They say that good things come in small packages, and this 76-page book is an excellent illustration of that saying. Veteran Japanese-English translator and medical writer/educator Lee Seaman has teamed up with internationally renowned medical writer and communications consultant Tom Lang and three other collaborators to produce International Medical Writing: English for a Global Audience (Japanese title, 世界に通じるメディカルライティング―ネイティブライターが伝授する3Cs English). The book is in English, with Japanese translations of section titles and selected key points, and not only does it talk the talk, but it also walks the walk.
In the opening chapter, the authors introduce the concept of “3Cs English”: to be effective, our writing must be clear, concise, and coherent. They then present 12 tips, or “edits”, which writers should use to write more clearly, concisely, and coherently, giving before and after snapshots to guide the reader. One example of these edits: Use a “given-new” edit to connect your ideas and make your writing smoother. The following chapter expands this advice further, showing original, revised, and refined sentences, and adding helpful commentary on each.
The last chapter has useful advice on publication, the final stage of the research process. Tom Lang on preparing scientific articles for publication, Mary Shibuya on submitting manuscripts, and Edward Barroga and Raoul Breugelmans on responding to reviewers.
Who will benefit from this book? Researchers writing manuscripts or other documents in English as their second language, medical or technical writers starting out in their careers or established writers who want to give their writing a kick, and translators working into English in the medical field.
Congratulations to Lee and Tom on putting together a handy manual for helping medical writers improve their work!
Details:
International Medical Writing: English for a Global Audience
世界に通じるメディカルライティング―ネイティブライターが伝授する3Cs English
By Lee Seaman and Tom Lang
Published on April 25, 2019 by Life Science Publishing
Price: 2,200 yen plus tax (I bought my copy from Maruzen; also available online)