Steps towards good medical writing

For good medical writing, one must ensure that messages reach their target audience. To this end, there are a few criteria that must be met.

1) The writing must be understandable. Needless to say, your document must not only be interesting, it must also be understandable. If your editorial content is rather confusing, your audience are likely to stop reading after the first few sentences.

2) The writing must be clear. If your writing is not clear and well-structured, the reader will be distracted or confused. Good medical writers tend to keep their text as simple as possible, without ornamental phrases.

3) The writing must be efficient. Papers that are poorly structured and not well written may be rejected, in spite of their immense clinical relevance.

4) The writing must be logical. To gain the respect of readers within the scientific community, your writing must be logical, accurate, and focused, with the aim to catch and keep the readers’ interest.