Gertrude Daly

Plain English for Doctors shows how to write about medical science in a clear and vivid way. It can help a medical writer at any level, from beginner to veteran, since it gives specific, practical advice. Writing in plain English can help your writing reach a wider audience, including people in other specialties, levels of training, other fields, and other countries around the world.

This book shows how to keep good science but avoid complex grammar. It describes the symptoms of medicus incomprehensibilis, those over-used writing habits that tend to make medical writing hard to read. It shows how to treat each symptom using a proven plain English writing tip. Each tip is easy to apply and comes with exercises. The exercises are based on excerpts from articles published in leading medical journals. Model revisions vastly improve reading ease and grade level.

This book is a must for anyone who writes about medical science. The ability to express complex ideas in simple language is not a remedial skill. Rather, it can only be seen as a sign of mastery.

Gertrude co-authored this book with David T. Daly & Oscar A. Linares, MD. (Oxford University Press, 2017)