Tips for medical writing - Turacoz Healthcare Solutions - a medical communication company
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Transcript of Tips for medical writing - Turacoz Healthcare Solutions - a medical communication company
![Page 1: Tips for medical writing - Turacoz Healthcare Solutions - a medical communication company](https://reader035.fdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022070520/58f9b295760da3da068bcd05/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Important Editing Tips for Medical Writers
By Turacoz Healthcare Solutions
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Table of Contents
• Plan, Organize and Edit
• Principles of Effective Editing
• Clear, Concise and Consistent Writing
• Correct Grammatical Errors
• Use Formal Language, Not Jargons
• Use of Hyphen, En Dash and Em Dash
• Headings
• Capitalization
• Use of Abbreviations
• Avoid using Hedge Words
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The main goal as A medical writer is to convey the message clearly to the readers.
Writing style is, however, A tool that A MEDICAL WRITER may use to HIS/HER advantage.
THE writing style will decide how clear and comprehensible ONE’S medical writing is, and therefore, the impression THAT message has on the readers.
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Plan, Organize and EditBefore you begin:
• Who is the audience (“My audience is pharmaceutical company, regulatory agency, etc.”)
• Purpose of the writing (“My purpose is________.”)
• How the reader will use the information (“So that the reader will________.”)
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Principles of Effective Editing
Clunky Words Equivalent
• Not honest dishonest
• Does not have lacks
• Did not remember forgot
• Did not pay attention to Ignored
• Did not succeed failed
• A majority of most
• Less frequently occurring rare
• The fact that because
Clunky phrases are additional words used as a filler to reach the word count more quickly; these words and phrases are usually redundant, read poorly, or take five words to say what could be said in one.
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Clear, Concise and Consistent Writing
• Writing should be clear and concise (try to keep sentences 10-25 words in length, and try to maintain paragraphs ¼ - ½ page long on an average).
– Description of a single idea in a sentence.– Description of a single theme in a paragraph.– Insert subheadings for clarity.
• Make sure that the whole document is consistent and accurate.
– Avoid repetition within sentences.
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Correct Grammatical Errors
• Correct errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage.
• Use spell and grammar checker as first screening.
Example:
Spelling error Punctuation error
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Use Formal Language, Not Jargons
• Use simple terms while writing.
• Example: “identical” instead of “exactly identical”; “do not” instead of “don’t”; "offspring” not “babies”.
• Example: Use “The concentration of HCl was tested every 15 minutes” instead of “The concentration of HCl was tested regularly”.
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Use of Hyphen, En dash and Em dash
• Hyphen is used to describe an adjective or a compound modifier or a compound adjective.
– Example: The book token is worth five pounds. This is a five-pound book token.
• En dash (–) is used for range of numbers.
– Example: Steel contains 0.1–2% carbon.
• Em dashes (—) are used to connect the author’s broken up thoughts.
– Example: The boy got lost in the wards—there were too many people—doctors, nurses and patients.
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Headings
• Capitalize the first and last words and all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions.
• Do not capitalize articles (a, an the), coordinate conjunctions (and, or, for, nor), prepositions, regardless of length, unless it is the first word of the title or subtitle.
• Use of acronyms in head levels should be avoided except in cases where the use of full form would be extremely awkward.
– Example: It is okay to use VIP-oma, instead of its full form in a head.
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Capitalization
• Capitalize the proper noun but not the common noun.
– Example: Apgar score, Cushing syndrome, Down syndrome, etc.
• Capitalize genus (but not species) names as well as phylum, class, order and family.
– Examples: – Chlamydia trachomatis– Chordata (phylum)
• Scientific names are written in a particular manner, like species names for animals and plants are given in italics, with the genus capitalized.
– Example: Homo sapiens at first use, later H. sapiens.
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Use of Abbreviations
• Full form of an abbreviation must given at the time of its first occurrence.
• A particular abbreviation or acronym should not be used for more than one term.
– Example: If CAD stands for coronary artery diameter, it should not be used for coronary artery disease.
• Plural abbreviations take a lower case “s” without an apostrophe.
– Example: Timely initiation of insulin can help reverse glucotoxicity and preserve β-cell function for longer than is possible with oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) alone.
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Avoid Using Hedge Words
• In scientific discipline, it is important to eliminate unnecessary qualifiers in each sentence.
• Use of active voice is suggested.
• Example:
– Incorrect way: “These results may propose that there is a possibility that use of isotretinoin could be responsible for birth defects”.
– Correct way: “These results suggest that isotretinoin is responsible for birth defects.”
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