Volume 26, Issue 1 - Writing better
Writing economically in medicine and science: Tips for tackling wordiness
Author: Barb Every
Abstract
Concise medical and scientific writing is clearer, more direct, and more pleasurable to read than wordy text. It is also more accessible to readers, including those outside the discipline and non-native speakers of English. An added benefit of limiting word clutter is that it helps reduce the word count to suit publication guidelines. In this article, I describe three ways for medical writers and editors to tackle wordiness: avoiding repetition, eliminating redundancy, and minimising purposeless words such as unnecessary qualifiers, weak verbs, and roundabout expressions. Using these techniques will help remove barriers to comprehension, encouraging readers to focus on important content.
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References
- Purdue Online Writing Lab. Conciseness. 2013 [cited 2016 Dec 9]. Available from: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/01/
- Messenger WE, de Bruyn J, Brown J, Montagnes R. The Canadian writer’s handbook. 5th ed. Don Mills, Ont: Oxford University Press; 2008.
- Iverson C, Christiansen S, Flanagin A, et al. AMA manual of style: a guide for authors and editors. 10th ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.
- Matthews JR, Matthews RW. Successful scientific writing. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2008.
- Zeiger M. Essentials of writing biomedical research papers. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Health Profession Division; 2000.
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- Phillip Leventhal (4Clinics, Lyon, France)
Co-Editor:
- Evguenia Alechine
- Stephen Gilliver (TFS Trial Form Support, Lund, Sweden)
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- Victoria White (Tampa, Florida, USA) Email: MEW@emwa.org
Associate Editors:
- Anuradha Alahari (PAREXEL International, Paris, France)
- Raquel Billiones (Clinipace, Zurich, Switzerland)
- Barbara Grossman (Hawkeye Medical Limited, Berkshire, UK)
- Joselita T Salita (Freelance, Bremen, Germany)
- Nathan Susnik (Hanover Medical School, Hanover, Germany)
- Clare (Chi-Chih) Chang
- Jonathan Pitt
Section Editors:
- Alison McIntosh (ICON Clinical Research, Hampshire, UK)
- Wendy Kingdom (Wendy Kingdom Ltd., Dulverton, UK)
- Lisa Chamberlain-James (Trilogy Writing and Consulting, Norfolk, UK)
- Maria Koltowska-Haggstrom (Proper Medical Writing Warsaw, Poland)
- Laura Collada Ali (Teksema, Cogne, Italy)
- Hervé Maisonneuve (Freelance, Lyon, France)
- Satyen Shenoy (Describe Scientific Writing & Communications, Cologne, Germany)
- Claire Gudex (Klinisk Institut, Odense, Denmark)
- Beatrix Doerr
- Sam Hamilton (Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK)
Ad-hoc Editors:
- Amy Whereat (SpeaktheSpeech Consulting, Asnieres sur Seine, France)
Editor Emeritus:
- Elise Langdon-Neuner (Medical University of Vienna, Austria)