Medical Writing Writing Matters Getting what you want from your scientific writing: tips for writing clearly

Volume 21, Issue 3 - Writing Matters

Getting what you want from your scientific writing: tips for writing clearly

Author: Michele Arduengo

Abstract

Good medical writing is like good writing in any discipline: the writer should explain complex concepts and ideas clearly and accurately and engage the reader. In this article, I provide four suggestions to help clarify writing on complex subjects: avoiding nominalizations, using language precisely, using parallel construction, and placing information where readers expect to find it. Applying these principles to science and medical writing can help readers understand difficult concepts more easily the first time they read your document.

Keywords: Parallel construction, Clear writing, Nominalisations, Plain language
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References

  1. Purdue Online Writing Lab, Medical Writing. Available from: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/732/01/
  2. Knight J. Clear as mud. Nature 2003;423:376–8.
  3. Gopen GD, Swan JA. The science of science writing. Am Scientist 1990;78:550–8.
  4. American Medical Writers Association. Essays for biomedical communicators. Vols. 1 and 2. 2001 Available from: http://www.amwa.org/default.asp?id=181

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The Webscout
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