basics of science writing.compressed

Science Writing Renz Homer E. Cerillo Science Communication Major

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, the

man would have only four years of life left…”

- Albert Einstein

Reminders: 1. One “cannot” teach

writing.

2. Read a lot. Like A LOT.

3. Write a lot. Like A LOT.

What is science writing?

(1) Writing about scientific subject matter, often in a non-technical manner for an audience of non-scientists (a form of journalism or creative nonfiction).

(2) Writing that reports scientific observations and results in a manner governed by specific conventions (a form of technical writing).

-grammar.about.com

Levels of Scientific and Technical Writing

scientific literature

technical/semi-technical

popular literature

Ripple analogy by Dr. Juan F. Jamias

of CDC


SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

These are original research articles; e.g. Primary journal, scientific books, monographs, poster presentation; audience is scientists, researchers, and technical people


TECHNICAL/SEMI-TECHNICAL

Purpose is information exchange; e.g. technical reports, annual report, manual, fact sheet, brochure, newsletter; audience is engineers, technicians, and other linkers and end users


POPULAR LITERATURE

These are popular publication; purpose is information utilization (translates S&T for the lay audience; e.g. News and press release, feature articles, popular bulletin, leaflet, comics/photo, novel, movie, and broadcast scripts

Principles of Effective Science Writing

Master clear and effective writing.

1.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. a. Active voice or passive voice?

Generally, use the active voice. However, the passive construction can also be quite useful, especially when the performer of an action is unknown or unimportant.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. Example: Proper use of the active voice

P: The uncertainty principle was formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1927.

A: Werner Heisenberg formulated the uncertainty principle in 1927.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. When to use the passive voice? 1. THE ACTOR IS UNKNOWN.

The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age. [We don't know who made them.]

2. THE ACTOR IS IRRELEVANT.

An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert. [We are not interested in who is building it.]

3. YOU WANT TO BE VAGUE ABOUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE.

Mistakes were made. [Common in bureaucratic writing!]

Master clear and effective writing. 1. When to use the passive voice?

4. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A GENERAL TRUTH.

Rules are made to be broken. [By whomever, whenever.]

5. YOU WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE PERSON OR THING ACTED ON. FOR EXAMPLE, IT MAY BE YOUR MAIN TOPIC.

Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto. It is still the only treatment available for diabetes.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. When to use the passive voice?

6. YOU ARE WRITING IN A SCIENTIFIC GENRE THAT TRADITIONALLY RELIES ON PASSIVE VOICE. PASSIVE VOICE IS OFTEN PREFERRED IN LAB REPORTS AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PAPERS, MOST NOTABLY IN THE MATERIALS AND METHODS SECTION.

The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was then titrated with hydrochloric acid.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. b. Use adjectives sparingly/carefully.

Remember, this is not a work of fiction or poetry. This is straightforward science writing. Reduce your adjectives to a bare minimum. The fewer words, the better.

Verbs are the powerhouse of the sentence, not adjectives.

Master clear and effective writing. 1.

1. Science writing is about reporting facts in the most accurate way possible. Objectivity is of prime necessity. Adjectives/adverbs may imply subjectivity.

2. Adjectives and adverbs make the material more difficult to peruse. BE DIRECT TO THE POINT!

2 REASONS WHY ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS ARE A BIG NO-NO.

Master clear and effective writing. 1.

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”

Stephen King

“When you catch an adjective, kill it.”

Mark Twain

Master clear and effective writing. 1. c. Be wary of verbosity. Be clear.

Don’t brag about your vocabulary. In writing, fewer and simpler words will do the trick. Being verbose will make you sound like a douche.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. Examples: WHICH IS BETTER?

Smoking During Pregnancy Could Affect Your Grandchildren's Growth

The negatively adverse effects and implications of smoking during the time of pregnancy are so very well established, and it basically seems that the influence can be transferred on to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of people who smoke in a regular basis or every day- even if the interventions of the intervening generations don't light up. Following recent reports that indicate that stress during pregnancy can be passed on for four generations in the future, this is not surprising at all to begin with, but the changes observed were not always in the direction that might be expected. – 98 words

Master clear and effective writing. 1. Examples: WHICH IS BETTER?

Smoking During Pregnancy Could Affect Your Grandchildren's Growth

The negative effects of smoking during pregnancy are well established, and it seems the influence can be transferred on to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of smokers - even if the intervening generations don't light up. Following recent reports that stress during pregnancy can be passed on for four generations this is not surprising, but the changes observed were not always in the direction that might be expected. – 67 words

Master clear and effective writing. 1. c. Choose your words well. Diction please.

The words of the English words /have/exhibit/possess/house/contain/own/ shades of meaning. It is a challenge to the writer to determine which words to use.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. Exercises!

1. The abortion debate asks (whether, if, about, regarding) it can be morally right to (terminate, kill, destroy, abort, give up) a pregnancy before normal childbirth or not.

2. A new study that (links, relates, connects, associates) genetically modified foods (GMFs) to stomach inflammation in pigs is misleading and flawed, according to multiple scientists who were not involved in it.

Master clear and effective writing. 1. Exercises!

3. Numerous studies (indicate, express, report, imply) that treating HIV patients earlier can keep them healthy for many years and can lower the (amount, number, volume) of virus in the blood, significantly cutting their (chance, risk, opportunity) of infecting others.

4. Experts keep changing their (minds, brains, decisions, opinions) not only about what we should eat to stay healthy but also what we should do when we get sick.

On science and writing

2.

On science and writing 2. a. Go beyond mere translation of

technical words to lay words.

Focus on the process beyond these concepts.

Explain to the reader why they need to understand these things.

Discuss the implications of science news to the readers’ social, political,

and economic wellbeing.

Handle jargons carefully.

On science and writing 2. However, it still pays to

boost your science vocabulary and

concepts!!!

On science and writing 2. Exercises: Science concepts

Tsunami Storm Surge Placebo Effect/ Nocebo Effect

Vestigial Greenhouse Effect Apoptosis

Morphology Necrosis Gangrene

Zygote Epityphlitis Germs/Bacteria/Virus

On science and writing 2. Quiz: Science concepts

1. GMO 2. Vaccine 3. Global Warming

4. Masectomy 5. Acid Rain 6. Cortisol

7. Cancer 8. Diabetes 9. Ghrelin

10. In-Vitro Fertilization 11. Stem Cell 12. Obesity

15. Free Radicals 13. Ultraviolet Rays 14. Metabolism

17. Human Genome Project 16. Mutation 18. Stress

On science and writing 2. Exercises: Technical/Scientific Verbs

Inject Inoculate

Saturate

Perforate

Submerge

Decant Desiccate

Dissolve

Isolate Micturate Control

Expose Diffuse

Exhume Nictate

Masticulate

On science and writing 2. b. Master the organization.

Is it a straight news, news feature, feature article, or a commentary? The structure of the material should be consistent.

Understanding the format will help you know what pieces of information should go first.

On science and writing 2. b.

For writing news, the inverted pyramid works the best.

It should be chronological.

Most important facts

Master the organization.

Reduce descriptive words. Objectivity is the key.

On science and writing 2. b. Things are different for news

feature/feature.

You could start off with an anecdote, a quote, a clever play on words, or a dialogue.

Master the organization.

Flashbacks and digressions are allowed (even encouraged).

On science and writing 2. c. Know and understand your audience

Cater your language to the kind they would be able to comprehend.

Your audience does not have to know everything, only things that would matter to them. Learn to filter information.

On science and writing 2. d. How to write your lead?

It definitely has to be catchy! Gone are the days of boring and passé introductions.

It has to sound juicy and controversial!

Write it in such a way that the audience could relate.

On science and writing 2.

News:

A deadline story on the topic might focus on statistics showing how heart disease is on the rise, and include quotes from experts on the topic.

News Feature/Feature:

A news feature would likely begin by telling the story of one person suffering from heart disease. By describing the struggles of an individual, the NF can tackle big, newsy topics while still telling very human stories.

Article on the increase of cases of heart disease

d. How to write your lead?

On science and writing 2. e. Can’t think of a catchy title?

Make your title creatively relatable.

Sometimes, the simplest titles are the best. (Also applies to leads)

Generally, short titles work best. However, it still depends on the effect you want to create.

On science and writing 2. e.

News:

2. Something’s wrong with your pork chop

1. DOST inks PH-Japan science program

News Feature/Feature:

1. PH and Japan: Asia’s science buddies

2. New studies reveal effects of eating meat

3. DOH discovers vaccine for Malaria

3. Malaria: A vaccine could finally be at hand

Can’t think of a catchy title?


LET’S PUT EVERYTHING TOGETHER!

On science and writing 2. The High Costs of Cheap Groceries

Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won’t get bitten by other pigs. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dozed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of penmates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoon that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. He’s fed on American corn that was grown with the help of government subsidies and millions of tons of chemical fertilizer. When the pig is slaughtered, at about 5 months of age, he’ll become sausage or bacon that will sell cheap, feeding an American addiction to meat that has contributed to an obesity epidemic currently afflicting more than two-thirds of the population. And when the rains come, the excess fertilizer that coaxed so much corn from the ground will be washed into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, where it will kill fish for miles around. That’s the state of your bacon- circa 2009.


The U.S. can produce vast quantities of meat and grains at remarkably cheap prices –and that’s good. But the work is done at a high cost to the environment, animals and humans. Some Americans are heeding such warnings and working to transform the way the country eats, but it’s not easy. One obstacle to change is that for all the grumbling we do about our weekly grocery bills, we’ve never had it so good, at least in terms of what we pay for every calorie we eat. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans spend less then 10% of their income on food, down from 18% in 1966.


So what’s wrong with cheap food? A lot. For one thing, not all food is equally inexpensive; fruits and vegetables don’t receive the same government price supports that grains do. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a dollar can buy 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of vegetables 0r 170 calories of fresh fruit. It’s no surprise we’re so fat; it simply costs more to be thin…………


…A transition to more sustainable, smaller-scale production methods could even be possible without a loss in overall yield, as a survey from the University of Michigan suggests, but it would require far more farm workers than we have today. With unemployment high, that’s hardly a bad thing. “We’re hurting for job creation, and industrial food has pushed people off the farm,” says Hahn Niman, a co-owner of a small sustainable ranch near Bolinas, Calif. “We need to make farming real employment, because if you do it right, it’s enjoyable work.” What’s fun for the farmers can be healthy for the rest of us- and the planet.

- By Bryan Walsh

On science and writing 2. The Medicinal Power of What’s on Your Plate

Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine and let thy medicine be food,” and doctors now believe that the ancient Greek healer was onto something. “There is an overwhelmingly strong database suggesting that the quality of calories we eat has a huge impact on our well-being and our risk of chronic disease,” says Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital Boston.

On science and writing 2. The Medicinal Power of What’s on Your Plate

That’s the thinking behind functional foods: products that are enhanced or otherwise designed to do much more than simply supply us with needed calories and nutrients. The early evidence indicates that the kitchen pantry may indeed contain potent disease-fighting agents just as the medicine cabinet does. But before you eat to treat, say experts, remember that not every health claim on a label makes the food a functional food- and not all functional foods help prevent or reverse disease. The Food and Drug Administration does not recognize functional foods as a category, which means that a product’s promise to control cholesterol, tame inflammation or protect you from fractures may not be supported by studies. Experts don’ even agree on the exact definition of a functional food, but many go by the simple guide that it’s something that’s often good for you to begin with and that has some added benefit not found in the food’s natural state… -TIMES

Tips from notable science writers

3.

Tips from notable science writers 3. a. What makes a good science story?

“One that you start reading and can’t put down. That might be because the writing style is gripping, or you’re totally fascinated by the subject, or (preferably) both. Good science stories are no different to good stories about anything else- they’re just a great read.”

- Helen Pearson, Chief Editor at Nature

Tips from notable science writers 3. b. What do you need to know to write well

about science?

“You need to know a lot. Then again, sometimes a few key skills – like interviewing and reading, persistence, and a good bullshit detector- will get you through nicely.”

-David Dobss writes for the Neuron Culture blog for Wired

Tips from notable science writers 3. c. How do you choose your opening line?

“Trial and error- or mutation and selection, if you prefer. Very occasionally, you’ll nail it first time, but hardly ever. More usually, you’ll tweak and tweak until it’s just so. It is the most important line you will write – lose your reader, and they won’t bother with the rest. So it pays to get it right.”

-Mark Henderson, head of communications at the Wellcome Trust and former science editor of the Time

Tips from notable science writers 3. d. How do you use metaphors and

analogies in a story?

“Carefully. They can be extremely useful, capturing an idea that would otherwise take many paragraphs of unwieldy text to explain. But they can also distort. Ask yourself whether they are helping your writing or getting in the way. You’ll often come up with a beautiful metaphor that, when you really interrogate it, doesn’t work. Kill it.”

-Mark Henderson, head of communications at the Wellcome Trust and former science editor of the Time

More Reminders: 1. Much of writing is self explanatory.

Common sense is not so common nowadays.

2. There are different ways to arrive at a writing style. Each is unique. Cultivate yours.

3. The best way to learn is by doing it consistently. Keep your old writings and compare them to your new ones.

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, the

man would have only four years of life left…”

- Albert Einstein

Science Writing is a matter LIFE

AND DEATH!

Stay awesome!

References: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/style-and-editing/passive-voice

http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/g/Science-Writing-term.htm

http://scx.sagepub.com/

NewScientist. April 2014 Issue.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/smoking-during-pregnancy-could-affect-your-grandchildrens-growth

Devcom notes

Popular Science. January 2014 Issue.

basics of science writing.compressed

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