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The Elements of Style and the Survey of Ophthalmology
SURVEY OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
VOLUME 57 NUMBER 6 NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2012
EDITORIAL
The Elements of Style and the Survey of Ophthalmology
In 1918, Cornell English professor William Strunk, Jr., published The Elements of Style, a short book on composition that became a classic. Although he has his detractors, Strunk offers guidelines that writers of reviews for the Survey would do well to follow. Two of his rules are particularly relevant. The examples are mine. Rule 11. Use the active voice. “It is estimated that.” becomes “One estimate is..” “A review of the literature has found.” becomes “We found..” “It has been reported that.” becomes “Jones et al report..” Rule 13. Omit needless words. “The purpose of this review is to.” becomes “We review..” “It should be noted, however, that whereas.” becomes “Although..” “The treatment rationale is treating any underlying systemic disease” becomes “Treat any underlying systemic disease.” Strunk also points out, in a section entitled “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused,” that due to is often incorrectly substituted for because of. Its correct usage is “as predicate or modifier to a particular noun,” for example, “statistical errors due to ascertainment bias.” However in the sense of nevertheless should not begin a sentence. “However, it should be noted that there was very poor agreement among the three techniques” becomes “There was poor agreement, however, among the three techniques.” Very should be used sparingly.
In 1959, Strunk’s student, E.B. White (the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, among other works), expanded the original, with the result that The Elements of Style is now usually referred to as “Strunk and White.” He recommended “whichhunting” because of the frequent use of the nondefining which for the defining that, for example, correctly “These patients may suffer from an impaired blood retinal barrier, which in turn causes vascular dysregulation,” not “We update a previous review which first described.” Another common instance of loose usage is the substitution of can, properly “am (is, are) able,” for may, for example, “After such surgery, complications can arise that require additional interventions.” Authors who send a manuscript to the Survey should expect—in addition to receiving suggestions for content improvement from peer reviewers—an attempt to clarify, and often shorten, their submission. If English is not your native language (and even if it is), consider having a medical editor go over your draft. I have turned down outlines because the language in the cover letter is ungrammatical or stilted, which does not bode well.
John W. Gittinger Jr., MD Editor-in-Chief
497 Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc.
0039-6257/$ - see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.survophthal.2012.08.011
VOLUME 57 NUMBER 6 NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2012
EDITORIAL
The Elements of Style and the Survey of Ophthalmology
In 1918, Cornell English professor William Strunk, Jr., published The Elements of Style, a short book on composition that became a classic. Although he has his detractors, Strunk offers guidelines that writers of reviews for the Survey would do well to follow. Two of his rules are particularly relevant. The examples are mine. Rule 11. Use the active voice. “It is estimated that.” becomes “One estimate is..” “A review of the literature has found.” becomes “We found..” “It has been reported that.” becomes “Jones et al report..” Rule 13. Omit needless words. “The purpose of this review is to.” becomes “We review..” “It should be noted, however, that whereas.” becomes “Although..” “The treatment rationale is treating any underlying systemic disease” becomes “Treat any underlying systemic disease.” Strunk also points out, in a section entitled “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused,” that due to is often incorrectly substituted for because of. Its correct usage is “as predicate or modifier to a particular noun,” for example, “statistical errors due to ascertainment bias.” However in the sense of nevertheless should not begin a sentence. “However, it should be noted that there was very poor agreement among the three techniques” becomes “There was poor agreement, however, among the three techniques.” Very should be used sparingly.
In 1959, Strunk’s student, E.B. White (the author of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, among other works), expanded the original, with the result that The Elements of Style is now usually referred to as “Strunk and White.” He recommended “whichhunting” because of the frequent use of the nondefining which for the defining that, for example, correctly “These patients may suffer from an impaired blood retinal barrier, which in turn causes vascular dysregulation,” not “We update a previous review which first described.” Another common instance of loose usage is the substitution of can, properly “am (is, are) able,” for may, for example, “After such surgery, complications can arise that require additional interventions.” Authors who send a manuscript to the Survey should expect—in addition to receiving suggestions for content improvement from peer reviewers—an attempt to clarify, and often shorten, their submission. If English is not your native language (and even if it is), consider having a medical editor go over your draft. I have turned down outlines because the language in the cover letter is ungrammatical or stilted, which does not bode well.
John W. Gittinger Jr., MD Editor-in-Chief
497 Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc.
0039-6257/$ - see front matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.survophthal.2012.08.011