Abstract
As Editor of Policy, Politics and Nursing Practice, I recently received a manuscript that included many words that I didn’t know and at least one foreign phrase that I had to look up. I found it very annoying. I am educated and think I am similar to a typical reader of PP&NP. I think reviewers reading such a manuscript would not look favorably on it. If we published such an article, I think readers might stop reading it and maybe even stop reading the journal. The Associated Press Style book lists consistency, clarity, accuracy, and brevity as its aims.
I see myself as a scientist not a writer, but I spend most of my time reading and writing. Among the many writing issues that I care about are: (1) Sesquipedalian, (2) Anthropomorphism, and (3) Pleonasm. Oops, those are gigantic words.
Sesquipedalian means using big words when little ones will do. Among the many big words “utilize” tops my list of least favorite and nurses use it a lot. I can think of no good reason to ever use (utilize) utilize. Also, why use baccalaureate degree instead of bachelor’s degree? Using little words rather than big words makes what you are trying to say much clearer.
Anthropomorphism means giving human characteristics to inanimate objects. I learned this word when a reviewer of one of my manuscripts said that I used anthropomorphism and I had to look up the meaning. The paper doesn’t state anything. Authors or researchers state findings.
Pleonasm means using more words than necessary, including redundant words. An example is “very big giant.” Rather than “at the present time” use “now” or use “small” rather than “small in size.”
As Daniel Oppenheimer points out in his article, “Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: Problems with using long words needlessly” people don’t think you are smarter when you use big words. They actually think those using smaller words are smarter (Oppenheimer, 2006).
I admit that sometimes authors should use a bigger word because it is more precise. Big and gigantic are different as are little and miniscule. Gigantic is much bigger than big and miniscule is much smaller than little. There are also times when one should use more words to be clear. For example, “biweekly” is confusing. Is that two times per week or every other week? Biweekly means either. I would use “every other week” or “twice a week” so the reader knows what you mean.
Following word limits is an important skill. Using little words saves space when there are word limits on what you are writing. I once taught a professional development seminar for PhD students. One of the assignments was to write a 250-word description of a nurse-researcher who did research similar to the student’s interest. Several students handed in papers of 300 words or longer with the explanation that they wanted to include more information. I reminded them that if the NIH gets a biosketch of more than five pages the submitter will get an error message. When conference organizers, editors, and funders have a word limit, one has to stick to (adhere to, obey, observe, abide by, cleave to, heed?) it.
Most journals have required style guides. We at PP&NP require the seventh edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) manual (2020). And most authors use the manual primarily for how to write references. The manual also includes information on clear writing. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 are very helpful. The APA guide is to spell out numbers one through nine. I have written grant applications in which I have written 3, 4, and 5 because of word restrictions. Maybe rules are made to be broken?
Below I list some of my favorite style guides. In addition to these guides, William Safire’s columns from the New York Times or any of his many (is many redundant because books is plural and that means more than one?) books are fun to read. Here is a link to one of my favorite columns: https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/20/magazine/on-language-stylish-books-and-koobs.html
Stay well.
Footnotes
References
Oppenheimer, D. M. (2006). Consequences of erudite vernacular utilized irrespective of necessity: Problems with using long words needlessly. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 20(2), 139–156.
Useful Style Guides
Ivers, M. (1993). Random house guide to good writing. ISBN 97803453799 – 62. Random House.
O’Conner, P. T. (2009). Woe is I. Riverhead Books.
Zeiger, M. (2000). Essentials of writing biomedical research papers (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Zinsser, W. (2016). On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction. Collins.