Radiologic Science, Research Project

Tips for Professional Writing

Here are a few best practices in professional writing

• Use present tense
• Be precise--"78% of patients" rather than "a lot of patients"
• Choose professional or technical terminology over layperson language (instead of "flu" write "influenza" for example)
• Spell out acronyms or initials the first time they are used, along with the acronym or initials you are going to use later--for example, "According to the American Society of Radiologic Technicians (ASRT),...". Thereafter you can simply use ASRT.

Health Sciences Writing is Formal

Tips and Guidance

Here is a brief list of skills to practice in your writing:

• Generally avoid first person point of view: (I, me, us, we) unless you are being asked for work that is more personal in nature. 
  • Always avoid 2nd person (you); this is never acceptable.
• Avoid adding redundant modifiers such as "really" and "very". These do not add anything but clutter to your writing. Remember especially, words such as "extraordinary", "significant", "catastrophic"... are already as VERY as they are going to get by definition.
• Avoid "a lot", "good", "bad",... - these are imprecise
  • similarly, when you use an adjective, please give an example of how something is "useful", "helpful", "innovative", "dangerous", "insignificant",... In professional, health sciences writing, leave nothing to your reader's imagination. Be specific, give examples of how it is useful, helpful, innovative, dangerous, insignificant...
• Exclamation points (!) are NEVER appropriate. (Neither is all-caps...)
• For numbers under 10, write out the number with words; two, four, nine. For numbers 10 and over (or numbers less than one - 0.0025), use the digits.
• Avoid the use of contractions in professional writing - change "can't" to "cannot", for example.
• Avoid "The authors say..." Unless you are referencing a video or audio source where authors or researchers are actually speaking, you will want to use phrases such as: "The authors write...," "Johnson and Pak (2016) claim...,"  "Achebe and Nyguen (2017) assert...," etc.
  • Similarly, articles do not "do" anything ("The article states..."). It is the authors/researchers that "do" - "The researchers state..." "The authors contend that..." "Cho and Brownstein (2019) demonstrate..."

The Writing and Tutoring Center

Schedule an appointment or visit us in person to see how our tutors can help you improve your writing in any subject.

• Scheduled, one-on-one sessions: These are appointments you can make up to one week in advance with the tutor of your choice (on a first come, first scheduled basis).
• Group Tutoring: For team projects or several students from the same class.
• Drop-in Tutoring: WTC offers drop-in tutoring in writing.
• Online Tutoring: TCC is a member of the Northwest eTutoring Consortium. Find online help with coursework and find links to Internet resources to assist you in finding your own answers.
• Grammar Corner: The tutors will assist you with a variety of grammar issues. Come with questions about specific kinds of errors or with more general concerns.