Editing with Surgical Precision
I created White Coat Words to support researchers, clinicians, and educators.
The English language is a lawless fussy creature. To expand upon an epigram by James D. Nicoll, our dear language, particularly in its youth, had a penchant for pursuing other languages down dark alleyways to knock them over and rifle through their pockets for loose grammar and spare vocabulary. English is such a hodgepodge of homophones and homographs, chock-full of nonintuitive spellings and grammatical irregularities, that writing is practically as much an art as it is a science.
…and that’s all before adding scientific conventions and medical terminology to the mix.
While programs for checking spelling and grammar have certainly come a long way, would you trust one to catch the errant "s" in "gastrostomy" when you meant gastrotomy? How about distinguishing the conditions aphagia and aphasia, knowing when to use the terms clinical symptoms vs. clinical signs, or ensuring that the names of genes are italicized but protein names are not?
Research paper?
I can help with every stage of the publication process, from content development and fact-checking to language polishing, proofreading, and journal-specific formatting.
PowerPoint presentation?
I can check your slides and notes for formatting, spelling, grammar, and typographical errors.
Client education handouts?
I can proofread them and suggest potential addition, reorganization, and/or removal of information.
Some other project not mentioned above that involves text?
Let's talk!
If it falls outside the realms of human and veterinary medicine and forensic sciences, I can offer language polishing and proofreading services. If you desire developmental editing as well, I will be upfront with you about my level of experience and expertise on the topic and whether I believe I can be of value to you.
Nida Intarapanich, DVM