Interlude: Reframing Should’s, Grant Templates, and Writing Tips
I've always had a funny feeling about the word "should."
Something about this word feels demanding or obligatory, and that connotation puts me off.
For a while, I would simply replace "should" with "could," but that substitution fell a little flat for me. I thought that there must be something better.
And there is.
I learned that you can reframe the statement in a more supportive way—with encouragement.
For example, you might find yourself saying something like, "You should read this manuscript." But instead, you could say, "I encourage you to read this manuscript."
That feels much better.
Or if you want something a little stronger, you might say, "I recommend that you read this manuscript."
That feels better too.
This reframing is also a great strategy in scientific and medical writing:
Original: Researchers should study whether the gene is associated with heart function.
Revised: We encourage researchers to study whether the gene is associated with heart function.
Original: Health care providers should develop new guidelines to treat Huntington's disease.
Revised: We recommend that health care providers develop new guidelines to treat Huntington's disease.
In addition to this reframing being more encouraging, you are also giving yourself or the research team credit for the suggestion, which is more accurate and persuasive. That's a powerful shift for such a small revision.
So instead of using "should" in your writing (and in life), I encourage you to reframe the statement in a more supportive, accurate, and persuasive way.
Now onto this week's round-up...
💌 Round-up
💻 From My Desk
NIH grant template
Are you tired of wrangling the format of your NIH grant proposals? You're in luck! I created a template that you can use for any NIH grant application. The template has built-in styles that you can customize as you wish—and you can have it for free!
👓 Reading
Write Insider
Write Insider is a twice-monthly newsletter that shares tips, tools, and tactics to help medical writers confidently create content that connects with and educates health professionals. Although the newsletter is framed around continuing medical education, I pull away actionable strategies, insights on emerging trends, valuable frameworks and templates, and even wellness tips. This newsletter is produced by the host of the Write Medicine podcast, which I also recommend adding to your regular feed.
🎧 Listening
Tips for Scientific Writing
In this podcast episode, Dr. Linda Chu, Scientific Editor for Radiology, discusses her top 10 tips for writing the materials and methods in the Radiology journal. Although she frames the tips around radiology, much of her advice is helpful for any scientific field. You can also read the full article she wrote on the topic.
💬 Quote
"Mastery is not only about getting better at your craft, but also about finding ways to eliminate the obstacles, distractions, and other annoyances that prevent you from working on your craft.
Top performers find ways to spend as much time as possible on what matters and as little time as possible on what doesn't. It is not someone else's responsibility to create the conditions for success.
You have to actively work to eliminate the things that don't matter from your workload. If you haven't figured out how to do that, you haven't mastered your craft." –James Clear
✅ Action
In the draft you are currently working on, use the Find feature of Word to search for the word "should." Then reframe any phrasing that contains "should" to use more supportive language.
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
