It's an example of
telegraphic English.
EX: Negative pap smear [was] performed.
| Headlines are written in telegraphic English, a term coined because they closely resemble the wording found inmost telegrams. While the consideration in telegrams is mostly monetary, the economical consideration of headlines is space. Therefore, headlines usually contain as the "bare bones" of language - a subject and verb. Other strong uses of telegraphic English might include subject-predicate or subject-verb-object constructions. Verbs may be omitted if they are implied. |
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Source: Integrated Publishing