Thank you for your interest in writing articles for the Medwiser. We are writing articles for several health related nonprofit websites related to addiction, HIV/AIDS, medical marijuana and sleep disorders. To do this we need your help.
Goal
The purpose of our websites is to provide the public with detailed articles about health that is easily understood. The sources being provided are from sleep medicine textbooks or journal articles. They are meant for professionals, scientists and physicians. We will be writing articles that contain all of the useful content from the sources but will be more readable for users. At this time, there is no need to source any additional content. Your job will simply be to write and edit based on the content you have been provided. The articles we create will be free for anyone to read, copy or reproduce.
What to do: Read, lookup difficult concepts, rewrite, scan, re-write as needed
We will send you an article.
- Re-write the articles (don’t only edit)
- Maintain all details and organization
- Make it readable (easier to understand)
- You may add a brief introduction and summary
- Scan the article on copyscape and using readability analysis tool (see discussion below)
1. Copyscape
We are aiming to have articles that are about 7-10% similar to the original text. To identify the degree of similarity scan it using this link copyscape.com/compare.php. If you are above 10% you need to revise your copy.
2. Readability
Readability can be quantified to a number that represents grade levels required to easily understand content. Our goal for content should be around 11 or 12 or less on a Gunning Fog Index. You should check this by copying and pasting your article onto the following website: http://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp. (The original article will usually be around 16 or 17 using this index.)
What not to do
- Use other sources
- Be concise (we want all of the details)
- Add references/hyperlinks
- Wait until you finish the article to submit
- Post content online somewhere else
- Indent paragraph beginnings
How to do it
Basically, you will start by technically re-writing the articles. The key here is to understand the content. That may require looking up the definition of words or concepts. You should maintain all of the key ideas and details while elaborating on concepts or terms that are more difficult to understand. For example, if an article says: “Structural features that have been described in patients with OSAH using techniques such as cephalometry include…” you might first provide a definition of cephalometry such as “Using cephalometry, a technique which measures angles, distances and size of different components of the head, face and neck…” before elaborating on the structural features.
Graphs & Images
The source material may include graphs or images but we will not be reproducing these images. You should include information in the subtitles of figures/graphs that are not specific to them. Omit information that is specific to the figure or graph.
Technical
- Keep sentences short and to the point. Studies show that internet users don’t actually read, they scan text.
- Use easy to understand reading. Many of the readers use English as a second language.
- Use scanner to make sure your content is readable (see below).
- Submit final information back as a txt file (NOT a MS Word file–.doc).
- Don’t wait until you finish the article to submit back content. You should submit back content after writing individual sections. Prior to doing so, you can scan it using this link copyscape.com/compare.php. This will identify any text that still needs to be changed.
- For data that needs to be bulleted or numbered just indicate in brackets [please bullet the following] and keep items spaced on separate lines
Sample
SAMPLE WITH ANALYSIS OF READABILITY AND COPYSCAPE %:
ORIGINAL TEXT:
“Structural features that have been described in patients with OSAH using techniques such as cephalometry include reduction of the anterior-posterior dimension of the cranial base, a reduced nasion-sella-basion angle, reduction of the size of the posterior and superior airway spaces, inferior displacement of the hyoid, elongation of the soft palate, macroglossia, hypertrophy of adenoids and tonsils, increased vertical facial dimension with a disproportionate increase in the lower facial height, and mandibular retrognathia or micrognathia.”
Gunning Fog index: Indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading = 42.23
REWRITTEN TO MAINTAIN ORIGINAL CONCEPTS BUT BE EASIER TO UNDERSTAND
Patients with OSA have been found to be more likely to have unique head, neck and facial anatomy. In some cases a patient’s anatomy may be smaller, larger or displaced. Using cephalometry, a technique which measures angles, distances and size of different components of the head, face and neck, several of these features have been identified that correlate with OSA. One important measurement used with this technique is called the nasion-sella-basion angle. It is found to be reduced. Patients with OSA are also found to have a reduced size of their airway spaces. This includes both the size of the upper airway spaces as well as airway spaces that are posterior or further back. Patients are also found to have a shorter distance between the front and back (anterior-posterior) of the base of the cranium. The hyoid bone is another anatomic landmark which is found to be lower in these patients. Other parts of their anatomy are found to be larger or longer. Their tongues adenoids, and tonsils are larger. Their soft palates and faces are longer, especially their lower face. They are also found to have recessed or small jaws.
Gunning Fog index: Indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading = 11.12
References for best practices in writing for the web
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/08/20-tips-on-how-to-write-for-the-web/
http://styleguide.yahoo.com/writing/write-web
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/concise-scannable-and-objective-how-to-write-for-the-web/