How can you balance clarity and concision when editing medical research?

1 Understand your purpose

Before you start editing, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your paper. What is your main research question, hypothesis, or objective? What is your contribution to the existing literature or practice? Who are you writing for and what do they need to know? By answering these questions, you can focus your paper on the most relevant and important information, and avoid unnecessary or irrelevant details. You can also use your purpose as a guide to structure your paper logically and coherently, and to create a strong and concise title and abstract.

2 Simplify your language

Medical research can involve complex concepts, methods, and terminology that can be difficult to comprehend for those without expertise or even for peers. To make your paper more understandable and readable, you should strive to simplify your language without compromising the accuracy or precision of your message. This can be done by utilizing short and simple words in place of long and obscure ones (e.g., use "use" instead of "utilize", "show" instead of "demonstrate", and "cause" instead of "elicit"). Additionally, active voice should be used instead of passive voice, unless you want to emphasize the action rather than the agent (e.g., use "We measured the blood pressure" instead of "The blood pressure was measured"). Verbs should also be employed over nominalizations, which are nouns derived from verbs (e.g., use "We analyzed the data" instead of "We performed an analysis of the data"). Moreover, jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations that are not widely known or defined in your paper should be avoided; if you must use them, explain them the first time they appear and include a glossary if necessary.

3 Eliminate redundancy

To achieve concision in your paper, you should eliminate any redundancy, which is the repetition of information that does not add value or meaning. This can take the form of using synonyms or near-synonyms in the same sentence, stating the obvious, repeating the same information in different sections, or using modifiers or qualifiers that do not change the meaning. Scan your paper for words, phrases, or sentences that do not contribute to your main point or argument and delete or replace them with more concise alternatives. Doing so will help you ensure that your paper is concise and clear.