PAIMI Report Writing An Overview Goals Objectives Goals
PAIMI Report Writing An Overview
Goals & Objectives Goals: Ø To reflect the conditions of the P&A system at the time of the visit Ø To provide the P&A system with sufficient guidance on what they are doing well and how to make improvements Objectives: Ø Adhere to and address prompts Ø Focus on facts and be objective Ø Write clearly and concisely with the audience in mind Ø Edit for content, grammar, and punctuation
Address the Prompts KEY: Address ALL the prompts (preferably in order and always finessed into a paragraph)
Focus on Facts KEY: Write what you observed and have the paper work to back up your statements. • • • Temper your statements Cite your source Avoid Comparisons Limit Embellishments Use the might of “might”
Clear and Concise KEY: Short sentences, direct and to the point • • Any sentence longer than 4 lines is suspect Keep your target audience in mind Avoid colloquialisms Don’t use two words when one will do
Editing Your Writing KEY: Save time and energy Editing Benefits Everyone • Company • Lead Writer • Editor • You
Editing Your Writing Singular or Plural • The words “data” and “staff” are plural – “The staff are…” • “Mental illness” and “emotional disturbance” are singular – “Emotional disturbance is…” • “Youth” can be singular or plural • “Majority” – “The majority is…” – “A majority are…”
Editing Your Writing Prepositions • Between – There is a direct line between You Me • Among – We are among Friends
Edit Your Writing Capitalization • “State” and “Federal; ” but not “statewide” or “federally” • When referring to the P&A system, “Division, ” “Department, ” “Bureau, ” and “Agency” are capitalized • “Web site” is capitalized • Without a name, “council, ” “commission, ” “county” and “center” are lower case • Use lower case for “bachelor’s, “master’s, ” “legislature” (unless Federal), “fee-for-service, ” “internet” and “monitoring team. ”
Editing Your Writing Numbers • Time – 3 hours • Money – 50 cents • Measurement – 15 miles Unless it is the first word in a sentence – It lasted 2 years, even though it was a 2 -day project. Two years have passed since then. • In most other cases, numbers 10 and higher are written as numerals, nine and lower are spelled out.
Editing Your Writing Percent • With a number – “The population increased 15 percent. ” • Without a number – “The percentage of the population with mental illness…” • The percent symbol (%) – In tables and exhibits only
Editing Your Writing One Word • Onsite • Healthcare • Wraparound • Database • Timeframe • Ongoing • Decisionmaking • Caregiver • Fundraising • Workgroup • Followup vs follow up – The followup presentation will…” – “We will follow up on these data. ” • Words beginning with “non” are one word except when followed by a capitalized word – nonprofit – nonnegotiable – non-American
Editing Your Writing Two Words • Task force • Paper work • Fact sheet • Web site (W is capitalized)
Edit Your Writing Words to omit • Really • Very • Appears • Seems • Indeed • Nevertheless • Time and again • On the other hand • • Wholly Thence Extremely Albeit Truly Huge In these regards Being that
Edit Your Writing More words • Use “composed of” or “includes” instead of “comprise” • “Persons” or “individuals” instead of “people” • “Persons with disabilities” instead of “disabled persons” • “Cultural competency” instead of “cultural competence”
Edit Your Writing Acronyms • Spelled out on the first usage in each chapter, with the acronym following in parentheses – Data Infrastructure Grants (DIG) • “The” appears before an acronym at the beginning of a sentence • The acronym “CMHS” stands exclusively for Center for Mental Health Services • Never use the same acronym to mean two different things in the same report • Avoid overuse
Edit Your Writing Punctuation • Hyphen – Most compound terms used as adjectives are hyphenated • “Long-term plans should be long term. ” • “Long-term plans should meet long-term objectives. ” – Words ending in “ly” are never followed by a hyphen • “Federally funded program vs. State-funded program” • Commas – Before the conjunction in a list • “Hospitals are located in Baltimore, Frederick, and Columbia. ” • Space – Two spaces after a period at the end of a sentence – No contractions or ampersands (except in an acronym)
Editing Your Writing Miscellaneous • Legal cases are presented in Italics with the “v” in Roman type – Stoltenbragh v. Ottoman • Omit the names of specific persons; give only general titles • Use the correct ethnic designations – – Caucasian African American Native American Hispanic • “However” and “therefore” are not sentence starters
PAIMI Report Writing Questions? ?
PAIMI Report Writing Thank you
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