Basics of Writing - Style - Copy

8/9/2019 Basics of Writing - Style - Copy

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The Basics of Writing

1. Before you begin

• What do I have to say?

• Is it worth saying?

• What is the right format for the message?

• Who are the audience for the message?• Where /Should I publish the message?

• How can I best use paper and the web?


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2. The importance of structure

• Structure is everything.


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3. Possible Structures• Beginning, middle, end ! beginning, a muddle, and an

end " #hilip $ar%in&

• 'ell people what you are going to say, say it, tell them

what you said

• (udyard )ipling* I %eep si+ honest serving me, theytaught me all I %new& 'heir names are What and Why

and When, and Ho and Where and Who!"


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3. Possible structures # continued• ews story* Story in the title- story in the first line-

e+pand slightly on the story in the first paragraph- give the

evidence for the story- give the counter view&

• Imra Introduction, methods, results, and discussion&

• Stream of consciousness

• hronology* diary, autobiography


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3. Possible structures continued

• ! list

• Something very formal* for e+ample, sonnet, limeric%,

hai%u

• 0lysses


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$. Still structure

• 1a%e sure that readers %nowwhere they are, where they are

going, and why.


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The basics of riting a paper

%. &'(a)• Introduction "Why did I do it?

• 1ethods "What did I do?

• (esults "What did I find?• iscussion " What might it mean? What is our overall

finding? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the

study in relation to other studies? Why might we have got

different results? What might the study mean, particularly for clinicians or policy makers?

• What questions remain unanswered and what next?


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%. &'(a) *&ntroduction"• Why did we start?

• What has gone before " ? ! systematic review

• Why was this study needed?

• Be sure that readers understand the importance of

the study"but don2t overdo it %eep it short

• on2t try to show readers that you have readeverything

• Short, short, short


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%. &'(a) *'ethods"• $i%e a recipe

• 3or informed readers this is the most important section

• escribe how sub4ects were selected and e+cluded• ont describe standard methods in detail " use references

• Statistics

• 5thics

• (emember that you can put more detailed methods on theweb""for e+ample, 6uestionnaire


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%. &'(a) *)iscussion"

• Statement of principal findings

• Strengths and wea%nesses of the study• Strengths and wea%nesses in relation to other studies,

discussing particularly any differences in results

• 1eaning of the study* possible mechanisms and

implications for clinicians or policyma%ers• 0nanswered 6uestions and future research

• +o easy on the last to


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. Topping and tailing• Title- Include design- ont try to be clever

• bstract- 1ust be structured- Include some

numbers, not all

• (eferences- )eep to the essentials

• /o0ering letter- Something very crisp

• uthorship, acnoledgements,

competing interests


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The rudiments of style

• +eorge rell* 7ood prose is li%e a window

pane.

• Somerset 'augham* 'o write well is as hard as to be good.

• onathan Sift* #roper words in proper places

ma%e the true definition of style.

• 'atthe rnold- 8ave something to say and say

it as clearly as you can. 'hat is the essence of style.


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The rudiments of style &

• Short words

• Short sentences

• Short paragraphs

• o 4argons

• o abbreviations

• #refer nouns and verbs to ad4ectives and adverbs• ut out all clich9s


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The rudiments of style &&

• !void figures of speech and idioms

• #refer active to passive voice

• #refer the concrete to the abstract

• !void the not unblac% cat crossed the not

unwide road

• ont hector

• Be unstuffy


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The rudiments of style &&&

• ont be too chatty

• ont be pleased with yourself

• Be careful with slang

• 0se the scalpel not the sword

'oo many notes, 1o:art.

• !dd a dash of colour, 4ust a dash


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Peer re0ie processes

• !s many processes as 4ournals or grant giving

bodies

• o operational definition""usually implies;e+ternal review<

• Was largely unstudied

• Benefits come from improving what is published rather than sorting the wheat from

the chaff


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Problems ith peer re0ie

• ! lottery

• ! blac% bo+

• ;Ineffective<

• Slow

• 5+pensive

• Biased• 5asily abused

• an=t detect fraud


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Peer re0ie processes

• ;Stand at the top of the stairs with a pile of

papers and throw them down the stairs.

'hose that reach the bottom are published.<

• ;Sort the papers into two piles* those to be

published and those to be re4ected. 'henswap them over.<


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B' peer re0ie process &

• > papers

• @ re4ected by one editor* unoriginal, too specialist,

;so what,< invalid, incomprehensible standardre4ection list&

• A re4ected by two editors

• A sent to one reviewer, who is revealed to the

authors• iscussed at ;minihang<

• @ re4ected by reviewer and editors


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B' peer re0ie process &&

• A accepted as short reports after approval

by statistician

• @ to one of three ;hanging committees<

• ! hanging committee comprises two

practitioners/researchers, one statistician,

and one editor

• C accepted, almost always after revision


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B' peer re0ie process &&&

• !lways willing to consider first appeals""

but must revise the paper, refute criticisms,

not 4ust say the sub4ect is important

• #erhaps AD accepted on appeal

• o second appeals- always ends in tears-

plenty of other 4ournals


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uthorship4contributorship

Who is an author! &• A totally blind haphaard study of the effect of being a !ason on

promotion within medicine

• !. Professor Sir oshua 5ulloftosh, president of the university"(aised the grant, got permission for the study from the 1asons

• B. Professor 'ichael Halfpenny, #ritish American $obacco

professor in the %oint department of respiratory, !asonic, and

imaginary studies" Suggested the idea for the trial before departing fora si+ month sabbatical in the Seychelles and handled the

postpublication media coverage by satellite


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uthorship4contributorship

Who is an author! &&

• . )r lec 5edup, senior lecturer in the department of !asonic

studies" rew up the protocol, wrote the grant proposal, and then died

in mysterious circumstances.

• . Sir Bloated /orpulent, visiting consultant" !llowed his staff to be

entered hapha:ardly into the study

• 5. )r lice Holditalltogether, senior registrar . (an the study,

collected the data and sent them to the statistician, arranged for thewriting up of the study, and negotiated with the editors


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/riteria for authorship of the &nternational

/ommittee of 'edical ournal 7ditors

• !uthorship should be based only on a substantial

contribution to*

• i onception and design or analysis and

interpretation of data and

•ii rafting the article or revising it critically forimportant intellectual content and

• iii 3inal approval of the version to be published.


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Why does authorship matter! &

• !uthorship is about credit and responsibility

• !cademic life revolves around publication " credit

comes from publishing, which implies being anauthor

• #ublication brings fame and the love of beautiful

women

• (esearch evaluation is based on publication

• 7rants depend on/demand publication


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What are the problems ith

authorship!• 'he two basic problems of credit and

accountability

• 1any authors on papers have done little " do notmeet I1F5 criteria

• 7ift authorship

• #eople dont %now about the criteria of authorship

• #eople thin% that the definition is unwor%able

• #eople are left off papers


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ptions for responding to the

problems of authorship

• Status 6uo

•$oosen up the criteria

• 5nforce the I1F5 criteria more strictly

• 'wea% the I1F5 criteria " for instance, allow statisticians

to be included

• Gther ideas""for e+ample, limits on numbers of authors• !bandon the idea of authorship " go for film credits,

contributors with a guarantor


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/ompeting interest

What is conflict of interest!

• ! person has a conflict of interest when he

or she has an attribute that is invisible to the

reader or editor but which may affect his or

her 4udgement.


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/ompeting interest

Why does it matter!

• Because it may have a profound effect on

somebodys 4udgement.

• Because of the perception that a persons

4udgement may be affected""whether it is or

not


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Ho should e manage conflict of

interest!

• Ignore it""unaceptable

• !voidance " hard

• isclosure " to the editor, author, or reader?


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Problems ith conflict of interest

• Should it be 4ust financial or personal, academic, political,

religious, anything?

• #eople dont declare it because a& it implies wic%edness- b&

they are confident that their 4udgement is not affected

• 1ight we avoid these problems by changing conflict of

interest to relevant or competing interests?


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The best policy on competing

interest

• !lways declare a conflict of interest,

particularly one that would embarrass you if

it came out afterwards


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(edundant publication &

• 8appens commonly""perhaps AD of

studies

• egative studies are often not published- positive studies are more li%ely be

published more than once

• istorts what the evidence says


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(edundant publication &&

• 'here is lots of room for arguing over the

degree of overlap and what=s legitimate

• isclosure is the %ey

• !lways send copies of overlapping papers

and reference them

• 'he problem is not the publication but the

lac% of disclosure


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+ood publication practice

• (ead ;7uidelines on good publication

practice< from the ommittee on

#ublication 5thics G#5&

• !vailable free at www.publication

ethics.org.u%


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/P7 guidelines on good publication

practice co0er• Study design and ethical approval

• ata analysis

• !uthorship

• onflicts of interest• #eer review

• (edundant publication

• #lagiarism

• uties of editors• 1edia relations

• !dvertising

• ealing with misconduct, including sanctions


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6ast ad0ice

• )isclosure is almost a panacea.

Fohn Bailar, professor of statistics, 0niversity of hicago

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