Plain English for doctors and other medical scientists

233 Pages·2017·1.834 MB·English

by  Daly, David, Daly, Gertrude, Linares, Oscar

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Plain English for Doctors
and Other Medical Scientists
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Plain English for Doctors
and Other Medical Scientists
OSCAR LINARES, MD
DAVID DALY
GERTRUDE DALY
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Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
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Press in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the
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above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the
address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Linares, Oscar, 1957– author. | Daly, David, 1959– author. |
Daly, Gertrude, 1993– author.
Title: Plain English for doctors and other medical scientists / Oscar Linares,
David Daly, Gertrude Daly.
Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2017] | Includes
bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016041847 | ISBN 9780190654849 (pbk.)
Subjects: | MESH: Medical Writing
Classification: LCC R119 | NLM WZ 345 | DDC 808.06/661—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016041847
This material is not intended to be, and should not be considered, a substitute for medical or
other professional advice. Treatment for the conditions described in this material is highly
dependent on the individual circumstances. And, while this material is designed to offer
accurate information with respect to the subject matter covered and to be current as of the
time it was written, research and knowledge about medical and health issues is constantly
evolving and dose schedules for medications are being revised continually, with new side effects
recognized and accounted for regularly. Readers must therefore always check the product
information and clinical procedures with the most up- to- date published product information
and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety
regulation. The publisher and the authors make no representations or warranties to readers,
express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of this material. Without limiting
the foregoing, the publisher and the authors make no representations or warranties as to
the accuracy or efficacy of the drug dosages mentioned in the material. The authors and the
publisher do not accept, and expressly disclaim, any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk
that may be claimed or incurred as a consequence of the use and/ or application of any of the
contents of this material.
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Printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada
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We dedicate this book to the doctors and other medical scientists who write. They
strive to make the world a better place by writing about new ways to understand,
prevent, treat and cure disease.
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CONTENTS
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
Introduction
1
A. WHY BOTHER TO WRITE IN PLAIN ENGLISH? 1
B. WHAT DO WE MEAN BY PLAIN ENGLISH? 4
C. MEDICUS INCOMPREHENSIBILIS 6
D. USING THE TIPS IN YOUR WRITING 7
E. NOTES ON THE EXERCISES 10
CONCEPT 1   ■  TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR READING EASE SCORE
A. FLESCH READING EASE AND FLESCH- KINCAID GRADE LEVEL TESTS 13
B. WSEG SCORES— HOW WE TRACK KEY READING EASE DATA 15
1. Use normal sentence length
CHAPTER  19
A. KEEP SENTENCE LENGTH 15 WORDS AVERAGE, 25 WORDS MAXIMUM 19
B. KEEP THE SUBJECT AND VERB CLOSE TOGETHER IN THE FIRST SEVEN
OR EIGHT WORDS 22
C. PUT THE MAIN POINT FIRST AND THEN GIVE COMMENTARY,
DETAIL OR SUPPORT 23
2. Prefer the short word
CHAPTER  27
A. KEEP ESSENTIAL SCIENTIFIC TERMS; MINIMIZE OTHER LONG WORDS 27
B. CITE A COMMON MEDICAL TERM ONCE TO AVOID CONFUSION 29
C. WRITE A COMPOUND WORD TO PROMOTE READING EASE AND SHOW HOW
YOU PRONOUNCE IT 29
D. OMIT ANY UNNECESSARY WORD ENDING 33
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E. AVOID THE NOUN STRING 34
F. DON’T BE AFRAID TO START A SENTENCE WITH AND OR BUT 36
G. AVOID USING A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF LONG WORDS 37
3. Omit any needless word
CHAPTER  41
A. SPOT AND OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS 41
B. OMIT THE NEEDLESS OF 42
C. OMIT THE NEEDLESS THAT 43
CONCEPT 2   ■  USE VIVID LANGUAGE
4. Prefer active voice
CHAPTER  49
A. IDENTIFY ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE 50
B. REVISE PASSIVE INTO ACTIVE VOICE 51
C. WHEN SHOULD YOU USE PASSIVE VOICE? 52
D. MINIMIZE FORMS OF TO BE AND TO HAVE 53
E. IDENTIFY NOMINALIZATION 55
F. CONVERT NOMINALIZATION INTO A VERB IN ACTIVE VOICE 58
5. Prefer concrete language
CHAPTER  61
A. IDENTIFY ABSTRACT AND CONCRETE SUBJECTS 61
B. REVISE ABSTRACT INTO CONCRETE 64
C. USE NOUNS AND VERBS TO CARRY THE WEIGHT OF MEANING 65
D. WRITE IN THE SINGULAR 67
E. TALK IN TERMS OF ONE DOCTOR TREATING ONE PATIENT 69
6. Observe the 1066 principle
CHAPTER  73
A. PREFER THE SHORT WORD TO DESCRIBE THE REAL WORLD 75
B. PREFER ’S TO SHOW REAL- WORLD POSSESSION OR CONNECTION 76
C. USE TERMS CONSISTENTLY; AVOID ELEGANT VARIATION 78
D. AVOID USING A LONG, LATIN WORD TO DESCRIBE THE REAL WORLD 79
7. Statistical analysis of wseg scores
CHAPTER  85
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Contents ix
CONCEPT 3  ■ PRESENT LOGICAL REASONING CLEARLY
8. Organize your narrative in a way that’s helpful for
CHAPTER 
your reader
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A. INTRODUCE AND DEVELOP ONE IDEA IN EACH PARAGRAPH 93
B. PRESENT TWO- DIMENSIONAL DATA IN A TABLE, CHART OR GRAPH 96
9. Choose a clear narrative pathway
CHAPTER  101
A. START WITH THINGS KNOWN 101
B. START BY ANCHORING YOUR DISCUSSION IN THE REAL WORLD 102
C. CHOOSE A GOOD NARRATIVE PATHWAY 103
D. MAKE A SMOOTH TRANSITION BETWEEN CONCRETE AND ABSTRACT 104
10. Forge a strong chain of logical reasoning
CHAPTER  107
A. EXPLAIN EACH STEP OF REASONING 107
B. STATE THE PROBLEM BEFORE YOU SOLVE IT 108
C. SAY IT IN WORDS BEFORE YOU SAY IT IN SYMBOLS 110
Afterword—Can things ever change? 115
Appendix 1. English speakers around the world 117
Appendix 2. Selected excerpts from medical science articles 125
Appendix 3. Exercise key 129
Glossary 201
Resources 205
Index 207