The careful writer and the sound of words J Commun Health, Robert E. A short summary of this paper. The careful writer and the sound of words. Journal of Community Health Vol. Bjork, Ph. Editors and scientists are a beleaguered lot, and each group sometimes puts trying, seemingly unreasonable demands on the other. Editors, concerned with the quality of the journal they produce, want clarity and economy in the manuscripts they receive, and scientists, concerned with the quality of their research, want to spend all their time doing it.
While the work submitted to the Journal of CommunityHealth is of very high caliber in the second regard, it often falls short in the first; the writing frequently obscures rather than enhances the article. What follows, then, I hope should help us all: a quick refresher course for scientists who want to write well but have little time to improve their skills.
Scientific writing generally, and the manuscripts submitted to the Journal of CommunityHealth specifically, have three major problems--structural, logical, and stylistic--which can be systematically isolated and overcome.
The structure of the scientific article itself helps create the first problem because of the conventional form such articles must take. The exostructure [Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion] makes m a n y writers falsely believe that if they organize their material well, " t h e paper will virtually write itself.
An article's separate sections, however, like the whole of an expository essay, paragraph, or sentence, have inherently logical and rhetorical structures that you cannot violate. We may take the following early draft of a paragraph as an example of what happens when you do: This report presents a study conducted by the Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
The set of equations that makes up this computer system comprises an analytical framework for the examination of the relationships between the distribution of services produced under a given N H I proposal and the various components of a given QAS. The result of this analysis is restricted by the scope of the contract to the administrative costs associated with QAS. Therefore, neither this report nor the computer system developed in this project addresses the issue of the impact of a QAS on the mix of services produced by a given N H I proposal.
The focus here is on the relative costs of Dr. The emphasis of this report is to demonstrate the capabilities of the computer system rather than to do a detailed analysis of its application. The uninitiated layman would read this passage humbly and conclude that he will never understand the mysteries of science and technology.
Yet even the initiated would have trouble since bad writing, not complex thought, creates the essential difficulty: the author forces the reader to do the work he should have done himself. If we examine the paragraph sentence by sentence we find no controlling concept that could shape the separate ideas and make the most important of them stand out.
Since all the sentences have approximately the same length and structure, all seem to have approximately the same importance. What can we do? For a start, we can number the sentences and paraphrase each as best we can. Amazingly, there are only seven of them: 1. Public Health Section conducted a study. It developed a computer system for analyzing QAS costs. The system's set of equations provides a framework for examining the relationships between N H I distribution of services and components of a QAS.
The contract agreement limits the results of the project. It focuses on relative costs, not effectiveness. The report emphasizes the system's capabilities. In this skeletal state, the paragraph seems to have only two prominent parts 3 and 7 , with a third 4 making a pretty good showing.
If we combine or shorten the other four sentences, we can give them appropriate weight and subordinate them to the paragraph's main points. Public Health Section conducted a study to develop a computer system. The system's set of equations provides a framework for examining the relationship between N H I distribution of services and the components of a QAS. Bjork 4. The study focuses on costs, not effectiveness, and does not deal with the impact of a QAS on the mix of N H I services.
Solving the first structural problem tightens up the writing, but the paragraph still has serious flaws. And so comes the second problem: scientists often omit transitions between sentences and between paragraphs, thus creating a series of logically arranged but disconnected facts. There are simple cures for this problem, but you take the first step in solving it by continually asking yourself whether you have demonstrated the p r e c i s e relationship--causative, adversative, consequential--between your thoughts.
You must, in other words, make certain that every facet of your paragraph or essay has demonstrable importance for every other part. This collection of his essays shows both profound scholarship and sharp wit. The essays cover subjects as wide-ranging as learning to write, style, persuasion, contractual and legislative drafting, grammar, lexicography, writing in law school, writing in law practice, judicial writing, and all the literature relating to these diverse subjects.
This clear, well-written guide is an ideal supplement to the original texts he recommends at the beginning of each chapter. Author : Jo A. Garner explains the nuances of grammar and vocabulary with thoroughness, finesse, and wit. He discourages whatever is slovenly, pretentious, or pedantic.
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Works cited bernstein, tom m. New York: Atheneum, College Bound Seniors. AuthorPrinceton: College. The Careful Writer. The careful writer : a modern guide to English usage Item Preview The careful writer book by theodore m.
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