I am writing this article to engage more people. We want to get closer to the vision of the Med School Hub. To learn more about how to become a part of this, read this article (This article hasn’t been finalized yet). Just keep in mind that these are not strict rules, but merely a rough guide.

Why make a guideline?

While I want my writers to express themselves freely, there are some common themes. I’d like people to follow these themes to stay on brand with the idea of MedSchoolHub. I believe the type of writing I recommend will make the experience more enjoyable for the writer as well.

Certain qualities are important in my articles. I aim for these to set MedSchoolHub apart. This distinguishes us from the hundreds of other medical school knowledge base websites out there. It’s the feeling we want to elicit in the reader. The idea is to hook them in and take them on a journey. It should feel like they’re reading a short story. We don’t want them to feel like they’re going through a textbook.

You might wonder how it’s even possible to make medical information sound interesting. How can we do this without it feeling like a textbook or a lecture note? It is difficult, but in this article, I’ll point out some ways to get closer to that ideal.

The Target Audience

It’s obvious that this website is catered toward medical students, but it’s not that simple. You might expect a medical student to be well-versed in English and medical terms. However, writing articles requires a different skill set.

There have been countless times when my reading flow was interrupted by medical terms I had to look up elsewhere. Enough of those interruptions can become frustrating, making me lose interest or get distracted by something more engaging. We need to prevent that from happening to readers of MedSchoolHub.

So, in terms of the complexity of medical facts:

• For pre-clinical subjects (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, histology, etc.), imagine you’re writing for a first-year medical student on their first day of medical school—someone who knows nothing beyond what they learned for their A-levels.
• For clinical subjects (medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, gynecology and obstetrics) and para-clinical subjects (microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, parasitology, etc.), assume the reader has a basic understanding of pre-clinical subjects. Picture a third-year medical student who has passed their pre-clinical exams with a score slightly above 50%.

Language Complexity

This is perhaps the most important aspect. MedSchoolHub articles must be accessible and readable for medical students worldwide, regardless of their fluency in English.

Just because someone has a large English vocabulary doesn’t mean they won’t enjoy reading an article written in simple English. While most medical students learn medicine in English, it’s not their first language for many. Even for fluent English speakers, reading an article with complex words can feel exhausting.

Sentences shouldn’t be too long. In general, keeping them under 15 words is a good practice. The vocabulary and language complexity should be at a Grade 6 reading level.

Adjusting your tone

You’re not writing a book. Think of it like a script. Imagine you’re texting the reader directly—casually—like explaining something to a friend. It’s like writing for a YouTube video, but without the “Hey guys!” at the start. The article should talk to the reader, pull them in, and keep them engaged—just like I’m doing here.

Use the active voice. Keep things moving. Rather than say, “The glucose molecule is transported into the cell,” express it as, “The glucose molecule enters the cell through the glucose transporter.” Personify everything. Make the processes feel alive. The reader should see what’s happening, not just read about it.

Using AI

Artificial intelligence language models are a great tool you can use to create and refine your articles. You can take advantage of AI at many stages of writing a web article.

However, the content itself must be original, proofread, and accurate. LLMs can help refine your writing to fit these guidelines, generate tables, code, bullet lists, etc. But in the end, your article should have less than a 30% likelihood of being flagged as AI-generated. This should be the case when it’s checked by the latest AI detectors.

Relying too much on AI-generated content can harm the website’s reputation and even lower its ranking in search engine indexes.

Image

Every article should include at least one image—the more, the better! A main image that fits the article is a must.

You obviously don’t have much time. Capturing photos that match the article’s title or drawing them by hand is unlikely. Using licensed images is the best option. You can find licensed images through this method on Google or through the MedSchoolHub Canva account. AI-generated images also work fine, as long as they don’t look too bizarre.

Writing tool plugins

If you have access to the website login, you’ll see multiple writing tool plugins, most notably Yoast. I recommend following all the recommendations provided by the Yoast plugin before publishing your article.

It’s necessary to at least get a green rating in all three aspects: SEO, readability, and inclusivity.

References

This is established knowledge when you’re covering a standard topic. Topics like the bony landmarks of the pelvis have been known for hundreds of years. This information has been printed in textbooks. There’s no need to include references for that.

However, if you’re writing about something new, you must back it up. If it is controversial, like the best first-line medication for hypertension, evidence is crucial. Use the best available evidence. The Vancouver format of referencing is preferred, as this is what’s used in most web articles.

Structure and formatting

You may use bullets, numbered lists, tables, images, and even flow charts wherever necessary. However, the main content should be in text. Like I said, we want the reader to be immersed in the article. Including large bullet lists and giant tables will overwhelm the reader.

For lists, break them down into sections as much as possible. Even for tables, if you must, break them down into smaller tables. Include some text in between them. This approach ensures it doesn’t disrupt the reading experience. You can place a giant table summarizing everything at the bottom. This placement avoids interrupting the reading process and prevents overwhelming the reader.

The text should be formatted with priority given to the smartphone interface. This is the format most readers will use to read through the articles. Second comes tabs, and lastly, desktop.

For headings, you can use subheadings in two levels: H2 and H3. Try to avoid using headings H1, H4, H5, and H6, as H1 is reserved for the title of the article. There’s rarely a case where another heading should be the same size as the title. H4, H5, and H6 are too small.

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

This is a topic that deserves a separate page or even a website of its own. I encourage writers to research and learn about SEO optimization on their own. However, basic SEO, by complying with the requirements of the Yoast plugin, will be enough.

Originality and plagiarism

Copying content word for word will result in our website being flagged by search engines. It could cause us to lose our Google AdSense account. This is our only income source. So, don’t do that.

If you need to provide information that exists elsewhere on the internet, you can quote it. However, this is only acceptable if it’s a very short text excerpt. For longer excerpts, just include a hyperlink to direct readers to the relevant webpage. If you cannot share it via a hyperlink, you likely don’t have permission to distribute or reproduce that content.

We take plagiarism seriously. Any attempt will result in a ban from writing for the website. Legal action is possible if it financially affects MedSchoolHub.

Inclusivity and accessibility

The web articles must be inclusive. Regardless of your personal beliefs, opinions, and ideas, ensure they are respectful of all religions, genders, and ethnicities. They should also show respect for members of the LGBTQ+ community, Indigenous peoples, and marginalized groups. Abstain from publishing content that is biased toward any political view or that strays from the majority public opinion. You may cover topics that are controversial as long as they are relevant to medicine. However, being overly biased toward one side can negatively affect the image of the website as a whole.

Adding substitute text to all images is beneficial. It describes what’s in the image to make your articles accessible to a variety of disabled people. Although it’s rare for a medical student to be visually impaired, others may consume your articles in different formats. These formats include audio or plain text. Further, adding alternative texts greatly improves SEO.

Fact checking and Accuracy

Whatever you write, it better be accurate. Ideally, it’s best if the information you’re writing is fact-checked by an expert in the subject. But realistically, we don’t have the budget to pay them to do that. As long as you use the right resources and proofread them, it’ll be fine. You could ask a colleague to read it over and find any faults.

If any readers find faults in the information, they can leave a comment on the article. If so, those points can be checked and edited accordingly.

Summary

In summary here’s a checklist you need to cross off one by one before publishing.

• Showing green in all 3 measurements in Yoast SEO.
• Article has a focus image.
• Grade 6 reading level vocabulary. No use of jargon
• Active voice, engaging tone.
• Short sentences.
• Transition words
• Has hooks to keep the reader engaged.
• Include references.
• Less than 30% chance of being written by AI.
• Proof read.
• Check grammar and spelling.
• Fact check
• Schedule.