21W.777 | Spring 2017 | Undergraduate

Science Writing in Contemporary Society

Assignments

Please note: OCW users are not able to turn in assignments to the instructor or receive a grade for their work.

Writing Assignments

Format for Essays & Citations

Assignments 1-7

Assignments 8-15

Assignments 16-25

Major Assignments and Timelines

Detailed descriptions of assignments, plus criteria for evaluation, will be provided ahead of the proposal due date for each assignment.

To pass this class you must:

  • Complete all assignments
  • Complete 5000 words across the 4 main writing assignments
  • Significantly revise Essay 2, the Investigative Essay
  • Demonstrate the ability to credit sources consistently and appropriately

Science and/in Culture Essay

5 p. double-spaced (1500 words)

This essay reflects on the relationship between some aspect of science, technology, nature or medicine and culture, drawing on the writer’s own experience, our readings, and a bit of research. Its goal is to help readers see something relevant to their lives, in a fresh way. For further instructions, see Assignment #5.

Timeline

  • The day prior to Session 5: Post proposal on class website
  • The day prior Session 6: Post 1st complete draft on class website
  • Sessions 6 and 7: Workshop
  • The day after Session 26: Optional Revision due with Portfolio

Reading Journal

~8 entries, 250-300 words each

Reflections on our readings and your chosen web source of science writing. May provide ideas and material for your essays, as well as for class discussion.

Timeline

  • Session 2: Being Reading Journal
  • Session 23: Complete Reading Journal no later than this class

Investigative Essay

8-10 p. double-spaced (~2500 words)

An essay that investigates an aspect of science, medicine, nature or technology of your choosing. This essay should not merely inform and explain but should aim to answer a question that motivates the essay. It should situate the topic in a context, and make it clear to readers why the question matters. Readers will expect to hear your own thoughts on your question. For further instructions, see Assignment #12.

Timeline

  • The day prior to Session 8: Post proposal on class website
  • The day prior to Session 11: Post Revised Proposal and Annotated Bibliography on class website
  • The day prior to Session 14: Post 1st complete draft on class website
  • Sessions 13 and 14: Workshop
  • The day after Session 15: Respond online to workshop group members
  • The day after Session 17: Revision due

Book Review Essay

5 p. double-spaced (1500 words)

This essay introduces readers to a book on science or technology, while developing a theme or idea of interest to the writer. For further instructions, see Assignment #20.

Timeline

  • Session 5: Select book to read and review—email to instructor
  • The day prior to Session 21: Post 1st complete draft on class website
  • Sessions 21 and 22: Workshop
  • The day after Session 26: Optional Revision due with Portfolio

Oral Presentation

Your oral presentation for this class will be a report on your findings in tracking a topic on an online site. You’ll focus on what the site aims to do, how it does it, and how well it succeeds.

  • 8 minutes per speaker, plus 4 minutes of Q&A
  • Your main task will be to clearly describe what you found, what you thought your source did well (using specific examples), and what questions your findings raised: these may be questions about science, values, the way science is covered, or all three
  • You will want to guide your audience through some sample screen shots of the site to illustrate your talk

Timeline

  • Session 3: Email website choice + one back-up choice to the instructor before class
  • Session 17: Presentations

Portfolios

Save all written work to hand in, in a Portfolio. Due Session 26 or no later than noon the day after Session 26.

Assignment #1 - Due Session 2

Please read each article, and pause to note your reaction—what issues it raises for you, and what you think about them—before going on to read the next one. (You may want to start taking notes for your first Reading Journal entries and/or for ideas to follow up in your essays.) Can you abstract some common issues or themes, or do these seem like an array of several disparate things? We’ll spend much of next class discussing the readings and your reactions to them.

  1. Read: Session 1 readings
  2. Write: Either for next class, or at the latest for Session 3, please write a letter to me introducing yourself to me as a writer: What’s your relationship to writing? What are your hopes (and fears?) for this class? What happened with you and writing in high school, or more recently? Anything else about you & writing you want to tell me? –e.g., is English your second language, writing you’ve done on your own, what you like to read …
    • 1 page, word processed, single-spaced with space between paragraphs (i.e., letter format)

Assignment #2 - Due Session 3

For class discussion: These readings both address ways in which our digital devices are affecting the way we live our lives and relate to each other. They come at the issues in different ways, however: Lightman’s essay is what I would call a “think piece,” an essay that reflects on the writer’s own experience to build up an idea or ideas. Turkle’s chapters, on the other hand, grow out of her research, for which she conducted many interviews with children, teens and adults. As you read, notice your own reactions to the ideas of these writers. What, in each reading, do you find convincing or not convincing? Why? Also consider what they do differently—i.e., what are the different possibilities and limits of each method?

  1. Read: Session 2 readings
  2. Write: If you haven’t already done so, this would be a good time to begin your Reading Journal.
  3. Also: Select the science website you want to follow and email me your choice before next class.

Assignment #3 - Due Session 5

For class discussion: Proctor’s essay, like “Just Add Science,” has wide-reaching ramifications. We won’t need to take a lot of time to discuss it, but may want to return to it as it relates to later readings and/or your own writing. Kleeman and Gefter: These are two especially well-crafted essays, chock-full of information but somehow feeling nimble. So we’ll take some time to discuss how they did it—choices they made, what they do well, and what’s at stake with their topics.

  1. Read: Session 3 readings

Assignment #4 - Reading due Session 4

  1. Read: Atul Gawande’s recent New Yorker essay, “The Heroism of Incremental Care.” This essay displays the qualities that have made Gawande such a successful writer about medical issues. When I read one of his essays or books, I find that he always makes me think, but he never makes me feel stupid.
    • How does he do that?
    • What do you notice about the way he puts his essay together?
    • What do you think of the issue(s) he raises?
  2. Write: a 1-paragraph proposal for Essay 1: What do you want to write about? Why? Post proposal to class website prior to Session 5.
  3. Also: Select a book for your Book Review Essay. Tell me your choice in class on Session 5.

Assignment #5 - Essay 1: Science and/in Culture - Due the day prior to Session 6

5 p. double-spaced (1500 words)

Reflect on the relationship between some aspect of science, technology, nature or medicine and culture, drawing on your own experience, your reading, and a bit of research. The goal of this essay is to help readers see something relevant to their lives, in a fresh way.

Your essay may be exploratory or persuasive, but avoid the temptation to write a polemic. Like Gawande, you want to get your readers thinking, without making them feel ignorant, or like you’re preaching.

And like all essays, this one will succeed to the extent that it balances ideas and examples—that is, it should embody ideas in scenes, stories, your own experiences or those of others you know …

You may take one of our readings—say, Lightman or Turkle, or something you’ve read outsides class—as a starting point, and have a conversation with the writer—that’s one way to approach this kind of essay. But that’s just one possibility.

Two hints for Essay 1:

  1. Tone: I don’t think you would do this, but just in case: Even though this essay is meant to include your own reflection, that doesn’t mean it needs to take a portentous or deadly serious tone—and of course, you never want to be preachy. Let the tone emerge from the writing. Some of the topics might even lend themselves to humor.
  2. This is easier said than done, but aim to strike a balance between mapping out what you want to do—your main evidence & examples, where you think you want to go with your argument/exploration—and letting yourself be surprised by where you find yourself going. No plan usually means you end up with stream of consciousness—not an essay—but if you are too programmatic, you might be quashing some creative spark that could ignite an even more interesting discussion than the one you originally planned. The corollary here is that you need to give yourself time to edit what you write.

Assignment #6 - Various due dates

  1. Prepare: for next session’s workshop. Bring to class copies of your classmates’ essays. Everyone, bring a clean copy of your essay for me and your classmates. You will probably want a draft for yourself on which to take notes as well. Due Session 7.
  2. Post comments for your three classmates after we’ve workshopped the essays in class. Include comments on the main idea(s) and how they are developed, structure, evidence & reasoning, and language—in other words, some macro issues, and some local issues. Don’t strain to find things to comments on; go with what seems most important to you. Feel free to make suggestions for improving the essay, but avoid language like “You should do this…" Due the day after Session 7.
  3. Write: a proposal for your Investigative Essay (Essay 2).

Your proposal should be 1 paragraph, including:

  • What do you want to investigate and write about?
  • Why?
  • Why do you think this will make an interesting essay? For what audience especially?
  • Do you have a particular question or problem in mind around which you want to build your discussion? (It’s OK if you don’t have one now, but you should have one before you sit down to write the draft).

Post to class website by Session 8.

Assignment #7 - Readings due Session 8

  1. Read: Session 7 readings

For class discussion: What do you see as the purpose of each of these essays? How are the essays structured? What do you think is particularly effective in each? Any questions that they raise for you?

Assignment #16

Continue preparing for presentations and working on your revisions of your Investigative Essays.

Assignment #17a - Oral Presentation - Due Session 18

Your oral presentation for this class will be a report on your findings in tracking a topic on an online site. You’ll focus on what the site aims to do, how it does it, and how well it succeeds.

  • 8-10 minutes per speaker, plus 4-5 minutes of Q&A.
  • Your main task will be to clearly describe what you found, what you thought your source did well (using specific examples), and what questions your findings raised: these may be questions about science, values, the way science is covered, or all three.
  • You will want to guide your audience through some sample screen shots of the site to illustrate your talk.

Here are some suggestions re: what kinds of things to include, copied from the Reading Journals assignment:

  • What is the web environment like? What is foregrounded? How are sections and or stories arranged (sequential? embedded? etc.)
  • How do the visual elements enhance and/or distract from the experience of reading the stories?
  • What’s the tone of the stories like? Does it feel consistent; does it change with writers and/or topics?
  • What seems successful in the way material is presented?
  • What do you think could be improved?
  • What raises questions for you?

Depending on your site, and your own background and knowledge about the main topic(s), you should have some specific observations related to its purpose and audience.

Note: See also the Rubric for Oral Presentations for aspects of the talk on which you’ll be evaluated.

Assignment #17b - Revise Essay 2: Investigative Essay - due the day after Session 17

Create a worksheet answering the below questions and place it before the 1st page of your revised essay. Make sure you have cited using Nature style, and include a list of References.

  1. What is the thesis of this essay?
  2. Why does this matter? To whom?
  3. Is there anything you think should be in this essay that you weren’t able to fit into this draft?

Assignment #18 - Due Session 19

  1. Read: Session 18 readings

For class discussion: Notice what kinds of things the writers do in these little review essays–how and where do they provide critique of the book? What ideas do they focus on? What else do you notice? There is no one perfect book review essay, so the point here is to notice different possibilities.

Also:

  • Please check out your classmates’ revised Investigative Essays–they are terrific, and you may have a comment or two that will help them polish the essays for the portfolio.
  • If you haven’t already done so, start reading your book for the Book Review Essay.
  • If you haven’t already done so, please upload your 2nd batch of Journal entries to the course website.

Assignment #19 - Due Session 20

  1. Read: Session 19 readings

For class discussion: These essays are a bit of a change of pace for us—rather than being urgent, of-the-moment essays, these are more reflective—Hirsch’s in the exploratory mode, Berry’s persuasive. They “work” very differently and have different purposes, yet they share a thematic interest in the abstract vs. the practical or material.

What kinds of moves do you see the writers making? How do they structure their essays? What are their concerns? Do these essays still feel relevant today? Why or why not?

Also note examples of good writing.

Assignment #20 - Essay 3: Book Review Essay - Due the day prior to Session 22

Workshop in class Session 22

4-5 p. double-spaced (~1250 words)

This essay should be enjoyable; it gives you a chance to enter into an extended discussion with a writer whose work is esteemed by his or her peers and by the general reading public. It gives you a chance to mingle your words with those of an eminent writer, which is one of the pleasures of critiquing work that has literary merit.

› Further assignment details

Don’t be deceived by the (short) length of the assignment: book reviews are challenging. For one thing, you must accurately represent the work you’ve chosen to review. Whether you agree or disagree with the writer’s views and approach, you must present them to readers in a form that the writer would recognize as his or her own. But you don’t want to spend the whole review summarizing the book; that’s a précis, not a review. Like the reviewers whose work we read, you want your chosen book to become a springboard for a discussion of one or more current issues in science or technology, or an idea re: our relationship with science that you think is due more attention. Another challenge will be quoting: you want to quote enough to give the reader the flavor of the book, yet you don’t want your review to be a string of quotes.

You want to engage with both the content of the book—its validity, reasonableness, usefulness—and also with the writing: is it highly abstract? Repetitious? Is the writing vivid? Are examples abundant and well chosen? Is the writer a master of metaphor? Does s/he rely heavily on analogies? What audience does the book seem to be addressing? Who should read this book? What are the particular pleasures of this writer’s style? (Don’t try to answer all these questions; they’re just prods for your thinking.)

Recall that most of the reviews we read actually spent relatively little time on judgment, and more time describing the book and discussing issues. This is a good way to go, unless you have a good reason for wanting to strongly praise or criticize your book. Remember also that judgment may be included in phrases throughout your essay—it needn’t be “saved up” for a section of its own. Readers do, however, expect some kind of summary evaluation, albeit brief.

Remember, too, that while this is a book review it is also an essay. Therefore you don’t want to write 4 pages of: “ … and another thing about this book … ”—you want your review to develop an idea, to get your readers thinking about something.

A note about sources: I prefer that you do not use any outside sources for this essay. You may of course include ideas drawn from other writers, such as our own readings, as you reflect on your book. This kind of essay doesn’t call for citation, but please attach a list of any sources you use for my information.

Note: Please include a 1-2 sentence author bio at the end of your essay—i.e., a bio of you, the author of this review.

Assignment #21 - Due Session 22

Prepare to workshop Book Review Essays

  • Print, read and comment on, and bring to class your classmates’ essays.
  • Also bring a clean copy for the instructor.
  • You may want a clean copy for yourself, to take notes on.

Here are some things to consider re: this essay:

  • Does the introduction pull readers in?
  • Do you get a clear sense of what the book’s author is aiming to do?
  • Do you get a clear sense of what the book is like?
  • Do you seem a theme or focus in the essay? Do you see why that focus matters?
  • Is the writing clear and energetic?
  • Does the essay’s organization work?

Assignment #22 - Due Session 23

  1. Read: Session 22 readings

For class discussion: Think about the ideas these pieces raise in relation to each other as well as some of our earlier readings. What can we take away from them that helps us see a way forward, to more effectively communicate about science?

Assignments #23 & #24

Begin to prepare your portfolio. You will need to:

  • Revise Science in/and Culture (Essay 1). 
  • Re-revise/polish Investigative Essay (Essay 2)
  • Gather your journal entries—include ones I’ve commented on along with any additional ones

Note: Revising the Book Review Essay (Essay 3) is optional

Use these cover worksheets for revising Essays 1 and 2.

For class Session 25

Bring some text that you want to polish—sentence level issues, word choice + phrasing, finding images and analogies, etc.

You can send some passages and I will copy & distribute them so that we can work on them together. If you want to work on 1 sentence in a paragraph, include some surrounding text so that readers have context. Figure on sending 3-4 sentences each; fine to send more if you want to.

Assignment #25: Portfolios - Due the day after the final class

Portfolios and cover letters described below.

› Assignment details

Why: Portfolio Cover Letter

The purpose of the Portfolio is to give you and me an opportunity to reflect on your work this term. To aid in this reflection, please address the following questions in your cover letter, which should be 1 to 1-1/2 pages:

  • What has changed in your writing and/or your approach to writing this term?
  • Has anything changed in your reading practice?
  • Which of your essays do you like best? Explain.
  • Anything else you want to comment on regarding your writing?

What and How

In a simple 2-pocket folder, please arrange your drafts and cover sheets as follows:

  • In the left-hand pocket, put your journals and your first letter to me, with your Portfolio Cover Letter on top.
  • In the right-hand pocket, put drafts of essays.
  • Include the version of each draft that was marked by me along with cover sheets. Put newest drafts on top.
  • Your Portfolio MUST include a re-revision of your Investigative Essay, and the essay must include correct in-text citations plus a list of References.
  • Use the cover worksheet for Re-Revisions. Please use a Post-It or some other way of bringing to my attention optional revisions or re-revisions.
  • Do NOT print out clean drafts of essays—the ones that are marked up tell the story best.

When and Where

Portfolios are due at our last class meeting, or in my office no later than noon the next day.

Assignment #8 - Due Session 9

  1. Read: Michael Specter’s recent New Yorker article “Rewriting the Code of Life,” which lays out the potential benefits and risks of DNA editing while profiling researcher Kevin Esvelt. Specter has written several articles on public perceptions of science for the magazine, including one on genetically modified mosquitoes.
  2. For class discussion: This article raises many profound issues. What do you see as Specter’s purpose and strategy in putting the article together? What do you take away from the article, as a writer and as a citizen? What does the article do well? What questions does it leave you with?
  3. Journals: If you haven’t already done so, please upload your journal entries on the class website. You may upload them as one document, so long as it’s clear where one entry ends and the next begins. Each entry should be dated.

Assignment #9 - Due Session 10

  1. Read: Session 9 readings

For class discussion: Both articles give us a lot to think about. Gladwell’s article is especially interesting for the way it’s structured and the conclusions he draws. Toness’s interests me for the way it addresses issues of education. What do you—as MIT undergraduates—make of her argument?

Looking ahead: The day after Session 11 is the due date for the revised proposal of your Investigative Essay. It will include an Annotated Bibliography—i.e., the best 5-6 sources you’ll have identified at that point and how you expect these sources to be useful.

Assignment #10a - Due Session 11

  1. Read: Session 10 readings (introduces concepts with which to frame discussions of issues related to public understanding of science)

For class discussion: Each of these readings builds a discussion around 1 key concept (for “Unhappy Meals,” focus on “nutritionism”). Consider these concepts and what they allow the writers to do. How do they help structure an argument? Where do these concepts come from—i.e., are they science terms?

Whether or not you choose to write a journal article in response to these readings, jot some notes on them. The writers, I think, invite you to make connections beyond the specifics of the essay.

We’ll also discuss the writing, especially at the sentence level.

Assignment #10b - Revised Proposal for the Investigative Essay, including Annotated Bibliography - Due the day after Session 11

For your revised proposal:

Re-state your main Inquiry Question (that’s a question—not a thesis), and write a short paragraph stating what you hope to learn by your researching and writing.

Number and kinds of sources needed:

  • There is no “best” number of sources, but you will probably refer to a minimum of 6-8 sources in this essay. Note that you will consult more sources than you will ultimately use; that’s part of the process.
  • Your sources should include at least 1-2 books, and if possible, 1-2 journal articles.
  • Remember that The New York Times and/or general interest science magazines (New Scientist, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, etc.) can provide useful context for most of your topics. They can be sources, too.

For the Annotated Bibliography, make a list of your six best sources thus far, including:

  • ≥2 books
  • ≥1 journal article
  1. List sources thus:

For Books:

Smith, Perry. A Short History of The Cosmos. NY: Utopia Press, 2001.

For articles from an anthology, a journal, a magazine or newspaper:

Chang, Judy. “Sleep and Depression.” The New Mental Health Reader. Boston: Utopia Press, 2010.

For sources from the Web:

Author, title, condensed URL, and date accessed.

  1. And then:

Describe each source in a sentence, followed by 1-2 sentences that tell why this source will be useful for your project. NOTE: This is the “annotation” part of the assignment. You will not get credit for the assignment without annotation.

Assignment #11 - Due Session 12

  1. Read: Session 11 readings

For class discussion: With “Microbes,” I’m especially interested in thinking about the presumed audience for Popular Science, and how Patel reaches them. Re: the writing itself, I like the way she integrates facts into her discussion—so let’s look at that, as well as whatever interests you.

“Deadly Contact" appeared well before the latest Ebola outbreak, but clearly is intended to contextualize such outbreaks with in a way that news stories can’t do. It might be useful to think about this essay in terms of audience, too—what do we assume about readers of National Geographic? Why might this article, which takes an atypical approach to discussing scary viral diseases, appeal especially to such an audience?

Assignment #12 - Essay 2: Investigative Essay - Due the day prior to Session 14

8-10 p. double-spaced (~2500 words)

Write an essay that investigates an aspect of science, medicine, nature or technology of your choosing. This essay should not merely inform and explain but should aim to answer a question that motivates the essay. It should situate the topic in a context, and make it clear to readers why the question matters. Readers will expect to hear your own thoughts on your question.

› Further assignment details

  • Pre-writing for your Investigative Essay
  • Think of your essay as being like the ones we’ve read from the New Yorker or the Best American Essays. That is, they will have many elements of a feature article, but also include a POV. It may or may not have a thesis statement, but readers should be able to infer one even if it is not explicitly stated. It may explicitly ask a question, but even if it doesn’t, it should be clear what question your essay aims to answer.
  • You may use “I” in this essay, and may refer to personal experience and/or observations.
  • You may wish to imagine a particular magazine, newspaper or website as the place (with its typical audience) you would like to publish your essay. If you do so, include that in your proposal and also note it at the top of your draft, under your name/date/word count.
  • As with our other assignments, the tone is yours to choose.
  • Note: this essay does not have to directly address the “meta” issues of science writing that we have discussed in class. It may do so, but it may also (just) be a straightforward essay.

Format

  • In addition to your essay’s title, include a subheading (like the New Yorker articles we read—essentially, a sentence that sums up the essay).
  • Also use 3-4 section headings. These should help you with your essay’s structure, in addition to helping to keep readers oriented to your line of thought.

Workshopping

Plan to read each other’s drafts before class on Session 14, and to come with at least 3 questions for the writer. Also note places that have energy & work well, gaps in background, context or questions of fact, etc.

Assignment #13

Prepare for Session 14 Workshop.

Assignment #14a - Due the day after Session 15

Write 2-3 paragraphs of response to classmates’ drafts, focusing on issues such as structure (including sequence, transitions, section headings), tone, appropriateness of sources, clarity of argument, making what’s at stake clear to readers… Also note what’s working well, what’s interesting, and sentence-level issues—images and metaphors (what’s working, what could perhaps be added), effective language, pacing. Don’t respond in a checklist; focus on a handful of issues that seem most pertinent to you.

Assignment #14b - Due Session 15

  1. READ “The Dilbit Disaster.” This article is noteworthy for a few reasons: it appeared in the early days of InsideClimate News, a web source dedicated to climate and energy issues; it won a Pulitzer Prize, the first one awarded for investigative reporting by a purely web source; and one of the co-authors of the series is Lisa Song, an alumna of MIT both as an undergrad and grad student in the Graduate Program in Science Writing.

For class discussion: Keeping in mind that this is the first article in a series (you are welcome to read more!), what do you notice about it? What’s the purpose, the takeaway, of the article? What does the online environment allow? What does the article do well? Does it raise any questions for you—either about science writing, or about the Dilbit issue?

Assignment #15

No deliverables: Begin preparing for your oral presentation. Work on revision of your Investigative Essay.

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. 1st edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1962. ISBN: 9780395075067. [Preview with Google Books]
The book that is often credited with starting the modern ecological movement. Carson was a trained biologist and an eloquent writer.

Gawande, Atul. Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science. 1st edition. Picador, 2003. ISBN: 9780312421700.

———. Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. 1st edition. Picador, 2008. ISBN: 9780312427658.
Some of these essays originally appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine or the New Yorker. Another best-seller from Gawande, “by turns inspiring and unsettling” according to one reviewer.

Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002. ISBN: 9780375760396.
A delightful meditation in 4 parts—apple, potato, tulip and marijuana—on our role in the evolution of plants.

———. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Penguin Books, 2009. ISBN: 9780143114963.
A science-based argument that culture may be a better guide to eating healthily than science; explains how we are at the same time malnourished and overfed.

Keller, Evelyn Fox. The Century of the Gene. Harvard University Press, 2002. ISBN: 9780674008250. [Preview with Google Books]
An MIT professor argues that the concept of the gene has shaped research in recent decades and suggests limits of that concept. This book is already a classic—it has been translated into many languages, as Barton shows.

Wilson, Edward O. The Future of Life. Reprint edition. Vintage, 2003. ISBN: 9780679768111.
Author of Sociobiology and The Ants; honorary curator at Harvard Museum.

Galison, Peter. Einstein’s Clocks and Poincare’s Maps: Empires of Time. Reprint edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2004. ISBN: 9780393326048.
“Brings the story of time to life as a story of wires and rails, precision maps, and imperial ambitions, as well as a story of physics and philosophy."—Science

Goldsmith, Barbara. Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie. Reprint edition. W. W. Norton, 2005. ISBN: 9780739453056.
“A poignant—and scientifically lucid—portrait” of the first woman to win the Nobel prize (NY Times review).

Maddox, Brenda. Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA. Harper Perennial, 2003. ISBN: 9780060985080.
Franklin was a physical chemist and photographer whose work allowed Watson and Crick to grasp the double-helical structure of DNA. She was virtually unknown before this well-reviewed biography gave her her due.

Kolbert, Elizabeth. Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. Revised edition. Bloomsbury USA, 2015. ISBN: 9781620409886.
An instant classic when it was originally published in 2006.

———. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History. Reprint edition. Picador, 2015. ISBN: 9781250062185.
Pulitzer Prize winner.

Sacks, Oliver. Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood. Reprint edition. Vintage, 2002. ISBN: 9780375704048.
Popular and highly readable memoir by one of our most distinctive and prolific researchers in the field of brain disorders.

———. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. Revised & enlarged edition. Vintage, 2008. ISBN: 9781400033539.
A popular account that combines the latest brain science with the important role music plays in our lives.

Johnson, Steven. The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World. Reprint edition. Riverhead Books, 2007. ISBN: 9781594482694.
An engaging narrative about one cholera epidemic in London in the 1850s, and how it led to the discovery of the way cholera is contracted. A meditation on the nature of the scientific method, modern cities, and public health works.

———. The Invention of Air: A Story Of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth Of America. Reprint edition. Riverhead Books, 2009. ISBN: 9781594484018.
“A look at the classical age of science and the early history of the United States through the work of the remarkable Joseph Priestley.” (NY Times)

Coyne, Jerry A. Why Evolution Is True. Reprint edition. Penguin Books, 2010. ISBN: 9780143116646. [Preview with Google Books]
“‘Evolution is far more than a scientific theory,’ argues Coyne; it is a scientific fact.’”—well reviewed in the Boston Globe.

Zimmer, Carl. Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life. Reprint edition. Vintage, 2009. ISBN: 9780307276865. [Preview with Google Books]
“A powerful account of the dynamic, complicated and social world we share with this ordinary yet remarkable bug … Exciting, original, and wholly persuasive.” —New Scientist.

McKibben, Bill. The End of Nature. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006. ISBN: 9780812976083. [Preview with Google Books]
A classic, influential book by one of the godfathers of the contemporary environmental movement.

———. Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. Revised edition. St. Martin’s Griffin, 2011. ISBN: 9780312541194. [Preview with Google Books]
The extra “a” is intentional—to McKibben it signifies that our planet is forever changed. A polemic against man-made climate change and environmental degradation.

Pepin, Jacques. The Origin of AIDS. 1st edition. Cambridge University Press, 2011. ISBN: 9780521186377. [Preview with Google Books]
“Scholarly and immensely readable” (Amazon).

Turkle, Sherry. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other. Basic Books, 2012. ISBN: 9780465031467. [Preview with Google Books]
MIT STS Prof. Turkle explores implications of robots and the internet.

Strogatz, Steven. The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity. Reprint edition. Mariner Books, 2013. ISBN: 9780544105850. [Preview with Google Books]

Lockhart, Paul. Measurement. Reprint edition. Belknap Press, 2014. ISBN: 9780674284388. [Preview with Google Books]

Stewart, Ian. Visions of Infinity: The Great Mathematical Problems. 1st edition. Basic Books, 2014. ISBN: 9780465064892. [Preview with Google Books]

Kenneally, Christine. The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and Our Futures. Reprint edition. Penguin Books, 2015. ISBN: 9780143127925. [Preview with Google Books]

Billings, Lee. Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars. Reprint edition. Current, 2014. ISBN: 9781617230165. {Preview with Google Books]

Jayawardhana, Ray. Neutrino Hunters: The Thrilling Chase for a Ghostly Particle to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe. Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013. ISBN: 9780374220631. [Preview with Google Books]

Chamovitz, Daniel. What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses. Reprint edition. Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013. ISBN: 9780374533885. [Preview with Google Books]

Schwartz, Evan I. The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television. Reprint edition. Harper Perennial, 2003. ISBN: 9780060935597. [Preview with Google Books]

Moore, Peter. The Weather Experiment: The Pioneers Who Sought to See the Future. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015. ISBN: 9780865478091. [Preview with Google Books]
Recounts the 19th-c. origins of the science of meteorology. Well reviewed.

Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Broadway Books, 2011. [Preview with Google Books]
Best-selling story of the first productive cell-line and the woman whose cells were used, unbeknownst to her and her family.

Jahren, Hope. Lab Girl. Reprint edition. Vintage, 2017. ISBN: 9781101873724. [Preview with Google Books]

Schwarz, Alan. ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic. Scribner, 2016. ISBN: 9781501105913. [Preview with Google Books]

McCullough, David. The Wright Brothers. Reprint edition. Simon & Schuster, 2016. ISBN: 9781476728759. [Preview with Google Books]

Shetterly, Margot Lee. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. Reprint edition. William Morrow Paperbacks, 2016. ISBN: 9780062363602. [Preview with Google Books]

Sobel, Dava. The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars. Viking, 2016. ISBN: 9780670016952. [Preview with Google Books]

Biello, David. The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth’s Newest Age. Scribner, 2016. ISBN: 9781476743905. [Preview with Google Books]

Godfrey-Smith, Peter. Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016. ISNB: 9780374227760. [Preview with Google Books]

Massimino, Mike. Spaceman: An Astronaut’s Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe. 1st edition. Crown Archetype, 2016. ISBN: 9781101903544.

All drafts must be word-processed. Follow the format given below for all the essays you produce for this class.

Note: 12-pt. Times Roman is a good choice for all your work.

At the top left of the first page:

Student Name

Science Writing for the Public

Essay 1/Draft 1*

September 19, 2016*

Word count: 920*           *Remember to change the essay no., draft no., word count and date for each draft.

[double space]

Then the Title of Your Essay

[double space]

Epigraphs (optional) go here

--Authors of epigraphs go here

[double space]

[indent] Your essay text begins here …

Your Title is not underlined, in quotes, or in italics; use boldface and initial capitals, as shown. Note: Do not use a separate sheet for a “title page”.

Number your pages, by hand if necessary. Note: It is customary not to number the first page.

Margins: 1" top and bottom; 1 ¼" left and right.

Double space essays.

Font: Use type that is easy to read. I prefer either Times New Roman 12-point, or Optima 12-point.

Paragraphs: Indent paragraphs. Do not leave extra space between paragraphs unless you intend it to signify a transition.

A Note on Citation

We’ll use Nature citation style or “magazine style” for all our essays. Nature style uses a superscript, like this1, coordinated with a list of References at the end. Magazine style doesn’t use references, but I would like a list of Sources at the end of your essays.

With either style, work important sources’ names into your text (not in parentheses!). Use signal phrases—for example: “As Elizabeth Kolbert remarks, … ”; “According to Malcolm Gladwell, … ” ; “While Michael Pollan claims [whatever] in his essay [title], … “

Modified Nature reference style

These are the key elements of Nature style.

  1. References—in the listing that appears at the end of your essay—are each numbered, ordered sequentially as they appear in your text, tables, boxes, or figure captions.
  2. When cited in the text, reference numbers are superscript, not in brackets unless they are likely to be confused with a superscript number. Each source is assigned one number; each time you draw on that source, use the same superscript number, like this.1
  3. In addition–this is the modification–we are using signal phrases to introduce authors of quotes as well as anything where knowing the source will add to the validity and impact of the evidence. (According to Michael Pollan …; “ …, as reported in a recent issue of the New York Times.”)
    • When you name an author or expert, you will probably want to identify her or him for readers, so that they will see the source’s credibility at a glance.
    • When your source is a research study, and you are writing for the public, most of the time you’ll just want to name the journal where the study was published, and not include the names of the researchers.
    • Similarly, when your source is a newspaper story, name the publication – The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal—and not Rudy Reporter, as the publication carries more weight. Exception: Some journalists have national reputations and are worth naming. Examples include Michael Pollan, Malcolm Gladwell, Elizabeth Kolbert … if you are in doubt, ask me.
  4. In your list of references:
    • Authors should be listed surname first, followed by a comma and initials of given names.
    • Titles of all cited articles are required. Titles of articles cited in reference lists should be in upright, not italic text; the first word of the title is capitalized, the title written exactly as it appears in the work cited, ending with a full stop.
    • Book titles are italic with all main words capitalized.
    • Journal titles are italic and abbreviated according to common usage. Volume numbers are bold. The publisher and city of publication are required for books cited. (Refer to published papers in Nature for details.)
    • References to web-only journals should give authors, article title and journal name as above, followed by URL in full—or DOI if known—and the year of publication in parentheses.
    • References to websites should give authors if known, title of cited page, URL in full, and year of posting in parentheses.

Reading journals will comprise responses to readings and to your chosen science website. Journal entries on readings will provide ideas for class discussion and for your first essay. The entries on your website will provide material for your oral presentation.

Particulars

  • You are required to read ALL of the semester’s readings and prepare to discuss them in class. But you only have to write Journal entries for 4-5 readings. (You may of course write more if you wish.)
  • What to include in your reflection? You may respond to the science issues raised, i.e., respond to the discussion provided by the writer. You may want to talk about choices the writer made in shaping the essay, such as how it’s organized, the way a “character” is used to move the discussion forward or to raise particular points, the level of complexity and the way the writer relates to readers … You may even wish to “go meta,” and reflect on an issue about presenting science issues to the public that a particular reading raises for you. You may use some readings to frame reflection on other readings.
  • The remaining 3-4 Journal entries should reflect on what you are noticing about the web site you are following: what is the web environment like? What is foregrounded? How are sections and or stories arranged (sequential? embedded? etc.) How do the visual elements enhance and/or distract from the experience of reading the stories? What’s the tone of the stories like? Does it feel consistent; does it change with writers and/or topics? What seems successful in the way material is presented? What do you think could be improved? What raises questions for you? Don’t worry too much about making judgments initially as you read around the site: it’s fine to focus your first couple of responses on simply describing what you see. By your 3rd entry or so, see if you can describe the effect of what you are noticing.

Length & format

  • Aim for ~1 page double-spaced per response, and a minimum of 8 responses total. (Note: It’s fine to respond to more than 1 reading for a given class, i.e., if you want to front-load your reading responses, that’s fine.
  • Please word process your responses: it will be easier for me to read them, and you may want to paste some of your comments into one of your essays.
  • I’ll collect your Journals from time to time. All Journals complete by Session 23.

Course Info

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Spring 2017
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