[Hancock] = Hancock, Elise. Ideas Into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing. John Hopkins University Press, 2003. ISBN: 9180801873300.
| Ses # | Topics | Readings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Class Overview and Introductions Writing for a General Audience |
Zinsser, William. “Science, Technology and Nature.” In On Writing Well. Harper Perennial, 2016. ISBN: 9780060891541. Strogatz, Steven. “On Math,” first three entries. The New York Times. Overbye, Dennis “Gravitational Waves Detected, Confirming Einstein’s Theory.” The New York Times, Feb. 11, 2016. |
| 2 |
The Pleasures and Challenges of Science Writing The Importance of Metaphors in Science Writing Describing and Explaining: Clarity, Liveliness |
Patel, Rinku. “Bugged.” Popular Science, July 7, 2015. Klein, Joanna. “How Layers in a Latte Form.” The New York Times, Dec. 12, 2017. |
| 3 |
Focus, Accuracy, and Making it Fresh A Writer’s Voice |
No assigned readings |
| 4 | Workshop: The Science of Everyday Life |
Patterson, Kevin. “The Patient Predator.” In The Best American Science Writing 2003. Harper Perennial, 2003. ISBN: 9780060936518. Gawande, Atul. “The Pain Perplex.” The New Yorker, Sept. 21, 1998. [Hancock] Chapters 1–2. |
| 5 |
Attitudes Towards Writing What Do We Mean by Revision? |
Tafton, Anne. “New way to stop the bleeding: Nanoscale biological coating developed at MIT could prevent battlefield deaths.” MIT News Office. January 10, 2012. Hardesty, Larry. “Imaging with an ‘optical brush’.” MIT News Office. February 12, 2016. Chu, Jennifer. “Microfluidics from LEGO bricks.” MIT News Office. January 30, 2018. [Hancock] Ch. 5, “The Nitty-Gritty” + Ch. 6, “Refining Your Draft.” |
| 6 |
Elements of News Writing Reading a Scientific Journal Article, Part 1 |
The three student-written profiles in the 2013 Angles online magazine of exemplary writing. DeNucci, Andrew. “Spacesuits and Drones.” Angles (2016). Hinojosa, Karina. “Light up and Clean up.” Angles (2017). [Hancock] Ch. 3, “Research and the Interview.” |
| 7 |
The Profile: Writing about Science by Writing about Scientists |
Anderson, Kevin and Glen Peters. “The Trouble with Negative Emissions.” Science 354, no. 6309 (2016): 182–193. Yuen, C.M., C.A. Rodrigues, et al. “Map the Gap.” Public Health Action 5, no. 1 (2015): 45–58. |
| 8 |
From Research to News Work on News Stories |
No Assigned Readings |
| 9 | Workshop: News Stories |
Stickgold, Robert. “Sleep On It!” Scientific American 313 (2015): 52–57. Levenson, Thomas. “Antibiotics Gave Us Routine Surgery. Growing Resistance Could Change Everything.” The Boston Globe, Dec. 2, 2017. |
| 10 |
Stickgold & Levenson: Elements of a Research-Based Essay The Research Process: Note-Taking |
Gladwell, Malcom. “The Engineer’s Lament.” The New Yorker, May 4, 2015. |
| 11 |
Gladwell: Describing How Engineers Think Incorporating Many Kinds of Evidence |
Schulz, Kathryn. “The Really Big One.” The New Yorker, July 20, 2015. |
| 12 |
Complex Issues: Keeping Readers With You; Getting at the Bigger Picture The Research Process: Why We Cite |
Knowles, Milo. “Fusion: Joining the Quest for renewable Energy’s Holy Grail.” Angles (2016). Sugrue, Rosie. “Fukushima and the Bogey-man.”Angles (2011). Lee, Minyi. “Anorexia: A Matter of Life and Breadth.” Angles (2014). Walzer, Dalia. “Our Guts, Our Bodies, Ourselves.” Angles (2014). |
| 13 | Library Session to Work on Investigative Essay | No Assigned Readings |
| 14 | Workshop: Profile Article | No Assigned Readings |
| 15 |
The Research Process: Citing, Quoting, and Paraphrasing Writing and Structure Reading a Scientific Journal Article, Part 2 |
[Hancock] Ch. 4 and 7. |
| 16 |
Organizing a Longer Article Incorporating Sources and Voices |
Greenwood, Veronique. “My Great-Great-Aunt Discovered Francium. And It Killed Her.” The New York Times, July 12, 2014. |
| 17 | Presenting Controversy: For Our Consideration: Earth or Mars? | No Assigned Readings |
| 18 | Workshop: Investigative Essay | No Assigned Readings |
| 19 | Workshop: Investigative Essay |
Moor, Robert. “Nor Any Drop to Drink? Why the Great Lakes Face a Murky Future.” The New York Times, May 23, 2017. Frank, Adam. “Dreaming in Code.” The New York Times, Mar. 7, 2014. Thubron, Colin. “The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf.” The New York Times, Sept. 25, 2015. Sobel, Dava. “Science’s Invisible Women.” The New York Times, Mar. 19, 2018. |
| 20 | The Book Review: A Useful Genre! | No Assigned Readings |
| 21 | Revision Issues | No Assigned Readings |
| 22 | Revision Issues | No Assigned Readings |
| 23 | Other Media: Radio & Video | No Assigned Readings |
| 24 | Revision Issues | No Assigned Readings |
| 25 | Book Talks | No Assigned Readings |
| 26 |
Sharing Favorite Writing Summing Up and Reflecting |
No Assigned Readings |
