Your medical or biomedical dissertation has the right data and the wrong sound: sentences that feel chatty, abbreviations nobody defined, units written three different ways and a tense that wobbles from paragraph to paragraph. Markers notice quickly, because medicine has strict conventions. This guide covers register, tense, abbreviations, units and drug names, reporting guidelines and patient privacy, with examples you can adapt. If you want a structure beside you while you write, start your dissertation plan with Tesify, where every word stays 100% yours. Always check your module handbook, because requirements vary by university and programme.
What register do medical and biomedical dissertations use?
The register is precise, neutral and cautious. Say exactly what you did, what you found and how certain you are. Avoid emotive words, avoid claims stronger than your design supports and avoid vague quantifiers such as “a lot” or “many”. Compare these illustrative sentences:
| Weak | Stronger |
|---|---|
| The drug obviously worked really well for most patients. | Participants in the treatment group showed a larger mean reduction in the outcome measure than the comparison group, although the confidence interval was wide. |
| Exercise causes better mental health. | Higher weekly activity was associated with lower depressive symptom scores in this sample. |
| We looked at lots of studies. | Twenty-two studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the synthesis. |
The stronger versions give a number or a comparison, use cautious verbs that match the design and avoid unsupported causal claims. Our guide to how much of your mark is for writing shows how markers weigh this.
Which tense should you use, and when?
The usual convention is the past tense for what you did and found, and the present tense for established facts and for your interpretation of what the findings mean. For example: “Blood samples were collected at baseline” (what you did), “Mean systolic pressure was lower in the intervention group” (what you found), and “This suggests that the intervention may reduce blood pressure” (interpretation). Background statements about the condition take the present tense: “Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke.” Our detailed guide to choosing the right tense for each chapter covers every section, and our guide to using “I” in a UK dissertation explains when the first person is acceptable, which varies by department.
How should you structure the writing?
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors notes that articles reporting original research are usually divided into Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, often called IMRaD. Many medical dissertations follow the same logic, even when the programme asks for additional chapters such as a literature review. Within each section, keep the content in its own place: methods say what you did, results say what you found with no interpretation, and discussion interprets. Our guide to the dissertation abstract shows how to summarise all four parts.
How do you handle abbreviations?
The ICMJE advises using only standard abbreviations, because nonstandard abbreviations can confuse readers. In practice: write the term in full at first use with the abbreviation in brackets, for example “randomised controlled trial (RCT)”, then use the abbreviation consistently. Do not abbreviate a term used only once or twice. Avoid abbreviations in headings, in the abstract unless essential and at the start of a sentence. Provide a list of abbreviations at the front if your department expects one, and check that every abbreviation in the list appears in the text.
How should you write units, numbers and drug names?
- Units: the SI has seven base units, including the second, metre, kilogram, ampere, kelvin, mole and candela, with internationally agreed symbols such as s, m and kg. The ICMJE advises reporting laboratory information in both local and SI units, so follow the convention your department or journal target uses and apply it consistently.
- Drug names: identify drugs and chemicals precisely, including the generic name, the dose and the route of administration, as the ICMJE recommends. Use generic names rather than brand names unless the brand is itself the point.
- Numbers: use digits with units and for measurements, spell out numbers at the start of a sentence, and give the same number of decimal places for the same type of value.
- Statistics: report the test, the value, the confidence interval where appropriate and the exact p-value, and never write “significant” without saying what test and what threshold.
Which reporting guideline should you follow?
The EQUATOR Network, which aims to enhance the quality and transparency of health research, lists reporting guidelines for different designs. The ICMJE names several: CONSORT for randomised trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses and STARD for studies of diagnostic accuracy. EQUATOR also lists CARE for case reports and COREQ and SRQR for qualitative research. Choose the guideline that matches your design, use its checklist while you write and cite it in your methodology. Our guide to writing a systematic review explains how PRISMA applies in practice.
How do you protect patient privacy in the text?
Never include names, dates of birth, hospital numbers, full postcodes or any detail that could identify a person, a ward or a rare case. Describe participants by role or code, such as “Participant 7”, and report ages as ranges where a precise age could identify someone. If you describe a case, check your programme’s rules on consent and approval. Follow your university’s ethics process, and see our guide to ethics approval for an undergraduate dissertation for the basics. If you are using NHS data or NHS participants, check the rules that apply to students, because they have changed in recent years.
How do you hedge claims correctly?
Match the strength of the verb to the strength of your evidence. In an observational study use words such as “associated with”, “was related to” and “may suggest”. In a randomised trial you may use stronger verbs such as “reduced” or “improved”, but state the size of the effect and its uncertainty. In a qualitative study, use “participants described” and “a theme of”, and avoid generalising to all patients. Reserve “proves” and “demonstrates conclusively” for nothing in your dissertation.
What language should you use about people?
Use respectful, person-first wording: “people with diabetes” rather than “diabetics”, and “participants” or “patients” as your programme prefers. Avoid terms that imply blame, such as “non-compliant” where “did not take the medication as prescribed” is clearer. Use the terminology of your field, but do not use jargon where plain words would do, because examiners from other specialties may mark your work.
What does an annotated paragraph look like? (illustrative)
Invented for teaching. Methods: “Adults aged 18 years or over with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes were recruited from two general practices. Participants completed a validated questionnaire at baseline and at 12 weeks.” The tense is past, the population is defined, the measure is named and the timeline is explicit. Results: “Of 84 participants approached, 61 completed both questionnaires (73%).” The numbers are exact, the percentage is calculated from them and there is no interpretation. Discussion: “The response rate suggests that the intervention was acceptable to most participants, although those who did not respond may differ in ways we did not measure.” The tense shifts to the present for interpretation and the claim is hedged. Check the arithmetic in your own work, because 61 of 84 rounds to 73 per cent.
How should tables and figures look?
Every table and figure needs a number, a title that says what it shows and a note that defines abbreviations and gives the source. Put the units in the column or axis heading, not in every cell. Use the same decimal places for the same type of value, order rows logically, for example by group or by time point, and avoid decoration. In text, refer to each table or figure by number and say what the reader should notice rather than repeating every value. Check that the numbers in your text, tables and abstract agree, because a mismatch is one of the quickest ways to lose a marker’s trust.
How do you write the literature review in a medical dissertation?
Organise it by question or theme, not by author. State the clinical or scientific problem, summarise what is known, identify what is uncertain or missing, and end by stating how your study addresses the gap. Prefer systematic reviews and well-designed primary studies over opinion pieces, say what type of study each source is, and be explicit about its limitations. If you searched formally, report the databases, the dates and the search terms so the reader can judge how complete your review is.
What should you check before you submit?
- Tense: past for methods and results, present for established facts and interpretation.
- Abbreviations: defined at first use and used consistently.
- Units and decimals: consistent across text, tables and figures.
- Drug names: generic names with dose and route.
- Claims: every verb matches the design.
- Privacy: nothing identifiable remains.
- Numbers: percentages recalculated from counts, and totals add up.
- References: every citation in the text appears in the list and vice versa.
Read the whole dissertation aloud once, because awkward sentences are easier to hear than to see, and ask a friend outside your subject to mark any sentence they cannot follow.
What mistakes do markers see?
- Mixing tenses within a section. Decide the rule and apply it.
- Undefined abbreviations. Define at first use and keep a list.
- Brand names instead of generic names. Use generic names with dose and route.
- Inconsistent units and decimals. Pick a convention and apply it to every table.
- Causal language from an observational study. Use association wording.
- Identifiable detail. Remove anything that could identify a person or a rare case.
Tesify helps you plan the structure of each chapter around your design and reporting guideline, so your sections, tense and structure stay consistent while you write every word yourself. Over 9,000 students have used it across more than 15,000 chapters. Plan your medical dissertation with Tesify.
Objection-handling FAQ
Does the writing style differ between medicine and biomedical science?
The core conventions are the same: precise language, cautious claims, defined abbreviations and consistent units. Biomedical projects may add detailed laboratory methods, so follow the guidance in your own handbook.
Can I use the passive voice?
Many medical papers use the passive in methods, but many departments also accept the first person. Check your handbook, and choose one approach for each section.
Which reporting guideline should I follow?
CONSORT for randomised trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for diagnostic accuracy, CARE for case reports, and COREQ or SRQR for qualitative research.
Should I use brand or generic drug names?
Use generic names with dose and route, as the ICMJE recommends, unless the brand name is itself part of your question.
Which units should I use?
Use SI units consistently, and follow your department’s convention if it differs. The ICMJE advises reporting laboratory information in both local and SI units.
Does using Tesify count as academic misconduct?
Tesify supports planning and structure, and the writing stays 100% yours. Check your university’s policy on AI tools and disclose your use as it requires.
Can I upload patient information to any tool?
No. Never upload identifiable patient or participant data to any tool unless your ethics approval explicitly allows it.
What does it cost to get started?
Check the Tesify app for current terms before you decide. This guide stands on its own whether or not you use the product.
How do I avoid sounding too informal?
Replace vague words with numbers or comparisons, remove emotive language and match the strength of each verb to the strength of your evidence.