Naveed Saleh, MD, MS

Grand Rounds presentation at the American Medical Student Association in October 2010

“The average medical student today does not have the ability to express himself clearly and concisely in writing.”

-Dean F. Smiley, Editor, Journal of Medical Education, 1957

BA from Cornell

Wayne State SOM

Residency

MSTJR at TAMU

Freelance writer and editor

Purpose

Audience ◦ Public

◦ Policymakers

◦ Consumers

◦ Researchers

◦ So forth

Setting

Topic

How will this document change the world?

What do you want to achieve? (What do others want you to achieve?)

What behaviors do you want to elicit from your readers?

Writing for your peers-”scientific” writing

Writing for the public-news, features and commentary

Grant proposals Case reports Abstracts Systematic reviews and review articles Journal articles Book chapters Poster presentation Grand rounds presentations and morning

report Applied writing/technical writing

News stories◦ Breaking news

◦ News analyses

◦ News briefs

◦ Investigative stories

◦ Obituaries

Feature stories◦ Profiles

◦ Explanatory stories

◦ Perspective stories

◦ Historical stories

◦ Series features

◦ Narratives

Commentary◦ Columns

◦ Essays

◦ Blogs

Facilitates understanding by peers and the public

Helps those outside your specialty to understand◦ Researchers

◦ Journalists

◦ Policy makers

Rapport-building

Minimizes misinterpretation and editorial distortion

Clarifies your own thinking

Other

The key to good writing is revision

Write, revise, write, revise …

Content, organization, and clarity

Anticipate your editor – 5 C’s◦ Clear

◦ Correct

◦ Concise

◦ Comprehensible

◦ Consistent

◦ (Courtesy)

Verb tenses Prepositions Articles Sentence structure Sentence length Word usage Word choice Vocabulary Allusions Alliteration and consonance Tempo Humor and irony

I ascribe to a well-accepted style but I have my own voice

ACS Style Guide (American Chemical Society) Scientific Style and Format (Council of ScienceEditors) The Chicago Manual of Style Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association AMA Manual of Style AP Stylebook Classic texts: Fowler’s English Usage and

Strunk & White

Make the structure clear at a glance:◦ Headings

◦ Bullets

◦ White space

Avoid very long paragraphs and sentences

Minimize use of jargon-PRN, PO, CVA, MVA, GSW and LTCS

Remember to define unfamiliar terms

Minimize use of abbreviations and acronyms-if you use them, define them

In formal writing avoid “etc.,” “i.e.,” “vs.” and “e.g.”

Write simply and concisely:

Use simple, common words◦ “attempt” instead of “endeavor”◦ “use” instead of “utilize”

Delete needless words◦ “red in color”◦ “totally destroyed”

Condense wordy phrases ◦ “if” instead of “in the event that”

Use verbs, not nouns made from them◦ “relieve” instead of “produce relief of”◦ “explain” instead of “provide an explanation”

Progressive tense◦ “The carousel is turning quickly.”◦ “The horses were bobbing up and down.”◦ “The children will be laughing from the thrill.”

Passive voice◦ Object in the subject position and subject in the

object position◦ “The lamp post was hit by the car.”

Subjunctive◦ Expresses uncertainty:

desire, prediction, supposition, wish, etc.◦ “If I were a rock star, I would be happy.”

Each, every, only, none are singular

But think about the nature of the subject

“None of the players is eligible for the draft.”

Use “at” for specific addresses

Use “on” for days and dates

Use “in” for nonspecific times during a day, month, season or year

“She works at 104 South Street in Dallas.”

“The White House is on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.”

Check the dictionary for which prepositions to use after certain verbs◦ “Approval of, awareness of … “

Semicolon◦ Two closely related ideas: “I went to the funeral; I am sad.”◦ Series with much internal punctuation: “He needs 3 sets of items:

a glove, ball and tee; a pen, pencil and notebook; and a fork, spoon and bowl.”

Ellipses “ … “ Serial comma (Oxford comma) Minimize use of exclamation points Italics instead of bold or underline Hyphen (en-dash)

◦ a hard-fought battle◦ a minimally impressive return (no hyphen)

My name is Naveed Saleh, M.D., and I’m a writer. My name is Naveed Saleh M.D. and I’m a writer. (preferred)

“that” and “which”

“whether” and “if”

“fewer” and “less than”

“between” and “among”

“Over” and “more than”

“Different from” not “different than”

No need to spell out numbers

Adverb placement leads to different meanings◦ “I am only happy if you receive my package” or “I am

happy only if you receive my package”

“Continuous” versus “continual”

“Preventive” and “preventative”

“Adherence” and “compliance”

“STDs” and “STIs”

“Osteopathic medicine” and “osteopathy”

“Patient with mental illness” instead of “a mentally ill patient”

The Copyeditor’s Handbook by Amy EinsohnHow to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper by

Robert Day and Barbara GastelEditing and Publication: A Training Manual by

Ian MontagnesHow to Write, Publish, and Present in the

Health Sciences by Tom LangThe New York Times Reader: Health and

Medicine by Tom Linden