The Science Media Centre, IISER Pune is happy to announce an online workshop on ‘Writing about Science for Non-Scientific Audiences’, in collaboration with IndiaBioscience

 

Workshop: Writing about Science for Non-Scientific Audiences 

Details:

Date: 07/12/2020 to 11/12/2020 (5 days)

Last date of registration: 02/12/2020

Eligibility: Class XII passed (Science). No age limit.

Registration fee: None (It is a free workshop)

This is an online workshop.

 

To be conducted by: 

Dr. Shreya Ghosh

Shreya is currently the program manager for Science Communication at IndiaBioscience where she solicits, writes, and edits science news and articles for the website and coordinates various publications and projects. She has over 5 years of experience in science communication and has previously written for BioTechniques, i wonder..., and her blog, The Scientific Lens. Shreya obtained her Ph.D. in life sciences from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in 2018.

 

Dr. Vijeta Raghuram

Vijeta is the Program Manager-Education at IndiaBioscience and an Associate Editor of i wonder..., a science magazine for school teachers. As a writer and editor, she strives to augment science education in the country with thought-provoking articles and discussions on education. Vijeta obtained her Ph.D. in life sciences from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad in 2013, and has over 5 years of postdoctoral research experience.

 

Key highlights of the workshop:

This workshop aims to train students and researchers in writing about science in a way that is accessible, engaging, and effective. After completing the workshop, the participants should be able to -

1. Identify good science stories and understand what makes them work

2. Identify a suitable website/publication based on the target readers

3. Pitch an article to a publication

4. Interview a scientist or expert for the purpose of writing a science news story

5. Do background research and fact-checking

6. Understand the basics of creating a narrative flow

7. Outline and prepare the first draft of a news story based on a research paper

8. Edit and revise the first draft

9. Become aware of and apply some good practices like sticking to word count, avoiding giving personal opinions (unless it is an opinion article), using quotes optimally, etc.

 

Day-wise content (Topics covered)

Day 1, 07/12/2020, Science and Storytelling

• Why write about science?

• Types of science writing

• The use of storytelling crafts in science writing

• Understanding the elements of a story

Day 2, 08/12/2020, Finding and pitching stories

• Understanding what makes for a good science story

• Picking out a story from a research paper

• Pitching a story to an editor 

Day 3, 09/12/2020, Reporting on your story

• Critically evaluating a research paper

• Interviewing scientists

• Doing your background research 

Day 4, 10/12/2020, Preparing your first draft

• Outlining and creating a narrative flow

• Crafting quality ledes and headlines

• Writing your first draft

Day 5, 11/12/2020, Taking your draft to the next level

• Self-editing and revising your first draft

• Dealing with the curse of jargon

• The importance of checking your facts

• A checklist of things to go over before submitting the draft

 

Funding Agency:

This workshop is funded by the National Council for Science & Technology Communication, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India and organized by the Science Media Centre, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune in collaboration with IndiaBioscience. 

Note:

Please enter your name correctly while registering for the event as it will be used in the same way in your certificate when you attend the full workshop successfully. 

For any query, contact us at sciencemediacentre@iiserpune.ac.in