Writing for a non-specialist audience: Scientific writing c - PowerPoint Presentation

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Writing for a non-specialist audience: Scientific writing c - PPT Presentation

Dr Helen Webster Writing Development Centre The Impact Agenda Scientific Writing Competitions Routes to public engagement and impact Broadcast media print television radio Social media Public outreach events ID: 562690

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Slide1

Writing for a non-specialist audience: Scientific writing competitions

Dr Helen Webster

Writing Development CentreSlide2

The Impact AgendaSlide3

Scientific Writing Competitions

Routes to public engagement and impact:

Broadcast media (print, television, radio)

Social media

Public outreach events

All of these benefit from training and support

Scientific writing competitions are a good way to promote your research and your profile on a large

scale and in

a supported waySlide4

Major science writing competitions

Europe PubMed Central Access to Understanding 2014

http://

europepmc.org/ScienceWritingCompetition

PhD and

Pdoc

, pre-selected topics, closes 9

Dec

Medical Research Council Max Perutz Award

http://

www.mrc.ac.uk/Sciencesociety/Awards/index.htm

MRC funded PhD, your own research

The

Wellcome

Trust Science Writing Prize

association with the 'Guardian' and the

'Observer‘

http

://

www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Science-Writing-Prize/index.htm

Professional scientists, Non-professional writers

(UG>

Pdoc

) Any area of science Slide5

Science writing competitions: What do they have in common?

They all want to see

800 words

Clear writing

Writing that is accessible to a general, non-specialist, but interested audience

Writing that goes beyond description (of the problem and of what the researchers did)

Writing that effectively communicates the contribution of the research (Why does the research matter?)

Writing that is engagingSlide6

Starting with your audience

“clear” “accessible” “engaging”Slide7

Writing for a non-specialist audience: What do science writers say?

“If

in doubt, assume the reader knows nothing. However, never make the mistake of assuming that the reader is stupid. The classic error in journalism is to overestimate what the reader knows and underestimate the reader's intelligence

.”

Tim

Radford’s

Manifesto for the Simple Scribe: The 25 commandments

http://

www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/jan/19/manifesto-simple-scribe-commandments-journalistsSlide8

Meeting in the middle: knowledge, interest, intention

What is your message?

What is your aim?

What is the interest?

What do they want?

What are their expectations/needs?

What will they do with it?

The science writer’s roleSlide9

The Food Chain

Academic scientific peer reviewed publishing

Stakeholder reports

Popular science books/blogs/magazines

Textbooks

Quality press (broadsheets, national news channels)

Tabloids, ‘in brief’ news sites

Online

clickbait

, listiclesSlide10

StructureSlide11

The research paper: Diagram of structure

Introduction and literature review

Methods

Results

Discussion and

ConclusionsSlide12

The news report: Diagram of structure

The ‘inverted pyramid’ model

Most

important/attention-grabbing

information

Elaboration and detail

Least important

information? Return to why it’s interesting/important?Slide13

What’s the story here?

Isn’t science/nature amazing/weird?

Plucky researchers strike a blow against disease

So that’s why....now we understand.

Bet you’re glad this isn’t you

What story do you want to tell about your own research?Slide14

What makes a good opening?

What did you think of those openings?

The hook:

onnection to real or possible personal experience

The Unexpected, The Mysterious and The Weird

Or both!

An emotional reactionSlide15

A good opening paragraph: Example

Studying blindness? There’s an app for that

Everything

is hazy; I can’t even see my glasses. I keep my eyes closed; it doesn’t seem to make much difference opening them. My hand feels clumsily around the bedside table, knocking my mobile phone to the floor, and eventually I come across my glasses. On they go, and I can see again. Those brief few seconds as I awake each morning serve as a continual reminder of how much I value my sight

Andrew

Bastawrous

, winner of the Max Perutz Science Writing Award 2012Slide16

The Middle Bit: finding a balance and getting to the point

How much knowledge does your reader

really

need to understand the research and its significance?

Where is the point in these texts where they move from setting the scene to describing the research breakthrough?Slide17

Academic Paragraph structure

Self assessment can also develop skills which make a student more attractive to prospective employers.

Employers value students with skills in self assessment because these types of skills are relevant to a wide range of employment contexts. They want graduates who can accurately assess their own competencies in performing tasks. Students who can do this are well placed to take on responsibilities and adapt readily to roles in work places. The value in developing these types of assessment can be seen to go beyond meeting immediate educational needs.

Students who have developed an autonomous approach to learning are well set up for life-long learning which will continue throughout and beyond their working lives

Topic sentence: Introduction of the paragraph’s main idea

Main body in which the initial assertion is developed and explained

Conclusion to be drawn from the above points

Signpost wordSlide18

LanguageSlide19

Writing about science: Complex material

simple expression

“

Whenever I write about science, I imagine a parrot on my shoulder saying ‘can it be said more

simply’?”

Attributed to Dr Max Perutz, 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry,

after whom the Max Perutz Award is namedSlide20

‘Simply’Slide21

Avoiding Jargon

“

A plain English summary is a brief summary that has been written for members of the public, rather than researchers or professionals.

It should be written clearly and simply, without jargon and with an explanation of any technical terms that have to be included

.”

– INVOLVE

Jargon is simply precise technical language which is used in an inappropriate context, in which the audience does not share the common and professional language the terms belong to.Slide22

Writing for a non-specialist audience: What do science writers say?

“The

shortlisted authors did a great job of using eye-catching imagery to snare our attention

.”

Jenny

Rohon

(Judge, Max Perutz Science Writing Award 2012),

Mind

the Gap

blog

“

Some of our writers used metaphor to really good effect. But there were examples of some metaphors that were a bit off-piste. So think clearly about whether the metaphor is too tenuous, or simply extended beyond its useful life.”

Sharmila

NebhrajaniSlide23

Using Imagery

Simile

Metaphor

Extended metaphor

Symbolism

“research is like a journey”

“research is a journey

”

“research is a journey. As we travel, we may find we do not arrive at the destination we anticipated, or by the paths we planned”

We cannot know the destination of the Journey Slide24

The uses of metaphor: the spices in your dish

Metaphors can enable you to make a strong connection with the shared experience between you and your audience

It can create a strong ‘visual’ or concrete impression, which helps to explain the more abstract aspects of research

It makes your writing more engaging and interestingSlide25

Metaphor: leaving a sour taste

You need to be sure that both you and your audience share the same common understanding of the metaphor

Extended metaphors can break down as your meaning is twisted to fit the metaphor

Mixed metaphors are confusing

Too much metaphor can seem overly poetical and make the text too abstractSlide26

Voices – scientist, writer, reader

Scientist

: Quotations from the scientists can change the pace, add a ‘human’ element, give a sense of the excitement of research

Reader

: Using questions as paragraph openings can include the voice of the reader

Writer

: do you want your own voice to reflect that of the scientist or that of the reader’s perspective? Slide27

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater

Scientific

communication –

What values and features of academic scientific writing do we want to preserve?

Which hinder scientific communication to non-academic readers?Slide28

Europe PubMed Central Science Writing

Competition:

omments from two judges

“… we

are looking for accurate, balanced representation of the research.”

Anna Kinsey (Europe PMC Engagement Manager and Access to Understanding

organiser)

“

The best writers made complex science accessible, without patronising the reader. They drew out the ‘so what?’ question – why should I read this, why should I care? They were frank about the unknowns and the limitations of the science. And they created energy and excitement about the research, but without hyperbole.”

Sharmila

NebhrajaniSlide29