Category: Writing

On a Mission to Write Like a Scientist – and a Poet

4/29/2021

This publication was originally posted on the hellobio blog in February 2021.

By: Dr. Lučka Bibič

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay.

Six years ago, my brand-new university degree qualified me to apply for a Ph.D. program studying strange stuff in strange places.

Luckily, I got a scholarship, moved to a remote place in the UK and my initial experiments kicked off alright. Everything seemed to be under control. I was excited! Until I had to write my first year report.

“You don’t write like a typical scientist,” my first Ph.D. supervisor said at the time, handing me back my review draft. I wasn’t sure whether to take his remark as an encouragement, a dismissal, or both. In my Neverland he might as well have said that I write like a pro.

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Cold Calling and Cold Feet: Phone Interviews for Science Journalism

9/3/2020

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By Amy Nippert @nippert_r
Edited by Christina M. Swords (Marvin)

As a freelancer in a pandemic, calling sources is a crucial part of my career. As a millennial who grew up in an age of instant messaging, calling sources is also a stressful part of my writing. I don’t hate talking on the phone, but the less well I know the person on the other end, the more intrusive and awkward it feels. Part of me wishes I could just text my sources. But I can’t, and phone calls provide an organic conversation in a way that texting or emails do not. Resigned in the knowledge that calling sources is going to be the normal process for a while, I’ve been thinking about why I find it so stressful and how to ameliorate some of those feelings.

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Becoming a Science Writer with Siri Carpenter

4/28/2020

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Edited by Christina M. Marvin

Siri Carpenter, science writer and editor-in-chief for The Open Notebook. Photo courtesy of Siri Carpenter.

Earlier this year, the Science Talk team hosted a live chat with science journalist and editor Siri Carpenter. Members of the Science Talk community submitted burning questions on science writing and editing to Siri in real time — keep reading to see what we learned! This week's focus is on science writing. Be sure to tune in next week when we continue our conversation with science editing.

Siri is a scientist and science writer who is now the editor-in-chief for The Open Notebook, an amazing and comprehensive resource for science writers. She recently published a new resource for science writers, The Craft of Science Writing.

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How to Write about Science so Everyone Understands

7/29/2017

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Communication is very much like marketing, where how you say something depends entirely on who you are talking to. For example, this blog is for casual readers with various types of education and background. I prefer to write content here in a very causal and conversational tone. I'm okay starting a sentence with a conjugation and ending one with a preposition. Grammar rules be damned. That is a conscious style choice that I think works best for my targeted audience.

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On a Mission to Write Like a Scientist – and a Poet

Cold Calling and Cold Feet: Phone Interviews for Science Journalism

Becoming a Science Writer with Siri Carpenter

How to Write about Science so Everyone Understands

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On a Mission to Write Like a Scientist – and a Poet

Cold Calling and Cold Feet: Phone Interviews for Science Journalism

Becoming a Science Writer with Siri Carpenter

How to Write about Science so Everyone Understands

Categories

Pitch & Contribute

A Science BlogCo-editors

Archives

A Science Blog
Co-editors