Writing for The Conversation

Explaining terms

Circadian rhythms

from circa meaning around and diem meaning day

George Orwell, Politics and the English Language (1946)

Avoid:

Our brains have an inbuilt 24-hour clock that regulates certain daily processes in our body such as sleeping, following patterns known as circadian rhythms

• Assuming reader's knowledge
• BUT also burying them in context
• Jargon and technical terms
• Acroynyms
• Over-formal or didactic tone
• Rhetorical questions
• Huge sentences, semicolons

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech

which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon

word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything

outright barbarous.

Try to:

Writing for

• Simplify specifics and language - not big ideas
• Explain any specialist terms that can't be left out or worded around
• Cut words ruthlessly
• Use informal tone and even humour
• Read your piece aloud - it's a great way to find weak spots

(and the public in general)

The medical use of charged particles (CPs) such as protons differ from x-rays (which are also perhaps confusingly called photons). CPs deposit energy within peaks along their tracks with no dose beyond the peaks, whereas x-rays release energy more uniformly but inevitably deposit dose in a much wider area of the body when used to treat cancer. The energy density in the CP Bragg peaks exceeds that for x-rays and so greater biological effects occur.

Before:

However, several potential obstacles should be considered on the practicality of using a virtual environment for the assessment and treatment for sex offenders

Before:

A formalised approach to integrating the outcome of prediction models with clearly defined management objectives may help to facilitate an objective discussion of control actions and the information needed to most effectively implement control amid significant logistical constraints.

becomes:

There are several potential obstacles to consider when using virtual environments for assessing and treating for sex offenders

Simplifying language

After:

without

finally:

There are several potential obstacles to consider when using virtual environments to assess and treat sex offenders.

After:

By comparing proposed interventions we can highlight which are expected to save the most lives.

can

Think about your audience

In the absence of =

Has the ability to =

Consequently/therefore/thus =

Located in close proximity to =

However =

so

Intelligent, educated, curious

near

...but not interested in wading through dense, academic prose

but

It's not about 'dumbing down'

...but a generalist reader

doesn'tsee things like a

specialist researcher