Science Writing workshop |
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January 30 and February 6, 2012 Meeting Place: Peabody Museum Auditorium, 170 Whitney Avenue Workshop objectives: This workshop will introduce science graduate students to writing about science for a broad, non-scientist audience. Course schedule: First meeting: Monday January 30, 2012, 10 am to noon. I will describe in some detail how I produced one of my own articles, starting with the paper on which it was based. Finally, we will discuss the course assignment (details below). We will discuss the papers about which you will be writing, and begin to plan out your pieces. So please prepare for the discussion by reading the papers. TECHNIQUE: (Amazon page) Questions to consider: These three writers describe three very different forms of science writing: short newspaper articles, long magazine features, and essays. What techniques are common to all three forms? What are the most important differences? Do you think that these differences are a matter of convention or reflect the essential rules of each genre? How do these techniques impair or strengthen articles about science? Do any of these techniques apply to other kinds of science communications, such as television or blogs? EXAMPLES OF SCIENCE WRITING From The Best American Science Writing, 2011 (Ecco) Link “BP’s Deep Secrets,” by Julia Whitty (p.82) Link “A Soft Spot for Circuitry,” by Amy Harmon (p. 146) Link “A Deadly Misdiagnosis,” by Michael Specter (p.241) Link FROM PAPER TO ARTICLE: The paper: Mora C, Tittensor DP, Adl S, Simpson AGB, Worm B (2011) How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean? PLoS Biol 9(8): e1001127. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127 Link The article: “How Many Species Are There?” By Carl Zimmer. The New York Times, August 8, 2011. Link Questions to consider: I will give a brief account of writing a news article based on a new paper estimating global biodiversity. Look at the paper and the story. What similarities in structure do you see? What is in the story that was not in the paper? What elements in the story are intended for a wide audience, as opposed to the narrower audience for the paper? How does the story balance different views on the research? Writing Assignment: Write a 600-word explanation of this paper: To research your piece, read the paper, look for any commentaries in the journals, and find background reading for context. If necessary, try to find someone at Yale or elsewhere who is an expert in this area who can take you through the research. Assignments are due by Thursday, Feburary 2, 2011 at 5 pm. Please email them to me at carl@carlzimmer.com Please note that I will only be able to evaluate pieces by the first 20 students who registered for the workshop. However, all registrants are welcome to attend both sessions, write the assignment, and participate in the discussions about the assignment in the second session. In order to participate in the second session, waiting list students will need to read the writing assignments I distribute for discussion, and write comments. Second Meeting: Monday, February 6, 2012, 10 am to noon. We will spend this session discussing the writing assignment. Most likely, you will have encountered unexpected challenges, which you are encouraged to describe. We will also discuss the sample pieces I will have distributed the previous Friday. You will be expected to offer constructive criticism about how the stories could be improved. We should have additional time for any topics that students wish to discuss further. All participants in the second session (including waiting list students) are required to write a 100-word critique of each article we will be discussing. The critique should describe a strong point of the article, and suggest a way to improve it. This assignment is intended to sharpen our discussion. Please bring two printed copies of your critiques: one for me and one for the author. Print each critique on a separate piece of paper. Updates: |