The evolution of scientific writing: an analysis of 20 million abstracts over 70 years in health and medical science

For at least a century, scientists have been concerned with the need for clear scientific writing. This concern has grown with the advent of the internet allowing for global, interdisciplinary collaboration. In this study, we used R software to analyse over twenty million abstracts from scientific papers in the health and medical fields — tracking changes in the frequency with which different writing components have been used since the 1950s. This historical understanding provides insight into our past writing cultures, how they have changed, and where we stand as science communicators today. We found that scientists are increasingly using writing components that reduce cognitive load and improve reader understanding. Despite these positive efforts we found that many scientists still feel a need to adhere to ‘The Official Style’ that falls back on dense and difficult prose. We advocate for more accessible science writing so that its discoveries not only encourage inter-disciplinary research, but are also spread across wider society as part of the sharing of knowledge.