In scientific writing, semantic accuracy is especially important. Semantic accuracy refers to agreement between an author’s intended meaning and the words that the author uses to express that meaning. Formal composition requires that authors write—and think—with a high degree of accuracy. Scientific understanding cannot be more accurate than the words used to express that understanding.

In your own scientific writing, you’ve probably noticed that over time you’ve become increasingly cognizant of subtle but significant nuances in the meanings of words. The reason you have become more attentive to these subtle nuances is that, unlike oral conversation, your scientific writing enables you to examine the thought processes that that have led to your beliefs and understandings.

As your editor, I’ll be helping you to further refine your awareness of word nuance and appropriateness. This further refinement of your sensitivity to word meaning will result in your writing with increasing accuracy and precision. This refinement will also greatly augment your critical thinking, analytic ability, and synthetic reasoning skills. Your increasing accuracy in word use will in turn lead to deepened understanding of your clinical and scientific fields of interest.