Scientific Medical Writing in Practice: How to Succeed the Writing Style?

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Published Jun 19, 2019
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Vol. 97 No. 2 (2019): Issue Feb 2019

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Helmi Ben Saad

Abstract

The quality of an original scientific article depends, in addition to the relevance of the subject and the validity of the method, on the conformity to the principles of the scientific medical writing (SMW) with regard to both structure and style. For the structure, the IMR@D® plan (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and citationsRaws) is often used. For the style, the C2PS rule (concise, clear, precise and simple) is essential. This paper provides tips / recommendations for authors considering submitting an original scientific paper for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The following points were addressed: concision, clarity, precision, simple writing, passive voice, use of the first person, specificity of scientific medical English, strength of verbs in the SMW, Latin terminology, ethics of the SMW, recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals.

Keywords:

ICMJE, manuscript, medical journal; passive voice, word order

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