Editorial

10 Steps Toward Professional Writing R. Morgan Pigg, Jr.

ost of us enjoy reading our professional journals - especially when M we understand what the author is talking about! Professional litera- ture keeps us in touch with the field. Yet, when it comes to journal articles, we have far more readers than writers. Unfortunately, good ideas often go undiscovered because school health professionals don’t share them in writ- ing. A time-honored adage says to write about what we know and what we feel. Combining knowledge and conviction - with professional experi- ence - often produces excellent articles. Several months ago, the Florida Association of Professional Health Educators asked me to write a brief article for the FAPHE newsletter encouraging school health professionals to write. If you feel apprehensive about writing, perhaps these 10 steps recommended in that article will help.

1. Read The Little Engine That Could, then follow steps 2-10 below. 2. Identify several potential topics for publication. Some writers find

“brainstorming” helpful in topic selection. Sit with pen or pencil before a blank page and write anything that comes to mind about your work. (Keyboarding may not work too well for your initial brainstorming.) Words, phrases, abbreviations, symbols - all are acceptable. At this point, do not evaluate or dwell on the items, just write them. When the ideas quit flowing, recopy the page refining, combining, and rewording when neces- sary. Then, select your favorite topics and rank-order them by appeal. Take topic number one (or your favorite topic) and go to work.

3. Clarify your goal or purpose for writing. What message do you want to convey to your readers: a proven professional practice tip, your opinion on a contemporary issue, a call for help? Carefully determine your purpose - it drives the remainder of your work.

4. Select the intended audience for your article. Who would you like to read your article? What journal best reaches those readers? Familiarize yourself with that journal’s organization, format, and style to guide your preparations.

5. Prepare an outline for the article. Compile a very general outline of the material you want to include. The outline provides some organization and structure for the content of your article. Refine and expand the outline as you learn more about the topic.

6. Conduct the background reading or research for the article. Even when we write from personal experience, background reading establishes a context for the article by telling us what others know, think, or do about the topic. Besides learning more about the topic, reading sometimes confirms that we have done a good job.

R. Morgan Pigg, Jr., HSD, MPH, FASHA, Professor, Dept. of Health Science Education, University of Florida, FLG-5, P.O. Box 118210, Gainesville, FL 3261 1-8210, and Editor, Journal of School Health, American School Health Association.

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7. Write a first draft of the article. Using the refined outline you developed, prepare the draft following the sections, headings, and sub- headings in the outline. The more detailed the outline, the “easier” the job of writing the draft. Use references and a bibliography if appropriate. Ask your local librarian for help if you need some reference books on writing.

8. Refine the draft into final form. Besides serving as your own critic, ask some colleagues to critique the draft. Opinions from friends and rela- tives also prove surprisingly helpful sometimes, especially if they do not know much about the topic. We all feel some embarrassment from such critiques, but the process produces a stronger article.

9. Submit the article to the appropriate journal. Familiarize yourself with a current version of the journal’s guidelines for authors. Regardless of how insignificant an item may seem, follow the author guidelines exactly. Journals include every guideline for a reason. Failure to follow the guide- lines suggests ignorance or indifference. Do not cause the article to be rejected on a technicality.

10. Expect a positive outcome from the experience. Regardless of the outcome, you win. If the journal publishes the article, you share helpful information with colleagues and gain some gratification in the process. If the journal rejects the article, at least you have seen the process through to completion, and you’re ready to try again. (How many times did it take that little train to get over the hill?)

354 Journal of School Health December 1996, Vol. 66, No. 10