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Appendix
11.1
Scientific Writing Rules at a Glance
TOPIC RULES Scientific communication Successful communication in science involves clarity and simplicity, short sentences, transparency, and consistency. Biomedical communicators and scientific writers do not need to “dumb down” scientific writing or omit technical terms to write plainly and clearly. However, they do need to define or explain terms that their audiences may not recognize. They also need to write logically, building from what information the reader knows to what new information the reader will learn in the article. Quantity can never replace quality of our scientific message, nor can it mask any vagueness we may have because of an incomplete understanding of the concepts. Spelling
Misspelled words in sciences distract and annoy the reader. The credibility of your work hinges on the proper use of the language. Every document that leaves the writer‘s desk must have undergone careful screening for spelling errors, both by the author/editor and the spell checker. A mixture of American and British spelling within any one document is both confusing and annoying to the reader. If you have the choice, use either American or British spelling, but do so consistently. Keep your target audience in mind (European versus international). If language requirements are defined (e.g., company-internal conventions, journal house style, publishers’ requirements), use the given spelling rules consistently. (continued)
S.M. Rogers, Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-39446-1_11, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
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86 TOPIC Punctuation
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Appendix
RULES Do not hyphenate Latin expressions or non–English-language phrases used in an adjectival sense, e.g., in vivo experiments, a priori argument. In the text, do not use hyphens to express a range (e.g., 10% to 20% of the substance), except if the range expresses fiscal years or life spans (e.g., the 1975–1982 data set) or if the range is given in parentheses (e.g., mean age was 22 years; [range, 11–32 years]). Do not hyphenate modifiers in which the second element is a number or letter, e.g., type 2 diabetes, grade A material. Divide words only if necessary, and divide them correctly. Never use contractions in medical, scientific, technical, or other professional texts. Use nonbreaking spaces and hyphens to avoid inappropriate separation of terms.
Shortened word forms
Define abbreviations the first time they appear. Subsequently, use the abbreviation rather than the full term. Avoid abbreviations in titles and abstracts, as well as at the beginning of a sentence (unless the full term is cumbersome or excessively lengthy). Use a glossary of abbreviations (unless this is not encouraged by the journal to which you wish to submit your paper). Use units of measurement consistently (e.g., ml or mL). Use the same abbreviations for the singular and plural forms (e.g., 1 mL, 10 mL; 1 h, 3 h; 1 cm, 50 cm). Use capitals and no periods (full stops) for acronyms and initialisms. Exceptions ar
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