Writing and Editing Resources

National Institutes of Health

Style Guides

Books about Medical Writing and Research

  • The Accidental Medical Writer by Brian G. Bass and Cynthia L. Kryder
  • Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger
  • Health Literacy from A-Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message by Helen Osborne
  • How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper by Barbara Gastel and Robert Day
  • The Mighty Marketer by Lori De Mitto
  • Targeted Regulatory Writing Techniques: Clinical Documents for Drugs and Biologics by Linda Fossati Wood and Mary Ann Foot
  • Medical English Usage and Abusage by Edith Schwager
  • Writing Science in Plain English by Anne E. Green
  • How to Report Statistics in Medicine: Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers by Thomas A. Lang
  • The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte

Books for Word Nerds

  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
  • The Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists by Arthur Platnik
  • On Writing Well by Robert J. Bank
  • Working with Words: A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors
  • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King 
  • Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
  • The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn
  • Editors on Editing
  • The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark
  • East, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
  • Write Right by Jan Venolia
  • Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies by June Casagrande
  • The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker
  • Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Conner
  • You Are What You Speak by Robert Lane Greene
  • Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer
  • A Writer’s Guide to Powerful Paragraphs by John Walsh
  • The Art of Readable Writing by Rudolf Flesch, PhD
  • Words that Work by Dr. Frank Luntz

Recommended Magazines

  • New Scientist, Annual Fee
  • Stanford Medicine Magazine, Free
  • Hopkins Medicine Magazine, Free
  • NIH Medical Plus, Free
  • Scientific American, Annual Fee
  • Harvard Medicine Magazine, Free

Associations and Societies

  • American Medical Writers Association
  • Association of Health Care Journalists
  • Board of Editors in the Life Sciences
  • Council of Science Editors
  • Drug Information Association
  • Editorial Freelance Association
  • International Society for Medical Publication Professionals
  • National Association of Science Writers
  • Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society
  • Society for Technical Communication
  • Disease–Specific Associations (E.g., American Heart Association)

United States Government Health Departments

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Food and Drug Administration
  • National Institutes for Health
  • Pub Med (a searchable database of medical journal articles)
  • U.S. National Library of Medicine 

Continuing Education Opportunities

  • Johns Hopkins University—Master of Arts, Science and Medical Writing
  • Tufts University School of Medicine—Master of Science in Health Communication
  • University of Minnesota—Professional Master of Arts in Health Communication
  • Georgetown University—Master’s in Public Relations and Corporate Communications
  • Northwestern University—Master of Science in Health Communication

Blogs and Newsletters

  • Health Writer Hub (Career-oriented Blog)
  • Essentials for Medical Writers (Career-oriented Blog)
  • Becker’s Hospital Review (Industry Newsletter)
  • Becker’s Health IT and CIO Report (Health Technology, Niche Newsletter)
  • Becker’s Clinical Leadership and Infection Control (Laboratory, Industry Newsletter)
  • Becker’s CFO Report (Finance, Niche Newsletter)
  • FierceMedTech (Health Technology, Niche Newsletter)
  • FierceLifeSci (General, Industry Newsletter)
  • FierceHealthcare (Healthcare, Industry News)
  • Modern Healthcare (Healthcare, Industry Newsletter)
  • The Skimm (General World News, Newsletter)
  • Daily Finance, Modern Healthcare (Finance, Niche Newsletter)
  • The Pathologist (Pathology, Niche Newsletter)
  • Mayo Clinic Housecall (Healthcare, Lay Industry Newsletter)
  • Mayo Clinic News Network (Healthcare, Research Newsletter)
  • National Institutes of Healthcare (Healthcare Government, News Release Delivery)
  • G2 Intelligence (Laboratory, Industry Newsletter)
  • The New York Times, Science Times (General, Industry Newsletter)