About Tim Albert Training

Effective writing for
healthcare professionals
Dorking, UK

This article appeared in the Autumn 1995 edition of Short Words, the newsletter of Tim Albert Training. It was written by Tim Albert.

Science writing: it's not scientific

If science is objective, clear, precise and repeatable, then the way it is written often breaks those rules.

Take the convention that scientists must use the passive voice. But, 'The questionnaire was administered' leaves out an important slice of information that could conceivably affect the results.

Take also the tendency to use long abstract words rather than short concrete ones. Boys can no longer be 'boys', but become 'male paediatric patients'. The sentence 'malnutrition adversely affects survival among young adults' may have an important ring to it, but what does it mean? Pomposity may make scientists feel clever, but it leads to imprecision.

Meaningless phrases abound. 'The data suggest' is not accurate. Data show and writers suggest. Sometimes the wording becomes cowardly, as in 'It is recommended that...' Is it, or is it not, and by whom?

One researcher wrote that 'The doctors did not have to change from laparoscopy to laparotomy'. The professor altered it into proper science-speak: 'There were no conversions during surgery'. Rugby union or Roman Catholic?

Old habits die hard, perhaps because of the feeling that complexity and verbosity mean intelligence. In fact the opposite is true. Good writing is clear, simple and economic. All the virtues of science, in fact.

Back to Short Words