15 Errors In Scientific Writing & How To Fix Them

For people with current or future careers in academia, medical writing, medical editing, copyediting, or copywriting

What you'll learn

Communicate scientific findings in an error-free manner

Requirements

Just a laptop and English language proficiency

Description

Hello! This course is 15 Errors in Scientific Writing and How to Fix Them. I’m Dr. Emma Nichols, a long-time medical writer. I’ve collaborated with medical writer Dr. Jessica Martin to bring you this course so you can eliminate some of the common errors in your scientific, academic, or medical writing and earn the trust of your readers, which is so important in this field. If you are a researcher or clinician, you may think that the science is the most important part of what you do. But writing up your results and communicating them in an error-free way is just as important.  Alternatively, if you're a copyeditor or copywriter, you may find writing about and editing science intimidating. However, editing and proofreading medical and scientific writing is a great way to boost your income in this growing and in-demand field. Don't shy away from these opportunities! Instead, take this course so that you can begin to learn the conventions and common errors in medical and scientific writing, and find the high-paying clients that you have been looking for!By eliminating these 15 errors in your scientific and medical writing, you will create a great first impression.In this course, the 15 most common errors are broken up into three categories:Grammar. In this section, we will discuss verb tense. When should you write in the present tense? When should you write in the past tense? We will also discuss nouns that are always plural, such as data, and how to use verbs that agree in number. We will talk about proper hyphenation, which is frequently a struggle for writers who are not used to the many compound adjectives and phrases used in science writing.Style mistakes. Mistakes in style are things like inconsistent word or abbreviation usage, incorrect comparisons, and sentence set-up.Misused words. Some misused words that we discuss are applicable to all types of writing (such "that" versus "which" and "ie" versus "eg") and some are specific to science writing, like the use of the word “significant.” And, importantly, this section includes a lesson on person-first language to ensure your scientific and medical writing is sensitive to all people.Perhaps you are…a researcher, academic, scientist, professor, or doctor who struggles to write in an error-free manner, resulting in manuscript rejections or revisions that focus more on the writing style than the substance of your work.already a skilled writer, but not so familiar with the quirks that come along with science writing; this course will make your writing the best it can be.a freelance copyeditor or copywriter and want to expand your clientele to include more lucrative and profitable scientific and medical jobsAll you need is high school-level English and English language proficiency to get started and, of course, a need or desire to use that writing in a scientific or medical arena. Just click on the link to enroll! Thank you so much!

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 Course Structure

Section 2: Grammar Errors

Lecture 3 Error 1 (Part 1) - Verb Tense Errors

Lecture 4 Error 1 (Part 2) - Verb Tense Errors

Lecture 5 Error 2 - Covert Plurals

Lecture 6 Error 3 - Hyphenation Errors

Lecture 7 Error 4 - Capitalization Errors

Section 3: Style Errors

Lecture 8 Error 5 - Abbreviations

Lecture 9 Error 6 - Possessives

Lecture 10 Error 7 - Comparisons

Lecture 11 Error 8 - Sentence Set Up

Section 4: Word Choice Errors

Lecture 12 Error 9 - Affect and Effect

Lecture 13 Error 10 - Significant

Lecture 14 Error 11 - That/Which/Who

Lecture 15 Error 12 - Prove

Lecture 16 Error 13 - ie or eg

Lecture 17 Error 14 - Fewer/Less

Lecture 18 Error 15 - Medical Words

Anyone who has to write about science or medicine, either their own research or someone else's,Professors, graduate students, researchers, technicians, medical editors, medical writers, copyeditors, copywriters, doctors, physicians, and other healthcare professionals.