A long set of case notes can make every fact look equally important. You may begin at the first date and work down the page, only to run out of space before explaining what the recipient needs to do. A useful letter needs a different starting point: its reader and purpose.
The Jobins Training Writing Coursebook, part of From Case Notes to Clear Letters, develops this process across sixteen skills lessons. Its selection method asks whether a fact explains the request, affects the next action or changes the practical arrangements. This guide turns that method into a short planning exercise.
Read the task before organising the history
Identify the writer, recipient, purpose, timing and requested action. “Update the GP” and “request community nursing support” are different tasks, even when both concern the same person. Your selection should help that particular reader act.
Summarise the task in one plain sentence during the planning stage: “This reader needs to understand the current difficulty and carry out the specified follow-up.” Then replace the general words with the actual task details. If you cannot name the requested action, return to the instruction before drafting.
Ask what each fact contributes
Do not decide relevance solely by the heading under which a note appears. A social detail can explain why support is needed. A historical fact may be essential background, or it may distract from the current request. The same category can contain both.
Original selection exercise
Fictional language task: Write to a community support coordinator requesting help with appointment arrangements for Ms Lane. The task supplies these facts:
- She cannot read the small print on the appointment letters.
- She has requested a large-print copy.
- Her son telephones on Sundays but has not agreed to manage bookings.
- She previously worked in a bookshop.
- A transport assessment has been requested but not completed.
- The coordinator is asked to check the outstanding arrangements.
Which details help explain or carry out this request? Which one can probably be omitted?
Review the selection
The reading difficulty and large-print request explain an access need. The son’s actual involvement prevents an assumption that booking support is already arranged. The pending transport assessment and requested follow-up identify unfinished work. The former bookshop role does not affect this particular task and can usually be omitted.
Selection depends on this fictional instruction. It is not a universal rule that previous employment is always irrelevant or that every family detail must appear.
Preserve the status when you summarise
A shorter sentence is useful only if it keeps the important distinctions. “Her son manages her appointments” would be a convenient summary, but it is not supported. “Transport is arranged” would incorrectly complete the pending assessment.
In your plan, mark facts as completed, current, proposed or outstanding. Keep the relevant status word when drafting. Concision should remove unnecessary framing, not the uncertainty or condition that the reader needs.
Give each paragraph a clear job
One paragraph might state the purpose. Another might explain the current access difficulty and existing support. A final paragraph might group the outstanding requests. This is a possible route, not a compulsory paragraph template.
After drafting, write a brief label beside each paragraph: purpose, current situation, action. If one paragraph jumps between unrelated jobs, consider moving a sentence. If two paragraphs repeat the same request without adding useful detail, combine or shorten them.
Ask: if I remove this fact, will the reader have to guess the action, timing, support or current status? If yes, find a concise way to retain it.
Review selection before polishing vocabulary
Read the opening and final request together. Do they point to the same purpose? Check that the body supplies enough relevant evidence and does not introduce a new diagnosis, service or promise. Only then refine grammar and wording.
Explore OET Writing for Nurses — Course 3 for the course linked to this coursebook. For personal feedback on your selection and organisation, request one-to-one OET tuition at dates and times that fit your duty shifts. Your tutor confirms the schedule before booking.
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OET Writing for Nurses — Course 3
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Source: OET Writing Coursebook.pdf, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.