Medical Editing

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Medical Editing Step-by-Step Guide
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Medical Editing

• Whether you have written a manuscript, thesis, or
  a dissertation, it needs to be edited and
  proofread. You cant publish your research
  without this revision process.
• In fact, good papers always stem from good
  editing.
• But, the biggest dilemma! How easy it is to pick
  up your own mistakes?

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 Medical editing should always comprise of three
passes of your document

• First pass to catch major errors
• Second pass to catch minor errors and
• A final proofread

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1) Conduct a First Pass

• Ensure effective organization
• Check the flow and tone
• Check for grammar and spellings
• Ensure concision
• Check your punctuations
•  Review your citations and references
• Check the figures and tables
• Check the lists and equations
•  Refer to any specific instructions
•  Take notes about the document

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a) Ensure effective organization

• An organized document ensures that the message is
  presented in the most logical and clear way.
• Depending upon the type of document you are
  writing, check whether its properly structured.
• Check each paragraph, headings, and lists. Make
  sure their format follows your required style
  guide.

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b) Check the flow and tone

• Flow and tone are the hardest elements of the
  English language.
• Read out your sentences aloud and you will be
  able to pick up any awkward sentence
  constructions.
• Avoid writing long sentences.

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c) Check for grammar and spellings

• You can use an automatic spell-checker to catch
  these types of problems, but they are not
  perfect.
• You must review your writing word by word to
  ensure that the spellings and grammar are
  perfect.
• Plus, make sure you are consistent in the
  spellings according to the type of English you
  have chosen.

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d) Ensure concision

• Avoid any redundancy in the content.
• If youve already covered a topic, do not write
  about it again.
• Also, make sure that no word is overused or too
  repetitive in your document.

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e) Check your punctuations

• The specific punctuation issues to check are the
  exclamation marks, comma, semicolon, and a full
  stop.
• Consider the conventions of the English language
  to check these.

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f) Review your citations and references

• Cross-check the in-text citations against the
  reference list.
• If you miss out a reference in the list, but have
  cited in the text, add it to the list.
• Check all the author names, years, and add the
  necessary reference information to avoid
  accidental plagiarism.

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g) Check the figures and tables

• If your document includes figures and tables,
  review them and their description in the text.
• Make sure you have mentioned them in the text
  prior to their placement.
• Avoid using acronyms in figures and tables or
  their titles.

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h) Check the lists and equations

• If your document has any lists/ equations, format
  and number them consistently through the document.

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 i) Refer to any specific instructions

• Do you have any specific journal guidelines to
  follow in writing your medical document?  
• If yes, ensure you follow them completely,
  whether its regards to the word count or the
  document format.

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 j) Take notes about the document

• Elaboration of a particular idea
• Clarification of a particular context
• Specifying the subjects in a sentence
• Rearranging/ deleting any sections

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2) Conduct a Second Pass

• In the second pass, review the entire document
  once again, paying attention to the details
  outlined above, especially the clarity and the
  flow.
• Correct any errors you might have missed.

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3) Conduct a Final Proofread

• After the second pass, its time to review the
  whole document for the final time, checking for
  any missed or introduced errors.
• And Voila! You have finished your medical editing
  process and have a document that is ready to
  submit to the journal.

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Conclusion
Medical editing is more of an art and cant be
learnt overnight. Its easy to make mistakes or
skip your own errors in writing, especially if
English is not your first language. If medical
editing is not your cup of tea or you have
deadlines to meet, get it done from a
professional medical editing services. 
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Email ID project_at_cognibrain.com Phone
044-49595223 Visit us https//www.cognibrain.com
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