Medical writing is the activity of writing scientific documentation by someone who is a specialized writer (a medical writer) and is generally not one of the scientists or doctors whose research it was..
Immediate care of newborn, midwifery and obstetrical nursing
Mistakes in scientific writing
1. Grammar, Punctuation, Abbreviation &
Jargons And Other
Common Mistakes in Scientific Writing
NAME- ANIRBAN SAHA
M.PHARM (PHARMACEUTICS)
ROLL NO.- A10647014005
AMITY INSTITUTE OF
PHARMACY
AMITY UNIVERSITY, NOIDA ,
UTTAR PRADESH
2. What is Medical Writing?
“Medical writing is the activity of writing
scientific documentation by someone who is a
specialized writer (a medical writer) and is
generally not one of the scientists or doctors
whose research it was.”
Source: www.wikipedia.org 2
3. Types
Things we write
Papers
Grants
Review articles
Meeting abstracts
Posters
Seminar slides
Lecture slides
Manuscript and grant reviews
Letters (requests, recommendations, complaints)
Committee reports, meeting minutes
Emails
Same "grammar" applies to all
There are "rules"
We are "academics" and "scholars"-- WE should FOR SURE get it right!
3
4. Aspects of good scientific writing
Science: data, quality, controls, rationale, thoroughness
Significance: why should we care, was it worth doing
Sexiness: exciting, attention-getting, memorable, broad interest
Style: organization, consistency, clarity
what belongs where--Methods, Results, Figures, Discussion
effective figures, graphs, tables
proper referencing and bibliography styles
Good grammar
hyphens, commas, plurals, abbreviations
verb forms, tense, voice, person
proper words used correctly, clearly, concisely
Applies to EVERY SECTION of a manuscript
and all other scientific writing
Good writing can make a bad paper seem good
More often, bad grammar can get in the way of an otherwise good paper
4
5. Grammar Matters!
Grammar issues
hyphens, commas, plurals, abbreviations
verb forms, tense, voice, person
proper words used correctly, clearly, concisely
Applies to EVERY SECTION of a manuscript
and all other scientific writing
Good writing can make a bad paper seem good
Bad grammar can get in the way of an otherwise good paper
5
6. List of Common Complaints and
Corrections
1. Spaces and hyphens between numbers and units
2. Hyphens in compound words
3. Proper plurals
4. Too many significant figures
5. Correct commas
6. Inappropriate use of "time" words
7. Which/that
8. Person, voice and tense
9. Abbreviations
10. Setting up sentences
11. Misused words and professional wording
12. A number of other small things
13. Good old rules
Examples are
mostly from phys/pharm
6
7. #1a. Space between numbers and units!!
A space must be used between numbers and their units!
Simple and obvious
Now shows up in almost everything I review
Only in the last few years
Text-messaging and email generation "shortcut"?
Regardless of the reason……
Use that space bar!! Do it right!!
^
-
7
8. Space between numbers and units
Temperatures need spaces
between value and degree sign: 37 °C, not 37° C or 37°C
but the degree sign for angles goes with the number: 90º angle
Centrifugal forces need spaces
on both sides of the "x"
10,000 x g, not 10,000g or 10,000xg
Other "places for spaces"
around equals sign: n = 3, not n=3
also around >, <, ~, etc
around plus/minus: 29 ± 7, not 29±7
Percentages may be the only exception
5% serum, 0.01% bromophenol blue
This is because % is not really a unit, just an indication that the
value is presented as the "ratio to 100"
8
9. Hyphenate if the number-plus-units is used as an adjective
Space if the number is an adjective and the unit is a noun
35 mm or 35-mm??
Cells were grown in 35-mm dishes.
"35-mm" is a compound adjective modifying the noun "dishes"
The diameter of the dish was 35 mm.
Here "35" is the adjective and "mm" is the noun
a 2-ml reaction volume; 2 ml were added to each tube
The average 60-kg man weighs about 60 kg.
The one exception is concentrations, which are not hyphenated
a 50 mM buffer
The 10 μM concentration inhibited but the 1 μM samples were
unchanged.
But a space is required: 10 mM or 6 M, never 10mM or 6M !!
#1b. Hyphens between numbers and units
9
10. Most other "quantity-related" words are also hyphenated
semi-transparent plastic tubes
bi-directional reaction
multi-component signaling complex
"Her half-finished manuscript lay beside her pillow".
Some of these can be written as one word--no clear "rules"
bidirectional, monophasic
Hyphens between numbers and units
10
11. More on hyphens with numbers
Compound numbers are hyphenated if written as words
Fifty-four patients were enrolled in the study.
One-hundred percent of the knock-out animals survived the injury.
Average cost per run was over three-thousand dollars.
11
12. #2. Hyphens in compound words
- terms with verbs used as adjectives
2a. A noun-verb combination used as an adjective is always
hyphenated!!—Myron's most frequent serious complaint!!
"The drug induced side effects"
Is this a sentence by itself?
"The drug induced side effects. These included headache,
nausea, gas, …"
Here drug is the subject, induced is the verb (predicate),
side effects is the object of the verb
Or is this only the subject of a sentence?
"The drug-induced side effects of aspirin include GI distress."
Here drug-induced is a compound adjective modifying side
effects which is the subject
It's the HYPHEN that lets me know without having to read the whole
sentence first!
12
13. Using "noun-verb as adjective" terms in
biomedical science writing
Common examples
receptor-mediated
Beta receptor-mediated responses are blocked by propranolol.
The beta receptor mediated the response, because the response
was blocked by propranolol.
concentration-dependent effects; ligand-independent transactivation
drug-metabolizing enzyme; rate-limiting step
ligand-binding domain
but not in "receptors were measured by ligand binding"
RNA-dependent DNA synthesis, exercise-induced asthma
site-directed mutagenesis, FDA-approved drug
Note this includes most forms of the verb: ed, ing, ent
But only when used as an adjective
13
14. Other compound adjectives
Adjective-verb combinations are hyphenated when used as compound adjectives
fast-thinking graduate student; long-winded professor
high-minded journal editors; heavy-handed administrators
The part of speech for the words determines the hyphen
"blue-labeled" tubes
if the labels on the tubes are blue
but "blue labeled tubes"
if the tubes are blue and also labeled (but labeled in red?)
the red-labeled blue tubes = the blue tubes with red labels
14
15. Preposition-verb combinations used as adjectives are usually
hyphenated
over-utilized phrases
under-developed sexual organs in Turner's syndrome
often written as one word--overlooked, upturned, inbred
Prepositions often come after the verb form
clearly spelled-out expectations
but "expectations were spelled out clearly from the start"
laced-up shoes, tightened-down fasteners, wrap-around insulation
Other compound adjectives
15
16. Other compound adjectives
Adverb-verb combinations used as adjectives are NOT hyphenated
Adverbs always modify verbs or adjectives, so they don't need
special treatment when used that way
Words ending in "-ly" are adverbs and not hyphenated
a newly established pathway
a highly regarded expert in the field
Also "too", "very", and "much" combos are usually not hyphenated
a very limited interaction
a much appreciated faculty member
It may not be wrong to hyphenate these, but it is not required
16
17. Other compound adjectives
Adjective-noun combinations used as adjectives are seldom
hyphenated
centrifuge tube rack
graduate student meeting
side effect profile
But they can be hyphenated and often are
open-door policy, closed-door meeting
fixed-rate insurance
long-term effects
17
18. Other compound adjectives
Don't hyphenate if both words modify the same word
a weak organic acid: a weak acid, an organic acid
weekly planning meeting: a weekly meeting, a planning meeting
strategy-planning meeting
strategy modifies planning here, doesn't modify meeting
an insulated Styrofoam container
the container is insulated and it is made of Styrofoam
the Styrofoam is not insulated, the container is
a Styrofoam-insulated container
the container is insulated, and the insulation is by Styrofoam
18
19. Other compound adjectives
Hyphenate BOTH terms if they modify the same word
Two modifiers before the verb form
the Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent enzyme PKC
The epinephrine- and isoproterenol-induced responses were….
Two modifiers after the verb form
The drug-sensitive and -insensitive cells were compared for…
19
20. Hyphenation summary
Always hyphenate
All noun-verb combinations if used as adjective
All number-verb, number-noun, number-adverb combinations
used as adjectives
Sometimes hyphenate
Some adverb-verb combinations if used as adjectives
A few adjective-noun combinations if used as adjectives
Don't hyphenate
Adverbs, including –ly words and others
Two adjectives that modify the same noun
20
21. #3. Proper plurals
Singular
cell
hypothesis
Plural
cells
hypotheses
The hypothesis (singular) that PKC is involved was only one of several
equally likely hypotheses (plural) that we could have proposed.
Separate hypotheses are proposed for each specific aim.
A separate hypothesis is proposed for each specific aim.
Know which is singular and which is plural….
…and then use the correctly matched verb form!! 21
22. Proper plurals
Singular
drug
datum
Plural
drugs
data
The use of "data is/was…" vs. "data are/were…." is no doubt the
most frequently mis-used example
The word "data " is absolutely and always plural !!!
No matter how many smart people use it improperly !!!
There is no doubt that "datum" is the singular and "data" is the plural, and I
can think of no other example where "is/was" is used with a clearly plural
noun. Always use the plural form of the verb (are/were) with this plural noun.
Some argue that data is a "collective" noun like "family" or "class" or "group"
or "committee" and that singular can be used. But collective nouns are
singular forms used to describe a group and therefore use a plural form of the
verb, NOT plural forms of the noun used as if they were singular. 22
23. Proper plurals
Singular
drug
datum
Plural
drugs
data
Correct:
"All data were obtained by my technician, because I don't even
remember how to hold a Pipetman anymore."
"Data presented are the averages of at least three experiments".
Incorrect:
"The data is clinically important because it shows a difference between
the drug responses of the two groups of patients."
"The data was best fit by a single-site model."
Correct:
"The datum at 5 min, but only that specific data point, that one single
value, was obtained with help from the last author."
23
24. Proper plurals
Singular
cell
medium
Plural
cells
media
Dulbecco's is one growth medium (singular), even though it
has many components
RPMI and Weymouth's are two different media (plural), each
of which has multiple different components
"Just because one type of growth medium works well for your
cells does not mean that any of several other media might not
work equally well.
"Growth media were obtained from Gibco"
only if more than one kind of medium was used!
24
25. Singular Plural
criterion criteria
phenomenon phenomena
mitochondrion mitochondria
equilibrium equilibria
medium media
bacterium bacteria
optimum optima
minimum, maximum minima, maxima
symposium symposia
datum data
hypothesis hypotheses
thesis theses
axis axes
fungus fungi
nucleus nuclei
focus. locus foci, loci
alumnus alumni
The "-is" vs. "-es" forms are
the only exceptions
"Most graphs have two axes—
one x-axis and one y-axis."
"There are three loci for drug
intervention: the most common
locus is the cell surface
receptor, a second important
locus is the intracellular
signaling pathway, and the
newest locus is targeting the
nucleus with gene therapy."
Singular forms all end
in consonants; plural
forms (almost) all end
in vowels
25
26. #4. Too many significant figures
All of your "significant figures" should be "believable"
Looking at your error bars is a good way to decide
Instruments and spreadsheets give you lots of numbers that are
meaningless; don't use them unless you believe them!!
94 ± 14
3060 ± 310 700 ± 130
4470 ± 500
26
27. Proper use of numbers
And remember spaces too!!!
94 ± 14
3060 ± 310 700 ± 130
4470 ± 500
27
28. #5a. Correct commas
in parenthetical statements
"Parenthetical" loosely means that it could also be put in parentheses,
or that it is an "aside" or an "addition"; the sentence would be complete
without it.
Commas always come in pairs when in the middle of a sentence!
The inhibitor genistein, which is supposed to be selective for
tyrosine kinases, inhibited this serine kinase-mediated response.
Propranolol, the prototypical beta antagonist, has many dangerous
side effects.
One comma is OK only if the parenthetical statement ends the
sentence.
The reaction was inhibited by C3 toxin, a selective blocker of Rho.
The reaction was inhibited by C3 toxin, a selective blocker of Rho,
and also by the Rho kinase inhibitor Y25632.
28
29. Commas in parenthetical statements
One-word and simple multi-word parenthetical statements do not NEED
commas, and I strongly prefer that they NOT be used.
The protein kinase inhibitor genistein did not alter the response.
preferred
The protein kinase inhibitor, genistein, did not alter the response.
less appropriate
The Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent enzyme protein kinase C
mediates many of the effects of PI hydrolysis.
preferred
The Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent enzyme, protein kinase C,
mediates many of the effects of PI hydrolysis.
less appropriate
29
30. Commas in parenthetical statements
"and" and "but" go outside the parenthetical statement commas
The control cells, contrary to our hypothesis, showed less
internalization.
The control cells showed modest internalization but, contrary to our
hypothesis, drug-treated cells showed less internalization.
NOT: The control cells showed modest internalization, but contrary to
our hypothesis, drug-treated cells showed less internalization.
"… in males but, in contrast, not in females …"
NOT "… in males, but in contrast, not in females …"
"Treated animals survived longer and, as a result, produced more
progeny.
30
31. If the compound sentence is so long that it needs a comma, then it
needs two independent clauses, each with a "subject" (noun)
and a "predicate" (verb)
Or it should be two separate sentences
Both sides of ", and" (with a comma) need to have a subject
and a predicate (be independent clauses)
But "and" (without a comma) does NOT need to have a second
subject; but it can, if the sentence is not too long
Incorrect
The cells were pretreated with pertussis toxin for 24 hr to inactivate Gi,
and lysed by scraping in a hypotonic buffer.
How to fix
Take out the comma, or …
Add a subject to the second clause to make it independent, or…
Make it two separate sentences if "too long" is the problem
#5b. Correct commas
in compound sentences
31
32. #6. Inappropriate use of "time words"
Don't use "while", "since" or "as" except to indicate the relationship
of events in time
I only learned about this when journal style editors changed them in
my papers, so I learned to do them right myself!
We often use "while" when we mean "whereas" or "although"
We often use "as" when we mean "because"
We often use "since" when we mean "because"
Use the proper word, not the time word, unless it is a time concept!
32
33. Inappropriate use of "time words"
"While"
Incorrect: While staurosporine is a PKC inhibitor, it can also
inhibit other kinases. (The intent is not to indicate that these two
events are taking place at the same point in time.)
Better: Although staurosporine is….
Whereas staurosporine is.….
Correct use of "while": "While the cells were being incubated in
serum-free medium to induce cell cycle arrest, they were also being
exposed to pertussis toxin to inactivate Gi. (Here the point is that
the starvation and pertussis toxin treatments were going on
simultaneously.)
33
34. Inappropriate use of "time words"
"As"
Incorrect: As C3 toxin is a highly selective Rho inhibitor, our
data implicate Rho as a mediator of synergism. (The intent is
NOT to indicate that these two events are taking place at the
same point in time.)
Better: Because C3 toxin is….
Correct use of "as": "As the cells reached confluence, their
shape changed from flattened to cuboidal. (Here the point is that
the shape change coincided in time with the attainment of
confluence.)
34
35. Inappropriate use of "time words"
"Since"--similar to "as", "because" is often what is meant
Incorrect: Since C3 toxin is a highly selective Rho inhibitor,
our data indicate Rho as a mediator of synergism. (The intent is
not to indicate that one event is taking place at a later time point
than the other.)
Better: Because C3 toxin is….
Correct use of "since": "Since changing the HEPA filter in our
hood, we have no further problems with cell contamination.
(Here the word "since" is properly used to indicate that one thing
has happened following another thing in time.)
35
36. #7. Which vs. That
A tough distinction, but with simple differences and rules of thumb!
"That" is used to "restrict" the meaning or to "identify" a specific
entity
"Which" does not restrict but rather "elaborates" or "describes"
Examples
The estrogen that is present in most birth control pills is ethinyl
estradiol.
The estrogen drug ethinyl estradiol, which is present in most birth
control pills, is only slightly different from endogenous estradiol.
The estrogen that is present in most birth control pills, which has
been modified for greater oral effectiveness, is ethinyl estradiol.
WRONG: The estrogen which is present in most birth control pills is
ethinyl estradiol.
36
37. Which vs. That -- Rules of thumb
Rule of thumb #1:
If the phrase can be taken out without losing the meaning of the
overall sentence, use "which"
If the phrase is vital to the point of the sentence, use "that"
Rule of thumb #2:
"Which" statements are almost always set off with commas
"That" statements should NOT be set off with commas
If commas seem needed or natural, use "which"
If commas are not needed or seem awkward, use "that"
Correct use of both: The car that hit my bicycle, which is a VW
bug, is now in the body shop with a big dent in its hood.
Common incorrect use: The car which hit my bicycle is now in
the body shop. 37
38. Which vs. That -- more examples
Drug example
Tamoxifen, which is a so-called anti-estrogen, is the most
appropriate drug for this patient.
"which is a so-called anti-estrogen" can be left out and the
sentence is still complete and true and meaningful
this would not read well without the commas
The drug that is most appropriate for this patient is tamoxifen.
taking out "that is most appropriate for this patient" leaves a
complete sentence but it has lost its meaning
it would seem awkward to use commas here
Most common kind of wrong use
The drug which we used to block redox signaling was tempol.
The drug that we used in to block redox signaling was tempol.
38
39. Which vs. That -- more examples
The drug that had the highest potency was RX-1040A.
RX1040A, which had the highest potency of all the drugs tested,
was chosen for further clinical trials.
The receptor that is the subject of my NIH grant is the AT2
angiotensin receptor.
The AT2 angiotensin receptor, which is the subject of my NIH
grant, is a Gq-coupled receptor.
The receptor that is the subject of my NIH grant, which is the
AT2 angiotensin receptor, is a Gq-coupled receptor.
an example of that and which used properly in the same
sentence
39
40. #8. Person, Voice and Tense
Person and voice
Historically recommended NOT to use first person in scientific writing
And I still very strongly prefer little or no first person!
But this does NOT mean that you need to use cumbersome third
person passive voice
Third person can be cumbersome, but it doesn't need to be
Third person can make writing seem "impersonal"
Passive voice can be very cumbersome
Passive voice removes all sense of "action", things "happening",
"excitement" and "story"
I try to use third person but active voice
40
41. Person and Voice
Person and voice examples
First person active -- AVOID this
We noted that there were fewer endosomes in the inhibitor-treated
cells.
Two VERY BAD ways of avoiding first person
The authors noted that there were fewer endosomes in the inhibitor-
treated cells.
It was noted that there were fewer endosomes in the inhibitor-
treated cells.
Simplest statement; maybe OK; but "boringly passive"
There were fewer endosomes in the inhibitor-treated cells.
Some good third person active voice statements
Treating cells with inhibitor reduced the number of endosomes.
Treated cells contained fewer endosomes than control cells.
The number of endosomes was reduced in inhibitor-treated cells.
These avoid "we", retain "action", are not cumbersome or passive 41
42. Person and Voice
More good and bad person and voice examples
"It has been reported that ……. "
"Smith et al. reported that ……. " or "Several groups have reported… "
State WHO reported it, which makes it active.
"It is the hypothesis of this study that …… "
"It is hypothesized that …… "
"The authors of this study hypothesize that ……. "
Very cumbersome ways to avoid first person
"The hypothesis of this study is that …… "
Active voice and very clear
42
43. Person, Voice and Tense
It is almost always easy to avoid first person
We tested the hypothesis that….
The hypothesis guiding these studies was that….
These studies tested the hypothesis that….
It was hypothesized that…. (I do NOT like this wording)
We instilled saline or drug into mouse lungs …
Saline or drug was instilled into mouse lungs…
We further propose that ROS alter BBB by…
These data suggest that…
A likely possibility is that…
43
44. Person and Voice
Places I TOLERATE use of first person:
Introduction, only once!
"We hypothesize that …. "
Discussion, only once!
"We speculate that ….." or "We propose that these drugs,,,,,, "
Your hypothesis and speculation are quite "personal", not "facts"
LIMITED USE of first person possessive
"Our previous studies showed that ….. "
Places NEVER to use first person
Methods
"We obtained inhibitors from .."; "We grew cells in …."
Results
"We found that prestin …"; "We next used confocal to ……. "
44
45. Person and Voice
Almost always use "we" and "our" rather than "I" or "my"
Science is almost always a group effort!
Even if not, "I" sounds awkward and maybe egotistical
Students describing their own work is my one exception
I like to know what you (the student) did or observed
in contrast to what your lab did or observed or knows
In oral presentations, in posters, in grant proposals
in these places it is important to emphasize student's own work,
plans, ideas
But not in a student's manuscript for publication
45
46. Tense
When to say what "happened" or "was observed" (past tense) vs.
what "happens" or "is known" (present tense)
General guideline
Use past tense to state what you did in your experiments and
what you observed that you are reporting in this paper
These are clearly observations of what happened (past tense) in
your experiments but not necessarily what happens (present
tense) in general.
"C3 toxin prevented synergism between LPA and EGF,
as shown in Fig.3."
Use present tense to describe what is generally accepted or
what is "known" to occur from previous studies
"C3 toxin is (present tense) an inhibitor of Rho."
"Forskolin activates (present tense) adenylyl cyclase."46
47. Tense
Introduction
Mix of present and past tenses—what is known already, what was
reported in previous studies,
"Prestin is an important protein for hearing (a fact), and Hallworth et
al. showed it to be located in auditory hair cells (what they saw)."
Methods
Almost exclusively past tense—what was done in your studies
Results
Almost exclusively past tense—what was observed, what happened
Discussion
Again a mix of present and past tenses
"Rho mediates this response (present tense conclusion), because it
was inhibited by C3 toxin (what happened in a specific experiment)."47
48. #9. Abbreviations
Don't abbreviate unless necessary
Avoid abbreviating single words, with the exception of chemicals
Abbreviations should be used at least three times, in general
otherwise write out the entire word both times
Avoid making up your own non-standard abbreviations
Define each abbreviation the first time you use it
in the text or in a footnote, per journal style
Use the abbreviation every time after you define it
Check your journal's style sheet for standard abbreviations
DNA, RNA, EKG
Double-check abbreviation usage before submitting
search for full word and for abbreviation from start to finish
48
49. Capitalization for abbreviations
My convention on when to capitalize in abbreviations
not a "rule", but my way (a good way) of being consistent
Capitalize only the first letter of abbreviations that are shortened words
Iso for isoproterenol (not ISO)
Veh for vehicle (not VEH)
Ctl for control
Capitalize all letters that stand for words or at least syllables (initialisms)
EGF for epidermal growth factor
PCR for polymerase chain reaction
CTL for cytotoxic T lymphocyte
More contrasting examples
Ser for serine, but SER for stimulus-evoked response
Ala for alanine, but ALA for antigen-like activity
49
50. Abbreviations - using "a" or "an"
Decide based on the sound of the spoken term, NOT based on the
first written letter of the abbreviation
"a UTP analog"
not an, even though UTP begins with a vowel
the sound (YouTeePee) begins with a consonant (Y)
"an MCP-mediated effect on IL8 release"
not a, even though MCP begins with a consonant
the sound (EmSeePee) begins with a vowel
many consonant sounds begin with a vowel!!
• "an SDS gel", "an LTP-inducing agent"
"U" is the only vowel that sometimes begins with a consonant sound
The same "U" policy applies to whole words
"a ubiquitination inhibitor"; "a unilateral triangle"
"an unpaired T-test"; "an upward deflection in the curve"
50
51. Abbreviations: "et al., etc."
"et" is Latin for "and"; it is a word, not an abbreviation; so no period
"al" is short for "alii", meaning "others"; an abbreviation, so a period
No comma in front of "et al." in author lists (Jones et al.)
"et cetera" means "and the like"; "cetera" is abbreviated, so a
period; but always written as one word, etc.
Never use "and" in front of etc., since the "et" itself means "and"
Never use "etc." in scientific writing
use "and many additional examples" or "among others" or "as
examples" instead
"i.e." is an abbreviation of "id est", meaning "that is"; two periods
"e.g." is an abbreviation of "exemplia gratii", meaning "for
example"; two periods
And don't get these two terms mixed up! 51
52. #10. Setting up sentences
Sentences should NOT begin with a lower-case letter or a numeral
This is a pretty strict rule.
But it can lead to very cumbersome writing and reading.
"... treated with 10 mM NaOH. Twenty millimolar HCl was added.."
"..treated to elevate cAMP levels. Cyclic AMP was then extracted by.."
It is usually easy to reword the sentence to avoid this.
"Next, 20 mM HCl was added…." or "HCl (20 mM) was added…"
"Extraction of cAMP was performed by ……."
52
53. Setting up sentences
In scientific writing, it is accepted to use commas between all
items in a list, including the last item before "and"
"The inhibitors tested were LY290082, calphostin C, and Y27632."
Final comma is not required for scientific writing, but it is allowed, and I
personally prefer it.
It is still NOT allowed in non-scientific writing
"We have a car, a truck and a motorcycle."
53
54. Setting up sentences
Avoid using unnecessarily wordy wording, especially to begin
sentences--be concise wherever possible!
"Because of the fact that….." (Avoid this!)
"Due to the fact that…" (Avoid this!)
"Because ……." (Has identical meaning, 4 fewer words!)
"In spite of the fact that…"
"Although…."
"In order to test our hypothesis……" (Avoid this!)
"To test our hypothesis ….." (Same meaning, shorter)
54
55. Setting up sentences
Avoid double negatives
These results are not unlike those from previous studies. (BAD)
These results are similar to those from previous studies. (GOOD)
The outcome was not different from what we hypothesized. (BAD)
The outcome was consistent with our hypothesis. (GOOD)
Avoid multiple "alternate possibility qualifiers"
Instead, an alterative is that it might be possible that …. (BAD)
An alternative is that ….. (GOOD)
Perhaps these nanoparticles could affect ….(BAD)
These nanoparticles could also affect… (GOOD)
Perhaps these nanoparticles affect….. (GOOD)
55
56. #11a. Word Choice:
Misused Words
Principle vs. Principal
Principle means key or idea or a tenet or theme or general rule
or find your favorite "e" word to go with "principle"
"The key principle is that water likes to go where ion concentration is
high."
"principle" is always a noun, never an adjective!
Principal means main or basic
"The principal thing to remember is that good writing makes good
science look even better; this is an important principle"
"We expect the principal investigator on an NIH grant to follow the
principles of ethical science."
"principal" as used in science is almost always an adjective
the "principal of a school" is an example of the rare use of principal
as a noun
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57. Misused Words
Effect vs. Affect
Effect is usually a noun; Affect is usually a verb
"Exercise training had no effect on the number of AT2 receptors."
"Exercise training did not affect the number of AT2 receptors."
"Drinking a beer with lunch can affect your afternoon productivity."
"The effect on productivity of drinking a beer with lunch is usually negative."
Both together
"Dissolving the drug in ethanol did not affect the cellular effect of the drug."
Effect can be a verb, meaning "to bring about", usually with "change"
"Complaining about a problem is one way to effect a change in the way
things are done."
"Aspirin can affect how you feel by effecting relief of headache pain."
Affect can be a noun, in psychiatry, meaning "facial expression"
"Patients with depression or schizophrenia may have a flattened affect; for
example, they may not smile at a friend or laugh at a joke."
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58. Misused Words:
Making your data "quantitative"
Quantitative is a word
Quantitate and quantitation are NOT words!!
go ahead, check your dictionary; I did!
Quantify is the verb form, NOT quantitate
Quantification is the noun form, NOT quantitation
Quantitative is the adjective form
Maybe not a big deal
but if you don't do it right, good editors will change it
and this will annoy you
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59. Misused Words
Who vs. That
Use "who/whom" with people; "that" with things
She is the person whom you should contact.
NOT: She is the person that you should contact.
BUT: A car with low fuel consumption is the one that you should buy.
Among vs. Between
Use "between" when comparing two things
Use "among" for three or more things
We found no difference between male and female patients.
There were clear differences in glucose levels among the four
treatment groups.
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60. Misused Words:
Be sure to "write the right word"!!
here/hear
there/their/they're
your/you're/yore
its/it's
whose/who's
to/too/two
"I want you to no that I here what your saying, and I agree that its there
own fault which is just to bad"—WRONG!!
These don't show up much in scientific writing but do in emails
This is not a failure to "edit" emails, but an indication that you never
really learned this and have to "waste" time figuring out the right word
Which makes you look less than bright
Ewe knead two bee shore too chews thee write ward!!
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61. Use "technical" or "professional" wording rather than "common" or
"conversational" wording or "lab jargon"
"To see if" PKC was involved….. (Avoid this!)
"To test whether" ……." (Same meaning, more "professional")
"To make sure that we had put the same amount of protein in each
well on the gel…" (Conversational)
"To confirm equal loading" (standard professional wording)
"Samples were put in the freezer…" (BAD)
"Samples were stored at -80C…" ……." (Professional)
"The samples were counted in a scintillation counter."
"Radioactivity in each sample was quantified by scintillation
spectrometry."
#11b. Word Choice--
Professional wording
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62. Use "technical" or "professional" wording rather than "common" or
"conversational" wording or "lab jargon"
"Samples were run on gels……" (Jargony)
"Samples were electrophoresed……" (A little better)
"Samples were subjected to SDS PAGE ….." ("Technical")
"We tissue-mizered the cells and then spun them down to get a
pellet." (Lab jargon)
"Tissue was homogenized and membranes were isolated by
centrifugation." (Professional)
"Next we took the cells and put them in the incubator and let them
sit for 5 min (BAD)
"Cells were incubated for 5 min" ……." (Professional)
Professional wording
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63. Professional wording
Avoid personal feelings words, along with first person
"Next we wondered if ….. "
did you just "wonder", or did you go ahead and test it?
"We sought to determine if….."
you sought to, but did you succeed?
"The next group of experiments tested whether…."
"We felt that X might cause Y…"
and just how DID that feel?
"At first we were confused by these data…"
and then you finally put on your thinking caps?
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64. #12. A number of additional things
The expression "a number of" is technically meaningless, since one
and zero are numbers also!!
"A number of lines of evidence support our hypothesis."
This is true even if there is only one piece of evidence, or even if there
is no evidence, for your hypothesis, because one and zero are
numbers.
"The experiment was repeated a number of times with similar
results ."
This can be true even if you have done the experiment only once, or
even if you have never done the experiment at all!!
"A number of additional drugs gave similar results."
Maybe all other drugs gave quite different results, since zero could be
the number that gave similar results.
There are "a number" of better terms to use!!
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65. "A number" of possibilities exist.
• a very limited number
• only a few Related non-numerical words
• very few - diverse / different
• a few - various / variety
• some
• multiple
• several
• many
• numerous
• a large number
• an astronomically large number
• countless, endless
• an infinite number
A gradient of "number" words
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66. Collective nouns--singular terms for groups of things
singular or plural verb form??
The class is taking an exam. (The class is doing this [as a group].)
The class are taking an exam. (The class [members] are doing this.)
Our course faculty (is/are) working on a textbook on Scientific Writing.
The staff at the bookstore (is/are) reading a book on salesmanship.
Guideline: Choose the singular verb form UNLESS "the group
members" (plural) is clearly what is meant.
Our faculty [list] IS very large.
Our faculty [members] ARE good at both research and teaching.
A group of collective thoughts
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67. "Of" prepositional phrases further confuse the decision for many
singular or plural verb form??
A list of relevant proteins is/are shown in Table 1.
A stream of electrons pass/passes through the detection chamber.
A box of cookies is/are on my desk.
The Table of Contents is/are usually at the beginning of a book.
The subject of the sentence, NOT the object of the preposition,
determines the verb form.
even though the object of the preposition is immediately before the
verb
Pay attention for these, think carefully, make rational decisions
The singular verb form is always grammatically correct.
But the plural form may not be "wrong" in specific cases.
A group of collective thoughts
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68. Using a preposition to end a sentence with (!)
Some now think this is too hard to deal with and is "OK"
"AT2-R is only one of the receptors that AngII binds to."
"AT2-R is only one of the receptors to which AngII binds."
I still follow this rule in writing, not so much in normal speech.
Split infinitives
This is supposed to be an absolute no-no!
"To more definitively demonstrate this mechanism…."
"To demonstrate this mechanism more definitively…"
This one has never bothered me.
But it's clearly wrong!
And it's pretty easy to fix.
#13. Other good old grammar rules
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69. Tips for Better Writing
Build skills
Composition, grammar
Read medical literature
Training
Medical writing certification
Statistics
Networking
American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)
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