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In the active voice, the subject does the acting; in the passive voice, the subject is acted on. In general, authors should use the active voice, except in instances in which the actor is unknown or the interest focuses on what is acted on (as in the following example of passive voice).He was shot in the abdomen and within 10 minutes was brought to the emergency department.If the actor is mentioned in the sentence, the active voice is preferred over the passive voice. ...Less

Use arabic numerals for volume numbers if the work cited includes more than 1 volume, even if the publisher used roman numerals.If the volumes have no separate titles, merely numbers, the number should be given after the general title. 1. US Department of Health and Human Services. Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. Vol 1. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; 2000.If the volumes have separate titles, the title of the volume referred to should be given first, with the title of the overall series of which the volume is a part ...Less

In citing data from a website, include the following elements, if available, in the order shown: Author(s), if given (often, no authors are given). Title of the specific item cited (if none is given, use the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the website. URL [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to publication]. Published [date]. Updated [date]. Accessed [date].As Patrias notes, “the title page is the usual place to look for citation information in a print publication, but no standards have been adopted for the Internet for the content ...Less

Beware of “pluralizing” nouns that cannot stand on their own as plurals.serum samples (not “sera”) urine tests (not “urines”) ...

Typefaces have predetermined spacing between words that is dictated by the point size and width of a typestyle, the darkness or density of the typeface, and the openness or tightness of the letterspacing. For text set ragged right (unjustified), word spacing may be fixed and unchanging. However, for text that is set flush left and flush right (justified), the spacing may need to be more flexible. For justified text, an average word space of a fourth of an em is ideal, with a minimum and maximum range of a fifth of an em to half an em. ...Less

Fictional accounts are not actionable for defamation unless a reasonable reader believes that the story is depicting factual events and can identify the person bringing suit in the story. Humor, satire, and parody may be exempt from defamation suits as long as they are clearly works of fiction., ...Less

Albert T. A-Z of Medical Writing. London, England: BMJ Books; 2000.Day RA, Gastel B. How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper. 6th ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press; 2006.Day RA. Scientific English: A Guide for Scientists and Other Professionals. 2nd ed. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press; 1995.Gordon KE. The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed. New York, NY: Pantheon Books; 1993.Gordon KE. The New Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed. Rev ed. New Haven, CT: Ticknor & Fields; 1993.Huth EJ. Writing and Publishing in ...Less

If the book has been published but there is no year of publication available, use “date unknown” in the place of the year. Use the full year (eg, 2006), not an abbreviated form (eg, not 06 or ’06). ...Less