Do you use this: % symbol, or this: percent (spelled out)? Read this article to understand Dragoman Style, which is mainly based on the AP Style Guide and enriched by Diana Hacker’s, Brian Garner’s and Strunk & White. 1. The word percent is one word. Do not use U.K. spelling, i.e., per cent. 2. Always spell out percent in paragraph content as in 30 percent, 3.5 percent, 66 percent. 3. For percents “less than 1” use zero before the decimal […]
Read more >This piece is a part of our capitalization series. Proper capitalization in English is tricky. Stay tuned with our Language Tips for more. 1. If magazine or journal is part of the title, use upper case New York Magazine Journal of the American Medical Association 2. If magazine or journal is not part of the title, use lower case Time magazine 3. Capitalize the article the if part of the title of a newspaper, magazine, or journal The Washington Post […]
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As we continue to gain more clients from the medical community, a few style notes on how to translate medical files has become necessary. A full style guide has not yet been written. One option is to subscribe to the online style guide of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the interim, please follow these rules of style: Use the Dragoman Style Guide for Figures. This style guide applies to ALL copy. Use the Dragoman Style Guide […]
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General Rules An annual report contains a company’s achievements and financial figures and is provided to shareholders, stakeholders and potential investors. The report uses several styles of writing: descriptive, corporate, advertising, financial, and legal. Previous reports are good benchmarks. Research is key to successfully translate an annual report. Search not only on client’s website but also on other related websites for benchmarking purposes. Try to find sources in written in the target language, not translations of local corporations. Internet is […]
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Which one is correct? Industry is smaller, more focused, single business area. Sector is broader. A group of industries form a sector. In Turkish to English translations, authors mainly talk about industries and they use the word “sektör” in Turkish. As a rule, use industry in your translations and not sector, except for “public or private sector.” Examples: healthcare industry healthcare sector entertainment industry entertainment sector banking industry banking sector […]
Read more >The passive voice is used more frequently in journals. 1. Follow these examples when using the passive voice: The patients were tested for asthma. Tissue samples were taken from each patient. 2. Avoid the following type of passive voice constructions, whenever possible: It was shown in the report that patients responded negatively to treatment. The report indicated that patients responded negatively to the treatment. It was observed in the clinical trial that 10 percent of males tested positive. As […]
Read more >1. If a figure is followed by a percent in parentheses, use the symbol as in 55 males (45%) had a predisposition for addiction. 2. In all other cases, spell out the word percent. Source Dragoman Style Guide for Figures
Read more >1. To show a range of numbers, use from/to, between/and as in from 10 to 25 branches; between 25 and 30 people; from 25 to 30 percent; between $300 and $50,000. 2. However, use to/from for figures showing a rise or fall to prevent misreading as a range. (Note: this rule is especially important in financial or annual reports) Examples: increased to $25 billion from $20 billion decreased to 9 billion Turkish lira from 20 billion. 3. […]
Read more >1. Spell out the type of measurement as in 35 square meters, 46 square kilometers. 2. For amounts less than 1, use zero before the decimal point as in 0.03. 3. When the decimal is 1 or less, the type of measurement is singular as in one mile, one foot, one kilometer, 0.35 meter, 0.55 cubic foot, 0.75 kilometer. Source Dragoman Style Guide for Figures
Read more >1. Spell out and hyphenate fractions that are less than one as in three-quarters. 2. Write fractions attached to a number with one space after the number as in 2 1/4. (Note: do not use superscript, i.e., 2¼. ) 3. Do not mix fractions and decimals as in from 2 1/4 to 2.75 percent Source Dragoman Style Guide for Figures
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