Calendar, Readings, and Assignments

Introductions

Class overview

Writing for a general audience

Zinsser, William. "Science, Technology and Nature." Chapter 15 in On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. 30th Anniversary ed. Harper Perennial, 2006, pp. 147–64. ISBN: 9780060891541.

Kanigel, Robert. "The Science Essay." Chapter 22 in A Field Guide for Science Writers: The Official Guide of the National Association of Science Writers. 2nd ed. Edited by Deborah Blum, Mary Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig. Oxford University Press, 2005, pp.145–50. ISBN: 9780195174991.

Description: Accuracy + making it fresh

A writer's voice

Return essays

What do we mean by revision?

Discuss News and Profile article assignments

Short News Articles

As you read these stories, note what they have in common: what kinds of things do the writers do? Where does certain information, such as where a study is published, go? What do the introductions—or"leads," as journalists call them—do? What is the"take-away" message—the biggest point—for each of these stories? Do the stories make it clear why this point matters? How is technical complexity handled? Do you notice images or analogies that the writers use to make the concepts more easily understood?

Read several articles from different disciplines on ScienceNews.org

Kolata, Gina. "Mice Fall Short as Test Subjects for Humans' Deadly Ills," The New York Times, February 11, 2013.

Zimmer, Carl. "Tipsy Fruit Flies on a Mission," The New York Times, February 16, 2012.

Chandler, David L. "A Cooler Way to Protect Silicon Surfaces: New Room-Temperature Process could Lead to Less Expensive Solar Cells and Other Electronic Devices," MIT News Office, February 13, 2013.

Trafton, Anne. "New way to Stop the Bleeding: Nanoscale Biological Coating developed at MIT could Prevent Battlefield Deaths," MIT News Office, January 10, 2012.

———. "Bringing a New Perspective to Infectious Disease: Enlisted in the Fight Against HIV, MIT Engineers and Scientists Contribute New Technology, Materials and Computational Studies," MIT News Office, February 8, 2013.

Discuss/critique pitches (small groups)

Pick 1 story idea to pursue

[EH] Chapter 3: Research and the Interview

New York Times profiles, & student-written profile (see assignment for links)

Kolbert, Elizabeth. "The Catastrophist." The New Yorker, June 29, 2009, 39–45.

Johnson, George. "Michael Faraday." Chapter 6 in The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments. Vintage, 2009, pp. 75–87. ISBN: 9781400034239.

Complex issues: Getting readers to think like scientists

The research process: Why we cite

Pollan, Michael. "Our Decrepit Food Factories," The New York Times Magazine, December 16, 2007.

Steingraber, Sandra. "The Whole Fracking Enchilada." Orion, September/October 2010.

Elizabeth, Royte. "Fracking Our Food Supply." The Nation, November 2012. 

Library session to work on Investigative Essay

Note: class meets in the library

"The Unwanted Connection." (PDF) Example student work. Courtesy of an MIT student. Used with permission.

"True Colors." (PDF) Example student work. Courtesy of Jessica Fujimori. Used with permission.

Book Reviews

Royte, Elizabeth. "Signs of Life," The New York Times, March 30, 2012.

Bartusiak, Marcia. "Go Up, Young Man," (PDF) TheWashington Post, January 8, 1995, Final Edition, SECTION: BOOK WORLD; PAGE X10.

Royte, Elizabeth. "The Poisoned Earth," The New York Times, September 14, 2012.

Fortey, Richard. "That's Life?" The New York Times, March 8, 2013.

Pimm, Stuart. "Careers: A guide to the life scientific." Nature 496, no. 297 (2013).

"Breaking the Stereotypes for Engineers." (PDF) Example student work. Courtesy of an MIT student. Used with permission.

Return Book Reviews

Share "best writing"