Helpful Hints for Better Medical Writing in English

These materials are drawn from International Medical Writing: English for a Global Audience (Seaman & Lang). They summarize some of the fastest ways to make medical English clearer and more effective.

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Essential Edits

Short PDFs covering the basics of each edit, formatted for reading on a smartphone. New edits are added monthly.

1

Prefer shorter sentences.

Keep grammar simple; aim for about 25 words.

2

Keep the verb close to the subject.

Don't make the reader hunt for it.

3

Avoid empty words.

Cut "there is," "it was," and other unnecessary words.

4

Prefer the active voice.

Name who did what, in natural order.

5

Be careful with the passive voice.

Use it when the doer is obvious or unimportant.

Mini-essays from Lee on Using AI Effectively

Why judgment, not fluency, is now the scarce skill in pharmaceutical English.

New edits are added monthly.