Writing about science

for a general audience

A workshop presented in the School of Biology’s Integrated Learning Week

by Alex Sinclair and Catie Lichten of EUSci

February 22, 2012

What is EUSci?EUSci or eu:sci

[yoo-sahy]

noun: 1) Edinburgh science magazine

Ex. Did you read the latest issue of EUSci? It's amazing!

2) Edinburgh student society

Ex. I just joined EUSci and it only cost £3!

3) Producers and organisers of science podcasts, seminars, events...

Ex. I can't keep up with all the fantastic content that EUSci is producing!

The Four parts of EUSci

Workshops:

* Editing (incl. External speakers) * Copyediting * Layout * Coming soon: writing

Issue 1 Sep ‘08 Issue 2 Jan ‘09 Issue 3 May ‘09 Issue 5 Jan ‘10

Issue 6 May ‘10 Issue 7 Sep ‘10

Issue 4 Sep ‘09

Issue 8 Jan ‘11 Issue 9 Apr ‘11 Issue 10 Sep ‘11

We can always use more people…

Editors-in-chief:

Sub-editors:

Production team:

Artists (UoE and ECA):

Article/Copy Editors:

Writers (they edit too):

Total people involved (issue 8): 51

The Plan• Writing News

– What makes the news?– Nailing the key idea and headlines (activity)– Short Break– Structure of news articles– News writing exercise (activity)

• Introduction to editing– Activity

• Introduction to features • Where to go from here

Why news?

• The audience- mostly not scientists• Good practice of transferable skills:

– Avoiding jargon– Reducing information down to key points– Communicating facts clearly– Making complex ideas understandable

• Important- most people hear about science from news media

Why are each of these stories newsworthy?

Girls use Facebook to attract gangs

Greece heads for final bailout talks

There is no one reason behind Whitney's awful self-destruction

Let's Dance for Sport Relief attracts 6.5 million

Newsworthiness• Timeliness• Proximity• Rarity (‘holy cow!’)• Prominence (e.g. famous people)• Impact• Novelty• Human Interest• Magnitude• Conflict/controversy

Sample story: Human Tears Contain a Chemosignal

• Read abstract (on your own, 5 minutes)

In groups (5 minutes):

• Find and discuss key information (Who?, What?, Where?, Why is it interesting?, How)

• What makes this story newsworthy?

• Write a headline about this story for your assigned publication

The Original Paper:

The Institute’s Press Release:

Human Tears Contain a Chemosignal- headlines from groups

1. Daily Mail: Science proves the obvious: men turned off by women crying

2. Men’s Health: Turned off by tears

3. Nuts: Crybabies equals no babies

4. Time Magazine: The science behind why your sex life is bad

5. The Telegraph: A tear a day keeps your man at bay

6. Guardian: Tears reduce sexual arousal

7. Facebook status update: Who knew? Crying actually IS a turn-off, it’s not just me… [link]

8. Cosmopolitan: Don’t cry for me

Pretty straightforwardheadlines:

More headlines….

Weeping women make willies wilt

5-10 min Break

Part 2: Structuring a news piece

Crucial

Important

Nice

Structure Example

Who

Why

WhatWhere

When Hook

Your turn to write

• On your own (15 minutes):– Read: Zebra paper abstract and excerpts– Note: who, what, where, when, why it matters– Write: First paragraph of story (3-4 sentences at

most)• Share, discuss in small groups (10 minutes)• Feeling inspired? Send us your zebra

para/story for feedback (see handout for emails)

Editing

1) Help the author to effectively say what they intend

2) Make it readable for others

3) Check facts for accuracy A few tips: - Note any places where you felt confused or had to reread.

- Trim words, sentences, or information that are not adding anything. Remember: Less is More.

- Be positive, diplomatic, respectful. - Work WITH (not against) the author, - Explain your suggested edits.

- DON’T be a perfectionist.

Editing activity

• Read ‘Altitude Illness’ (individually, 5 min)• Make notes of problems

– You should find plenty!• Discuss how this piece can be improved

(in groups, 5-10 min)– What suggestions would you make? – Remember to be positive and tactful

Features = Pretty much everything else

“in depth” analysis

science and/of .... politicsnew mediasocietycultureboozemagiczombies

historical /philosophical

careers advice

ReviewsTV podcastsbooks

Interviews

day in the life of…

opinion pieces the science budget is going to ruin usdoes Brian Cox smile too much?

rantswhy does no one ever clear up in my lab? sceptics view of religion

Coming up with an idea

Your own research

Follow your interest

Stuff you’ve seen , read, watched, heard, chatted about...

Scout out press releases/publications e.g. Science daily/Nature news

Science festival event....

Part of your research, technique, general

introduction, general field, interview someone.

Finding an angle – an example Classic Kit by Andrea Sella Petri dish

First line

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2010/February/PetriDish.asp

Richard Julius Petri was born in the town of Barmen….

Narrative

3nd Para

a peculiar novel in my father's study. Written in 1884, Edwin Abbott's Flatland described the strange adventures of a character called A Square…

But was it really Petri's idea?... My feeling…

5th Para

6th Para He retired in 1900 and was reported to have become both stout and vain…

Final Para …where their low dimensionality helps to make visible the most complex of phenomena…

Conceived, written and edited by a team of students Articles can be submitted on any scientific topic

email - euscimag@gmail.com website - eusci.org

EUSA society providing science writing, broadcasting and presenting opportunities and training

Interested in getting involved? Contact us…

Informal 15 min talk and question session given by researcher or student on their subject area or nerdy passion

Science discussions bringing the latest in science and technologyProduced fortnightly with 1200 downloads a month