{"id":1244,"date":"2016-02-12T20:45:17","date_gmt":"2016-02-12T19:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/adc\/?p=1244"},"modified":"2016-02-12T22:26:22","modified_gmt":"2016-02-12T21:26:22","slug":"practical-authorship-what-not-to-do-when-writing-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/adc\/2016\/02\/12\/practical-authorship-what-not-to-do-when-writing-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical Authorship: What not to do when writing, 2."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Quill_pen\"What not to do when writing?<\/p>\n

Well! Where should I start? \u00a0(actually, I already have – check out the previous post where I covered loads of really good stuff like how to talk about people and things and punctuation and irritants generally<\/a>.)*<\/p>\n

Here I’m\u00a0going to talk about the use of mathematical symbols, abbreviations and quote marks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Use mathematical symbols very, very sparingly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re writing in a table or an abstract, the symbols <, >, =, +, -, and variations thereon should be written out in full. \u00a0The symbol is shorthand, and it jars the reader out of the reading – they need to make a further effort to translate what they\u2019re reading. \u00a0The phrase \u201cchildren under\u00a0five years\u201d is much easier for the reader than \u201cchildren <5 years\u201d. \u00a0You might even treat the reader to \u201cchildren younger than five years\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use abbreviations very, very sparingly. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many abbreviations are ambiguous, are region specific and so confuse international readers, or are simply unnecessary. \u00a0If you\u2019re in the UK, you know what FBC means, but in the US it is CBC. \u00a0However, you will probably be quite comfortable with the abbreviations UK and US. \u00a0When you\u2019ve finished writing, look carefully at your abbreviations and think: \u00a0Is the meaning obscured? \u00a0Does this look like I sneezed over my keyboard while pressing caps lock? \u00a0And most importantly, do I define the abbreviation the first time I use it, at the end of the paper, and in each figure, box and table where I reuse it outside the flow of the text? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Incidentally, a BM, which is a derivation of a trade name used to mean blood sugar estimation in the UK, is, in many parts of the world, a bowel motion. \u00a0This certainly obscures the meaning on ward rounds. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Certain other abbreviations can also be done away with. \u00a0Both eg and ie can be replaced, and it might be argued that other abbreviations of latin – NB, etc – could be worked around.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quote marks are for quotes, or for when you\u2019re veering into euphemism or colloquialism. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example: \u00a0<<She grabbed hold of his \u201cold man\u201d>> implies that the old man in question may be, for example, the way that they locally refer to the male parent. \u00a0Quote marks are not for emphasis, or for the introduction of a term or phrase that\u2019s not been used before. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’m sure you’ve got other things that annoy you in writing. \u00a0Please let me know what they are.<\/p>\n