Abstract
That description, written 80 years ago, sums up just what is expected of medical or scientific writing. The purpose of scientific writing is to promote understanding, to explain method and to provide a logically constructed pathway to a certain conclusion. Scientific writing is not only an art but also a craft—and one that needs much care. Its objective is to reduce the writing to its bare bones rather than clothe it with impressive language.
‘Writing is an art, but so far as scientific articles are concerned, that art should be restricted to telling the story accurately, simply, clearly and concisely. There is no place here for rhetoric, fancy, or inflated periods’.
—Editorial, The Canadian Medical Association Journal, June 1937.
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References
Aronson S. Style in scientific writing. Curr Contents. 1978;2:5–16.
Montgomery S. The Chicago guide to communicating science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2003.
Noble KA. Publish or perish: what 23 journal editors have to say. Stud Higher Educ. 1989;14:97–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075078912331377642. Accessed online.
Suggested Reading
A variety of writing guides are available on the web: http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/workbooks/intro.html; http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWgeneral.html; http://www.excellent-proofreading-and-writing.com/scientific-style.html#axzz1xZKvDKME.
For a comprehensive discussion on style, word usage and other confusing issues related to academic writing, see http://www.ung.si/~sstanic/teaching/CIS/Stevens-Subtleties_of_Scientific_Style.pdf.
Strunk W Jr, White EB. The elements of style. 4th ed: Longman; 1999.
The Council of Science Editors (www.councilscienceeditors.org) links to a number of useful sites on grammar, style, scientific format and publication ethics.
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Raman, U. (2018). Beyond Substance: Grammar, Syntax and Style. In: Sahni, P., Aggarwal, R. (eds) Reporting and Publishing Research in the Biomedical Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7062-4_14
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