Health reference articles

Writing health reference articles

Although A-Z health reference articles often deal with specialist medical content, you should nevertheless write them in plain English. Guidelines for writing in plain English are explained in the chapter on Writing for our audience.

Titles

Main titles of A-Z health reference will, of course, include the title of the health condition. When presenting the title of the condition, note our capitalisation guidelines, in particular our preference for minimal capitalisation.

Browser titles for A-Z health reference are determined by SEO research, which the editorial team undertakes. Browser titles often include common synonyms for the name of the health condition and/or an indication of age relevance:

Main title: Acne

Browser title: Acne & pimples: treatment & prevention

Main title: Fever

Browser title: Fever and high temperature in children

Main title: Worms

Browser title: Worms in kids

Short titles follow the usual rules.

Read more about Titles.

Voice and tone

Although health reference articles present specialised medical information, you should still write them using our voice and tone. Pay particular attention to translating medical terminology and language into plain English where possible.

Structure

The body copy for A-Z Health References usually follows a standard structure. Use the following as subheadings:

About [condition name] 

Signs and symptoms of [condition name] or [Condition name] signs and symptoms

Medical help: when to get it for children with [condition name]

Tests for [condition name] or [Condition name] tests

Diagnosing [Condition name]

Treatment for [condition name] or [Condition name] treatment

Prevention of [condition name] or [Condition name] prevention

Causes of [condition name] or [Condition name] causes

You won't need to use all the sections above for every health reference article. But the sections that you do use should appear in the order indicated above. Sometimes you might need extra sections; insert them into the order in a position that makes sense.

Here are examples of articles that use this structure:

• • Crohn's disease

  • Concussion (note how this article modifies the structure)

  • Dehydration.

Note that for SEO purposes, the titles of these sections might vary slightly across articles.

You might also like links

Include 6 links to relevant raisingchildren.net.au content. 

External weblinks

Include links to relevant external sites, preferably no more than 6. It's often appropriate to include links to reputable and credible national support organisations. For example, our Chronic fatigue syndrome article includes a link to ME/CFS Australia.

Leave this field blank if there are no relevant external sites.

See our guidelines on Links and linking.

References

You must supply some relevant and recent references. Ideally, references should be no more than 3 years old. You may include older, seminal references when no recent references are available. For advice on formatting different sources, see our References chapter.

Acknowledgments

Enter any acknowledgments. We have a standard format for writing acknowledgments. Some A-Z health reference articles acknowledge the contributions of organisations as reviewers, in which case follow this guideline for writing the acknowledgments copy:

Write this: raisingchildren.net.au thanks [name of organisation] for its help in reviewing this article.

Not this: raisingchildren.net.au would like to thank [name of organisation] for their help in reviewing this article.

Dates and reviewers 

Supply the Last reviewed date and Next review date. The Last updated date will be added at the time of publication.

Supply the name of the content reviewer(s).

Age range

Supply both a lower and upper age. Read more on age ranges.