocessitselftoprovidefeedbackthatdevelopsandchangesthewriter’sthinkingasthewritingprogresses.
Stepstwoandthreeofthelatterapproachprovidethegreatestdistinctionbetweenknowledgetellingandknowledgetransform-ing:Planningandsettinggoalsupfrontandthenallowingthosetoshiftbasedonfeedbackfromthewritingitself“servetochangegoals, text, or the relationship between the two” (Cameron &Moshenko,1996).Skilledwritersusemoreupfronttimeinplan-ningbeforeplungingintowriting.Theymayalsospendmoretimeactually writing, since they allow feedback to occur and refinethedocument.Table 1.1showsdifferencesbetweenthetwopro-cesses.Notice thatknowledge transforming takesmore specificandcarefullychosenwordsthandoesknowledgetelling.
You,theassessor-writer,aretheexpertatknowingwhatyourclientexpectsandneedsinanassessmentreport.Knowledgetell-ingmaysufficeincertainreportsandmayevenbepreferableinsome.Butthemoreconfidentyouareaboutyourwritingaswellasyourassessmentskills,themorelikelyyoucandeliverreportsthat are knowledge transforming when you so choose. Thisknowledge-transformingqualitymaybenefityouaswellasyourreader.Areferencebooksuchas thisonecanhelpbuildconfi-denceinyourwritingsothatyouhavethatchoice.
Anothermodeloftherelationshipbetweencognitiveprocessingandwritingexploreshowthewriter’sgoals,beliefs,andattitudesmotivateandaffecttheprogressandsuccessofthewritingprocess(Flower&Hayes,1981).Theseaspectsmayincludeandreflecttheassessor-writer’sattitudetowardhisorherwritingabilityaswellastowardtheintendedaudience.Discussinghowhefinallymanagedtowriteclearlyonatopic,AmericanwriterandEnglishprofessorPeterElbow(1998)wrotethefollowing:“[T]hedifferencewasadecisionImadeaboutmystancetowardthereader.…[R]eadjusting
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Attitude ■ 9
mytransactionwithreaderscausedthewordsandideastofinallycomeoutinadifferentandbetterorder”(p.211).
Attitude Toward Your Subject and AudienceAmongotherqualities,theWritingCognitiveProcessesModel(Flower&Hayes,1981)discussesthefollowing:
◾ Thespecificaudienceyouarewritingtoinfluencesthedirec-tionofwhatyouwrite.Thecollaboratorsyouworkwithalsoaffectitsdirection.
◾ Thewriter’sknowledgeoftheaudienceresidesinhisorherlong-termmemoryandaffectsthewrittentext.Ifsecondaryreaders are likely, youwillbeholding that information inmemoryalongwithwhatyouknowoftheprimaryaudience.
TABLE 1.1 Writing Process: Knowledge Telling Versus Knowledge Transforming
Steps in Process Written End Result
Knowledge telling
1. Mentally define topic/purpose
2. Store knowledge (topic and writing) in long-term memory
3. Combine content and writing in linear fashion to form text
Tommy would benefit from being placed with a teacher who is structured in his classroom and approach.
Knowledge transforming
1. Mentally define topic/purpose
2. Plan and set goals for both content and writing
3. Create text; continuously analyze content and adjust goals/text
Being seated in the front of the classroom or in a location that limits distractions will likely benefit Tommy’s learning:• Give him instructions
concretely and briefly.• Break down multiple-part
instructions into smaller components.
• Give Tommy clear information about upcoming expectations to help him prepare for the next steps and anticipate changes.
Note: Steps are adapted from The Psychology of Written Composition, by C. Bereiter and M. Scardamalia, 1987, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Copyright 1987 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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We perceive others through our understanding, our body’svarioussenses(sight,hearing,etc.),andourintuition(Webster’s,2001). We may meet a person whose manner or appearanceremindsusofarelativewefoughtwithaskidsandstilldonotlikenowthatweareadults.Orperhapswecomeuponsomeonewith a drinking problem whose behavior mirrors our alcoholicparent’sandmakesusfeeloutofcontrol.Maybeyouwereonceinvolved in a lawsuit andnowhave an aversion to attorneys orjudges. Understandably, these deep-seated responses can influ-enceyourattitudetowardthepersoninquestion.Nowassumeforamomentthatthatpersonisaclientorareferringprofessional,eitherofwhommightbetheintendedaudienceforanassessmentreport.Being aware of the individual’s personal impact on youenablesyoutomonitoryourattitudeasyouwriteandtoreframeitasnecessary.
Buthowdoyoudealwithattitudewhenwritingforareaderyounevermeet,suchaseducatorsorrepresentativesofacourt?Orwhataboutwhenthereportiswrittenforoneaudience,butyouknowthatoneormoresecondaryaudienceswillreadit?Inthesediffusesituations,attitudecanbecomeevenhardertorecognizebecauseyouraudienceisnotclearinyourmind.Inthefirstcase,whenyourrelationshipwiththeunknownreaderisimpliedratherthandirect,simplyenvisioningtherecipientasalivingpersoncanhelp.Howwouldyouspeaktothatpersonifs/hewereinfrontofyou?Whatisyourpurposeincommunicatingwithhim/her?Whatinformationdoesthispersonneedinordertotakeanextstepinthesituation?You,astheexpert,maybeexpectedtopres-entall sidesof thesituationassessedbutmayalsobecalledonfor opinion or recommendations. In the second situation—thatofmultipleaudiences—theprimaryreaderwilllikelydefineyourattitude.Besensitive,however,tothosesecondaryaudiences,andavoidunknowinglydisplayinganunproductiveornegativeatti-tudetowardthem.
What Influences Attitude?Attitude represents the writer’s view of her or his subject andreflects feelingsaswell as thoughts.Thewriter’sbeliefs, values,doubts,andfearsparticipatestrongly intheprocess,evenwhens/heintendsneutrality(moreonneutralityinChapter4).Ifyouremainunawareofthesubliminalinfluencesonattitude,youcan
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Attitude ■ 11
reachconclusionsbasedonlittleornodataandbelievetheyarecorrect. The careful writer reaches his or her attitude toward asubject after intentional research and data gathering. That pro-cessenablesthewritertocreatethemosteffectivenarrativeandtoground it in fact rather thanassumption.Themerepresenceofextensivedataand facts,however,doesnotprecludeattitudefrompresentingitself,knowinglyornot.Gerard(2000)givestheexampleofcoauthorswritingawell-researchedbookontheU.S.SupremeCourt.Althoughleavingoutpersonalopinionandback-ingallquoteswithsources,thereaderhasnodoubtofthewrit-ers’perspectiveonthestoryduetoveryspecificwordusage.Indescribingagroup’sperspectiveonasituation,thewriterssaidthatthisgrouprealizedandknewcertainthings.Bothverbsindicatethatthegroup’sperceptionswere“true.”Amoreobjectiveaccountmighthavereplacedthosewordswiththoughtandbelieved.
We also encounter the issue of “propositions” in writing(Landon,2008,citingChomsky).Thisconceptreferstoourabil-itytoembedunspokenassumptionsandideasintosentencesthatconvey those unspoken ideas to the reader. For example, yourunderlyingpremisesinwritinganassessmentreport(a)forachildseeking school assistance will be different from a report (b) toan adult who has struggled with attention issues and wants tounderstandhowtobettercopewiththem.Inthefirstcase,basedontestingdataandyourownattitude,justafewoftheunderlyingpremisesinfluencingyourreportmightinclude
◾ Thechildissmartenoughorisnotsmartenoughtobehelped.◾ Theschoolwillorwillnotmaketeachingconcessions.◾ Theparents support ordonot support theneeded adjust-
mentsfortheirchild.
Inthesecondcase,premisescouldinclude
◾ The adult is or is not able to hear and make sense of theinformationyougive.
◾ S/heisorisnotwillingtomakechangestoimprovelife.◾ Importantpeopleinhisorherworldwillorwillnotbe
aresource.
Table 1.2liststhecomponentsofattitudeinanassessmentreport.Cumulative information from the assessment process—history,
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interviews, tests, tasks, and questionnaires—comprises extensivedatagathering.Addinthesubstantivebackgroundof training inpsychologyandassessment,andtheassessor-writerhasastrongbasefordevelopinghisorherattitudeaboutapersonortopic.S/healsohasanequallystrongbaseforconsciouslymanagingthatattitude.
Communication qualities could easily be included under thecomponent“Assessor-writer’sviewoftopicorperson.”Butbecauseattitudeismostclearlymanifestinthewayapersoncommunicates,in either the spoken or written word, communication qualitiesdeserveaseparatecategoryinthisdiscussion.Areport—orasen-tenceorparagraphwithinareport—maybeaccurateandclear,butstilllackthethird,jointcommunicationquality:sensitivity,com-passion,andrespectforthesubject.OneapproachtoshowingthisqualityhasbeenattributedtocountlesssourcesfromSocratesandVoltairetoBuddhaandotherspiritualfigures:thatis,toaskoneself,beforespeakingorwriting,whetherafactistrue,kind,anduseful.Wecanalsokeepinmindanothertakeonthesameidea,thisoneattributedtoViennese-bornpsychologistRoseN.FranzblauinherNew York Post(1966)advicecolumn:“Honestywithoutcompassionandunderstandingisnothonesty,butsubtlehostility.”
Attitude and Your ReaderIngeneral,areaderexpectsawritertoconveyanattitudetowardhisorhersubject(Gerard,2000).Perhapsthisideaapplieseven
TABLE 1.2 Components of Attitude in Writing an Assessment Report
Component How Is It Formed?
Assessor-writer’s view of topic or person
Personal beliefs, values, judgments, doubts, fears
Data gathering Interviews, tests, tasks, questionnaires, education, experience, reading, research
Communication qualities:• Sensitivity, compassion, respect
for the subject and/or readerEmpathy toward othersAwareness of the impact of how information is phrased
• Clarity Care with the written word• Accuracy Understanding that accurate need not
mean blunt
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Attitude ■ 13
morewhenthewriteristrainedandpracticinginascientificandtechnicalfield likepsychologicalorneuropsychologicalassess-ment.Thoseoutsidethefieldseeyouastheexpertandmayseekboth facts and opinion from you. Especially in the subset ofCollaborative/TherapeuticAssessment(C/TA),withitsperson-alizedapproach,anentirelyneutral stance in thewriter’satti-tudecouldbeconsideredcounterproductive.(SeetheprefacetoPartIIIformoreonC/TA.)Althoughattitudemaybeexpectedbythereader,noonewantstoreadbluntlyjudgmentalinterpre-tationsofhisorherbehaviororperformance—orthatoftheirchild. Even in documents where we expect an objective per-spective,thewriter’sviewofthesubjectcancreepthrough.Forexample,wordsandphrasessuchas“nodoubt,”“obviously,”or“bynomeans”canbetrayattitudetowardthesubject,thereader,orboth.Ifthepersonwritingareportremainsunawareofhisorherownattitude toward the subject, the situationbecomescomplexandpotentiallydamaging.Thoughcertainwordsmaybeaccurate andclear, they canalsobetray insensitivity to theperson described and be a form of editorializing—of present-ing opinion as if it were an objective report. The example intheindentedtext—acompositefromactualsanitizedreports—illustrateseditorializinginthisway.
Iftheassessor-writerfeelssecretlycontemptuousoftheper-sonassessed,atsomepointthatattitudewilllikelyemerge,oftenbetrayedbytoneasshowninwordchoice.Useoftelltalewordscan be a special challenge if writing about a difficult person,duetotheriskofattitudebleed-through.Forexample,assumea client was loudly vocal and behaved unpredictably before,during, and after assessment sessions. The frustrated assessorcarefully retained a neutral stance in writing his traditionalreport—exceptinoneparagraph.Inthatsingleparagraph,theassessor’scontemptfortheclientcamethroughinexcessiveuseof evocative and judgmental descriptors. None was present intheremainderofthereport.Throughwordchoice,thatseriesofsentences betrayed the writer’s dismissive, even contemptuousattitudetowardthesubject:
Mr. M. had an unfortunate tendency to arrive late for appoint-ments.Anotherpersonality quirkwasthathewaserraticallyemo-tionalandhostileonetimeandmorecalmthenext.Unhappily,he even showed these behaviors in the waiting room. After an
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overabundanceoftheseswings,theoffice’sclericalassistantmadederisiveprivatecommentsabouttheclient’semotional instability.Mr.M.usedexcessively ornateanddetailedwordsandphrasestodescribe his presenting problems. His exasperated insistence ontheseverityofhisproblemsseemedexcessive.
Thereadermightnotbeabletopinpointadjectivesandnounsas the offenders. The assessor-writer may not even know whats/hedid,but the attitudewould still reach the readeron somelevel.Andimagineiftheintendedreaderwasthepersonassessed;uneaseandfeelingsofbeingharshlyjudgedordehumanizedarepossible responses. Table 1.3 shows these sentences revised toeliminatethenegativeattitude.AlthoughwewillexaminewordchoiceinmoredetailinChapter2,youcanreadilyseetheimpactoftheitalicizedwordsintheexamples.
Inessence,attitudeinadocumentreflectswhatyou,theasses-sor-writer,valuemostincommunicating.Yourviewsontheworld
TABLE 1.3 Attitude: Revise to Eliminate Judgmental Quality
Original Sentence Problem Revision
Mr. M. had an unfortunate tendency to arrive late for appointments.
Judgmental; editorializing
Mr. M. frequently arrived late for appointments.
Another personality quirk was that he was erratically emotional and hostile one time and more calm the next.
Judgmental; editorializing
From one visit to the next, his calm demeanor would alternate with agitation.
Unhappily, he even showed these behaviors in the waiting room.
Editorializing Others in the waiting room noticed the times he was agitated.
After an overabundance of these swings, the office’s clerical assistant made derisive private comments about the client’s emotional instability.
Judgmental; insensitive; editorializing
Sentence unnecessary; no revision—eliminate.
Mr. M. used excessively ornate and detailed words and phrases to describe his perceived problems.
Judgmental; editorializing
Mr. M. described his problems in specific and detailed words and phrases.
His exasperated insistence on the severity of his problems seemed excessive.
Judgmental; editorializing
Several times he mentioned how severely he experienced the problems.
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Attitude ■ 15
setacontextfordecidingwhattocommunicateandhowyoudothat.Dataprovidestheinformationyouneedtocometoreasonedconclusions.Thejointcommunicationqualityofsensitivity,com-passion,andrespectforyourreaderthenplaysthelargestpartinfeeding your words. The additional communication qualities ofclarityandaccuracyalsoshowupinattitude,thoughtheyactuallyexpandanddeepenintheareaofwrittenstyle(moreabouttheminChapter3).
Finally, Table 1.4 lists a series of questions to ask yourselfbeforeandwhileyouwriteareport.Thesemayhelpyounavigateamongtheicebergsofattitudeinallitsmanyforms.
TABLE 1.4 What Is My Attitude in Writing This Report?• What is my attitude toward my writing ability?• What is my attitude toward my psychological assessment ability?• Is my approach to this report knowledge telling or knowledge
transforming? Why?• Who is the intended reader of my report?• Is the relationship between assessor and primary reader direct or implied?• What is the purpose in communicating with that reader?• Is there a secondary audience? Who?• What is my attitude toward my reader(s)?• What is my attitude toward the subject of the assessment?• Have I done thorough research or data gathering that backs up this attitude?• How does my attitude show through in word choice?• Is my writing clear, accurate, sensitive, compassionate, and respectful?
http://www.routledgementalhealth.com/writing-to-clients-and-referring-professionals-about-psychological-assessment-results-9780415891240
http://www.routledgementalhealth.com/writing-to-clients-and-referring-professionals-about-psychological-assessment-results-9780415891240