Use the Paramedic Method to Resuscitate Your Writing

The point of this blog post is to introduce a method of revising writing that will include a discussion of the paramedic method to help writers reduce the wordiness in papers.

Does something seem a little off about that first sentence, but you just can’t put your finger on it? The sentence is grammatically correct, and the idea progression is logical. However, the length of the sentence doesn’t seem to match the simplicity of the topic. I used 32 words to introduce the topic of this blog post, but it’s possible that not all of those words were necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Let’s look at a sample revision:

Using the paramedic method can help writers reduce wordiness.

Whoa. I reduced the word count of the sentence from 32 words to 9 words and clarified the topic of the blog post in the process. Some of the words in the first sentence definitely weren’t necessary! This brings to light the importance of writing concisely—readers need to be able to easily decipher the topic of each sentence without having to read through it multiple times. Writing concisely can help writers clarify the ideas in their writing for readers. However, how can writers decide what to remove from their sentences when a course instructor or writing instructor suggests improving concision in writing? 

One method for reducing wordiness is to apply the paramedic method, which Richard Lanham introduced in Revising Prose. The paramedic method can help you reduce word count, eliminate passive voice, and clarify your prose with a simple underlining and italicizing method. To begin using the paramedic method, open a paper that you’re revising and apply these steps to your first paragraph:

1. Italicize the prepositions (e.g., in, on, of, to, from, at, with, etc.).

2. Underline the is verb forms. These verb forms, which Rachel called the buzzing to be’s in her blog post about passive voice, include a “to be” verb (e.g., am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, have been, will be, etc.) added to the beginning of another verb (e.g., was researched, will be provided, is featured).

3. Once you have completed steps 1 and 2, look at each sentence and determine the actor for the action in the sentence. Ask yourself, “Who is kicking whom?” If the actor of the action is missing, add it to the sentence. If the actor is placed after the verb rather than before the verb, move it to before the verb to highlight the actor of the action rather than the object of the action.

4. Change the action into a simple verb. Eliminate those buzzing to be’s whenever possible. 

5. Eliminate any slow wind ups. In other words, eliminate any information that the reader doesn’t need to understand the sentence. 

6. Eliminate any repetitive words or phrases.

You can repeat this process as necessary to reduce wordiness in your paper. Let’s return to the first sentence of this blog post and apply the paramedic method to it:

• The point of this blog post is to introduce a method of revising writing that will include a discussion of the paramedic method to help writers reduce the wordiness in papers.

I count six prepositions and two “to be” verbs in this sentence. In addition, I begin with a slow wind up in this sentence; I don’t need to say what the point of the blog post is when I can just show the reader the point of the blog post. Using the paramedic method also helps me to see that some of the words are redundant. I don’t need to use “method” twice in the sentence, and I can tell readers how to reduce wordiness in their papers without referring back to revision.

To recap, using the paramedic method helped me to see areas of redundancy within this sentence, and I was able to remove all “to be” verbs and prepositions in my revision: Using the paramedic method can help writers reduce wordiness.

While the paramedic method is a radical way to rethink revision that you can use in any paper, please keep in mind that passive voice is sometimes useful and necessary. You may need to conceal the actor in a sentence, or you may want to emphasize the object of the sentence rather than the actor. As Brittany and Beth discussed in WriteCast Episode 22, passive voice and concision are both grey areas in APA style, so you should use your best judgment as well as the feedback of your instructor in revising your writing for clarity and conciseness.

I’d like to leave you with another chance to practice before I sign off:

In the research there was a discussion of the different variables by the researcher (Doe, 2016). The variables were provided by the researcher in order to better illustrate in what manner the research was to be conducted (Doe, 2016).

The sentences above could use resuscitation, so I invite you to use the paramedic method or your preferred method of revision and then share your results below by leaving a comment. There isn’t one right answer, so we’d love to see how you would revise these sentences, along with any tips or suggestions you have for writing concisely!

Katherine McKinney is a writing instructor in the Walden University Writing Center. She received an M.A. in English from Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at Walden. Katherine's goal as an instructor is to show students that the best writing results from practice, and she aims to provide feedback and resources that will guide students through the invention, composition, and revision process.

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