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Welcome to "How to Write Medical and Scientific Papers"

designed to help you improve your medical and scientific writing.

You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to it.  If you feel that you are receiving it in error, please see unsubscribe instructions at the end of this email.

How to Write Medical and Scientific Papers

ISSN: 1528-7920

Volume 5, Issue 1                          January 14, 2003

By Thomas A. Buckingham, MD  

Contents:

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*** Sponsor

*** Lectures and Seminars on Medical Writing

*** Course in Brussels March 19-20, 2003

*** Writing Services

*** New Book on Medical Writing

*** Advertise in this Newsletter

*** Feature Article: Elementary Principles of Composition

*** Article Submissions Welcome

*** Sponsor

*** Book Review: FDA, Inside and Out

*** Selected Links

*** On Our Web Site

*** Recommend this Newsletter to your Colleagues

*** Suggestions & Comments

*** About the Author

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*** Sponsor

 

Want to receive your own issue of Science each week, full-text access to Science Online, online access to research weeks before it appears in print, and complete archives of every issue since 1880?  Join AAAS today to get all this and many other exclusive benefits with this special offer to new members only.  Contact Lauri Sirois at 202-326-6418 for more information, or join online at promo.aaas.org/getscience/

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*** Lectures and Seminars on Writing

 

I am available on a limited basis for lectures or seminars on medical and scientific writing at your center or next conference.  Topics include How to Write and Publish a Scientific or Medical Paper, Effective Writing, and Increasing Publication Output.  Click http://www.lifescipub.com/lectures.htm or contact review@lifescipub.com for more information. 

 

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*** Medical Writing Course in Brussels March 19-20, 2003

 

I will be giving a course on Medical Writing Strategy and on How to Write a Medical Paper in Brussels at the 22nd International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine.  For more info on this conference, see

http://www.intensive.org/main.html

 

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*** Writing Services for Scientists, Clinicians and Industry

Complete medical writing and editing services are available for scientists, clinicians and industry from Life Sciences Publishing. Comment from a client, “Thank you for your editing. I finished revising my paper. Your work helped me greatly and the comments were to the point.”

For more details see: http://www.lifescipub.com

 

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*** New Book on Medical Writing now Available!

 

 

My E-Book on How to Write Medical and Scientific Papers is now available.  The trial version can be downloaded from our web page and includes complete information on writing medical papers, strategies for your scientific career, book and software reviews, and much more!  Go to

http://www.lifescipub.com/e-book.htm

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*** Advertise in this Newsletter

 

Place your advertisement in this newsletter and reach an exclusive and distinguished group of over 6750 physicians and scientists. Please inquire for our media kit at Review@lifescipub.com

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*** Feature Article: Elementary Principles of Composition

The previous issue of this newsletter dealt with Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. If you missed it, you can see it at www.lifescipub.com/newsletter.htm

 

Elementary Principles of Composition

 

Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is a book first published in 1959.  It is a short book and contains timeless information on good writing in English.  First authored by Prof. Strunk, who took pride in making all English writing clear, concise and as short as possible.  His book was no exception, but contains an amazing amount of useful information in a short volume.  The following article is summarized from a chapter in this book.

 

Elementary Principles of Composition

Make the paragraph the unit of composition.  Each paragraph should contain a complete idea.  Paragraphs may be of variable length.  Normally they begin with a sentence that explains the topic of the paragraph or a sentence of transition from the previous paragraph.  After a paragraph is written, you can look at it to see if it would benefit from division into 2 paragraphs with similar or different topics.

Use the active voice.  The habitual use of the active voice makes for forceful writing.  Example:  The operation was performed by the surgeon (Passive voice).  Or: The surgeon performed the operations (Active voice).  This does not mean that the passive voice should be entirely discarded – sometimes it is useful. 

Put statements in a positive form.  In other words, make definite assertions.  Try to avoid colorless, timid, noncommittal language.  (The use of the active voice helps here as well).  To do this, try to avoid using the word “not.”  Instead of “not honest” use “dishonest.”  Placing the negative and positive in opposition can be powerful.  For example, “Not charity, but simple justice.”

Use definite, specific, concrete language.  When you do this, your words will call up pictures in the reader’s mind.  The definite is better than the vague and the concrete better than the abstract. 

Omit needless words.  For example, “there is not doubt that” should be “no doubt” or “doubtless.”  Avoid “the fact that” since it weakens sentences.  “I was unaware of the fact that…”  should be “I was unaware that…”

Use parallel construction to express similar ideas.  Example:  “the French, the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish”  should be “the French, the Italians, the Portuguese, and the Spanish.”

The best place for the words in a sentence that the writer wishes to emphasize is at the end.  The other place to put such words is at the beginning.  Any word, which is not the subject of the sentence, but which is at the beginning, is emphasized.  “Deceit or treachery he could never forgive.”

The book, Elements of Style, has been a help to writers since 1918 and continues to do so.  For more information from Amazon, click here:

Amazon link

 

I wish you success in your scientific writing !!

 

 

*** Sponsor

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- Starting at 9 ¢ per minute with 6 second increments

 Click here: www.telcan.net

 

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*** Book Review: FDA, Inside and Out

 

FDA: Inside and Out

Fast Horse Press; (May 5, 2001)

By S. Parisian, MD

 

This is a book written about the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the US government agency that regulates the sale and marketing of drugs and medical devices in the US.  The physician author has a unique perspective, because she worked as a medical officer in the FDA for many years and was promoted to Chief Medical Officer. 

She has written a large reference book of some 667 pages with 24 chapters covering such topics as the entire FDA as one entity, the overall process of product regulation, and evaluation of clinical trials. This are discussions of such wide-ranging issues as patient treatment," off-label "use of prescription drugs, veterinary products, vaccines, food safety, genetic engineering, cosmetics, testing of military personnel, informed consent, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), Investigational Device Exemption (IDE), premarketing approval, clinical investigator responsibilities, clinical investigation design, clinical trial pitfalls, informed consent requirements, and much more.  The author provides an organizational map of the agency, its requirements and procedures, and explains the implications for medical practice, manufacturing, and marketing. The book offers an unparalleled inside view of the FDA and how it makes decisions.  The book includes a good index and an overview of the history of the FDA.  On the negative side, the book had almost no figures and could have benefited from the inclusion of illustrations, diagrams and more tables. 

This book will be of great value to a variety of individuals and organizations: medical, science, and law libraries, drug and medical device companies, biotech investors, federal government employees, policymakers, attorneys, hospitals with IRBs conducting clinical research, patient rights and consumer advocate organizations, as well as investigative health, medical and science reporters.  The book is a bit expensive at $289, but if your work involves the FDA, it is a “must-have.”

Click here for more information.

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*** Selected Links for the Medical Writer

PubMed has a new feature and is making several books available online with searchable full-text.  I have been watching this web page for several months and the list of searchable books is steadily growing.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=Books

 

Bratislava Medical Journal now available online free

Excellent peer-reviewed general medical journal now available online with full text.  This journal also offers free email notification of the contents of each issue.

Click here: www.bmj.sk

 

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*** On Our Web Site

 

 

We still offer the lowest prices on EndNote and other bibliographic software packages on the website. Endnote academic version 6.0 is now only $99.  Upgrade packages also available! See

http://www.lifescipub.com/software.htm

 

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*** Recommend this Newsletter to your Professional Colleagues

 

Do you find this newsletter helpful?  Then recommend it to your colleagues and friends.  You can do this by forwarding an email copy of this newsletter to them.  Instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing are at the end of each issue.

 

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*** Suggestions & Comments

Please send us your suggestions and comments on this newsletter by email to Review@lifescipub.com . If you have a topic that you would like included in future issues, please let us know.

You may subscribe to this free newsletter (delivered by email) or you may view past issues by visiting our web site at www.lifescipub.com/newsletter.htm . You may forward a copy of this newsletter to any of your colleagues if you wish, but you must forward the complete newsletter keeping the copyright notice and subscribe/unsubscribe instructions at the end intact. Syndication arrangements are also possible.

Advertisers and potential partners, please contact us at
Review@lifescipub.com .
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*** About the Author

Thomas Buckingham, MD is a cardiologist with over 18 years
experience in academic medicine in the United States and Europe. He has published over 60 papers in numerous medical journals and has served as an editor and journal reviewer for over 15 years. He is the chief editor of Life Sciences Publishing, a medical editing and writing service for the medical industry, physicians and scientists. More information about Life Sciences Publishing can be obtained at www.lifescipub.com, by emailing TABuckingham@csi.com , or voicemail/fax at 1-508-256-0296 in the US.

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©2003 Thomas A. Buckingham, MD, All rights reserved.

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