We have three articles in this edition. Pamela Haendler's contribution deals with the medical writer as a reviewer and quality checker. Because of their close involvement with all of the documentation on a project, the medical writers involved are often the only members of the team who have an overview across documents. This inevitably results in the medical writer – in the regulatory area at least – taking on the function of a reviewer and quality control person, ensuring consistency across documentation and compliance with guidelines. Pamela has some recommendations on how to handle this. Our first GWP article continues Debbie Jordan's deliberations on ‘Writing for the Audience’, this time covering regulatory documents, journal articles, and writing for the public and official websites of government agencies. This is complemented by Alistair Kidd's reflections on ‘appropriate tone’ in scientific and medical writing under Points of view, where he highlights the importance of pitching the level of language correctly for the expected audience.